Restic Cron vs Tarsnap GUI
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted backup & recovery options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Restic Cron | Tarsnap GUI |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 70 · Good | 7 · At risk |
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | BSD-2-Clause | BSD-2-Clause |
| Language | Shell | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker | binary, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 715 | ★ 251 |
| First released | 2019 | 2016 |
| Replaces | Backblaze | Backblaze |
What are Restic Cron and Tarsnap GUI?
Restic Cron
A containerized scheduler that runs restic backups on a cron schedule and prunes old snapshots. It is designed to be a drop-in backup sidecar for self-hosted stacks.
- Cron-scheduled backups
- Automatic pruning
- restic backend
- Sidecar container
Tarsnap GUI
Tarsnap GUI is a cross-platform graphical client for the Tarsnap secure online backup service, making encrypted deduplicated backups accessible without the command line. It manages archives, scheduling, and restores through a desktop interface.
- Tarsnap archive management
- Scheduling support
- Encrypted deduplicated backups
- Cross-platform UI
Restic Cron vs Tarsnap GUI: key differences
Restic Cron is written in Shell, while Tarsnap GUI is built with C++. Restic Cron is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 128 MB for Tarsnap GUI. Tarsnap GUI is the more established project (first released 2016), while Restic Cron arrived in 2019. Restic Cron has the considerably larger community, at 715 GitHub stars versus 251. Restic Cron lists first-class Docker deployment; Tarsnap GUI does not.
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 Tarsnap GUI if…
- Released under the BSD-2-Clause license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in C++
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Watch out for
- Tarsnap service is paid
- Requires Tarsnap CLI
Frequently asked questions
Is Restic Cron or Tarsnap GUI 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 Tarsnap GUI free and open-source?
Yes. Restic Cron is licensed under BSD-2-Clause and Tarsnap GUI under BSD-2-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Restic Cron and Tarsnap GUI with Docker?
Restic Cron: yes. Tarsnap GUI: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Restic Cron or Tarsnap GUI?
Restic Cron has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for Tarsnap GUI. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.