Kup vs Backblaze alt Kopia-UI Standalone
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted backup & recovery options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Kup | Backblaze alt Kopia-UI Standalone |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | GPL-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | C++ | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | binary | binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 100 | ★ 500 |
| First released | 2012 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Time Machine | Time Machine, Backblaze |
What are Kup and Backblaze alt Kopia-UI Standalone?
Kup
Kup is a backup scheduler for the KDE desktop that helps users keep their personal files backed up. It supports synchronized folders and incremental backups using the bup format.
- Integrated with KDE Plasma
- bup-based incremental backups
- Automatic scheduling
Backblaze alt Kopia-UI Standalone
Pika Backup is a simple desktop backup application for GNOME built on BorgBackup. It focuses on protecting personal data with encrypted, deduplicated, and compressed backups.
- GNOME desktop backup app
- Encrypted Borg archives
- Simple scheduling
Kup vs Backblaze alt Kopia-UI Standalone: key differences
Kup is written in C++, while Backblaze alt Kopia-UI Standalone is built with Rust. Licensing differs — GPL-2.0 for Kup versus GPL-3.0 for Backblaze alt Kopia-UI Standalone. Kup is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Backblaze alt Kopia-UI Standalone. Kup is the more established project (first released 2012), while Backblaze alt Kopia-UI Standalone arrived in 2020. Backblaze alt Kopia-UI Standalone has the considerably larger community, at 500 GitHub stars versus 100.
Why pick each one
Choose Kup if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in C++
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Choose Backblaze alt Kopia-UI Standalone if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in Rust
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Kup or Backblaze alt Kopia-UI Standalone better?
Neither is universally better. Backblaze alt Kopia-UI Standalone has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Kup and Backblaze alt Kopia-UI Standalone free and open-source?
Yes. Kup is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Backblaze alt Kopia-UI Standalone under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Kup and Backblaze alt Kopia-UI Standalone with Docker?
Kup: check the project docs for container support. Backblaze alt Kopia-UI Standalone: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Kup or Backblaze alt Kopia-UI Standalone?
Kup has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Backblaze alt Kopia-UI Standalone. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.