Minarca Backup vs pgmoneta
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted backup & recovery options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Minarca Backup | pgmoneta |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 31 · At risk | 75 · Good |
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | BSD-3-Clause |
| Language | Python | C |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | bare-metal, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 263 | ★ 317 |
| First released | 2016 | 2021 |
| Replaces | CrashPlan, Veeam | Veeam |
What are Minarca Backup and pgmoneta?
Minarca Backup
Minarca is a centralized backup solution built on rdiff-backup that lets users back up multiple machines and restore their own files through a web interface. It is designed for organizations protecting many endpoints.
- Centralized endpoint backup
- Self-service restore
- rdiff-backup engine
- Web management
pgmoneta
pgmoneta is a backup and restore solution for PostgreSQL that focuses on efficiency and modern features. It supports incremental backups, compression, and encryption with minimal overhead.
- Incremental PostgreSQL backups
- Built-in compression
- Low-overhead design
Minarca Backup vs pgmoneta: key differences
Minarca Backup is written in Python, while pgmoneta is built with C. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Minarca Backup versus BSD-3-Clause for pgmoneta. Pgmoneta is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Minarca Backup. Minarca Backup is the more established project (first released 2016), while pgmoneta arrived in 2021. Minarca Backup lists first-class Docker deployment; pgmoneta does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Minarca Backup if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Python
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Choose pgmoneta if…
- Released under the BSD-3-Clause license
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Minarca Backup or pgmoneta better?
Neither is universally better. pgmoneta has the larger community, while Minarca Backup is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Minarca Backup and pgmoneta free and open-source?
Yes. Minarca Backup is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and pgmoneta under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Minarca Backup and pgmoneta with Docker?
Minarca Backup: yes. pgmoneta: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Minarca Backup or pgmoneta?
pgmoneta has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Minarca Backup. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.