Kopia vs Deja Dup
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted backup & recovery options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Kopia
Fast, encrypted backup with a clean interface
VS
Deja Dup
Simple backup tool for the GNOME desktop
| Feature | Kopia | Deja Dup |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | Vala |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | binary, docker | binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 14,188 | ★ 600 |
| First released | 2019 | 2008 |
| Replaces | Backblaze, Carbonite | Time Machine, Backblaze |
What are Kopia and Deja Dup?
Kopia
Kopia is a fast and secure backup tool that creates encrypted, deduplicated snapshots and offers both a CLI and a desktop GUI. It targets users who want modern backups with a clean interface. It is deployed as a binary or via Docker.
- Encrypted deduplicated snapshots
- Both CLI and desktop GUI
- Many storage backends
- Compression and policies
Deja Dup
Deja Dup is a simple backup tool that hides the complexity of doing backups properly. It supports local, network, and cloud storage with encryption and incremental backups powered by Restic.
- Beginner-friendly GUI
- Encrypted incremental backups
- Local and cloud targets
Kopia vs Deja Dup: key differences
Kopia is written in Go, while Deja Dup is built with Vala. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for Kopia versus GPL-3.0 for Deja Dup. Deja Dup is the more established project (first released 2008), while Kopia arrived in 2019. Kopia has the considerably larger community, at 14,188 GitHub stars versus 600. Kopia lists first-class Docker deployment; Deja Dup does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Kopia if…
- GUI and CLI both available
- Fast and efficient
- Modern design
Watch out for
- Younger than Restic
- Advanced options can confuse
Choose Deja Dup if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in Vala
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Kopia or Deja Dup better?
Neither is universally better. Kopia has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Kopia and Deja Dup free and open-source?
Yes. Kopia is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Deja Dup under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Kopia and Deja Dup with Docker?
Kopia: yes. Deja Dup: check the project docs for container support.