Kopia vs Sanoid
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted backup & recovery options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Kopia
Fast, encrypted backup with a clean interface
VS
Sanoid
Policy-driven ZFS snapshot management and replication
| Feature | Kopia | Sanoid |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | Perl |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | binary, docker | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 13,798 | ★ 3,830 |
| First released | 2019 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Backblaze, Carbonite | Time Machine |
Why pick each one
Choose Sanoid if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Active community (3.8k GitHub stars)
- Written in Perl
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Kopia or Sanoid better?
Kopia is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Sanoid if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Kopia and Sanoid free and open-source?
Yes. Kopia is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Sanoid under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Kopia and Sanoid with Docker?
Kopia: yes. Sanoid: check the project docs for container support.