Restic Cron 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.
Not the right match-up?
Restic Cron
Containerized scheduled restic backup runner
VS
Deja Dup
Simple backup tool for the GNOME desktop
| Feature | Restic Cron | Deja Dup |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | BSD-2-Clause | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Shell | Vala |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker | binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 702 | ★ 600 |
| First released | 2019 | 2008 |
| Replaces | Backblaze | Time Machine, 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 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 Restic Cron or Deja Dup better?
Neither is universally better. Restic Cron has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Restic Cron and Deja Dup free and open-source?
Yes. Restic Cron is licensed under BSD-2-Clause and Deja Dup under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Restic Cron and Deja Dup with Docker?
Restic Cron: yes. Deja Dup: check the project docs for container support.