Kup vs ZnapZend
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted backup & recovery options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Kup | ZnapZend |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | GPL-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | C++ | Perl |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | binary | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 100 | ★ 669 |
| First released | 2012 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Time Machine | Time Machine |
What are Kup and ZnapZend?
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
ZnapZend
ZnapZend is a ZFS backup tool that automates the creation, retention, and replication of ZFS snapshots. It runs as a daemon and supports compressed transfers over SSH.
- Automated ZFS snapshot retention
- SSH replication
- Runs as a background daemon
Kup vs ZnapZend: key differences
Kup is written in C++, while ZnapZend is built with Perl. Licensing differs — GPL-2.0 for Kup versus GPL-3.0 for ZnapZend. Kup is the more established project (first released 2012), while ZnapZend arrived in 2014. ZnapZend has the considerably larger community, at 669 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 ZnapZend if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Written in Perl
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Kup or ZnapZend better?
Neither is universally better. ZnapZend has the larger community, while Kup is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Kup and ZnapZend free and open-source?
Yes. Kup is licensed under GPL-2.0 and ZnapZend under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Kup and ZnapZend with Docker?
Kup: check the project docs for container support. ZnapZend: check the project docs for container support.