linux-timemachine vs Velero
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?
linux-timemachine
rsync-based Time Machine style backups for Linux and macOS
VS
Velero
Backup and migrate Kubernetes cluster resources
| Feature | linux-timemachine | Velero |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Shell | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | kubernetes, helm |
| GitHub stars | ★ 840 | ★ 10,187 |
| First released | 2017 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Apple Time Machine | Kasten K10 |
Why pick each one
Choose Velero if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Mature project with 10.2k GitHub stars
- Written in Go
Frequently asked questions
Is linux-timemachine or Velero better?
Neither is universally better. Velero has the larger community, while linux-timemachine is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are linux-timemachine and Velero free and open-source?
Yes. linux-timemachine is licensed under MIT and Velero under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run linux-timemachine and Velero with Docker?
linux-timemachine: check the project docs for container support. Velero: check the project docs for container support.