Restic Cron vs Obnam2
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?
Restic Cron
Containerized scheduled restic backup runner
VS
Obnam2
Simple, secure chunk-based backup program
| Feature | Restic Cron | Obnam2 |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | BSD-2-Clause | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Shell | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker | binary, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 702 | ★ 200 |
| First released | 2019 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Backblaze | Backblaze |
Why pick each one
Choose Restic Cron if…
- Released under the BSD-2-Clause license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Shell
Choose Obnam2 if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Written in Rust
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Restic Cron or Obnam2 better?
Restic Cron is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Obnam2 if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Restic Cron and Obnam2 free and open-source?
Yes. Restic Cron is licensed under BSD-2-Clause and Obnam2 under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Restic Cron and Obnam2 with Docker?
Restic Cron: yes. Obnam2: check the project docs for container support.