Nextcloud vs pgBackRest

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted apps from related categories — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

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FeatureNextcloudpgBackRest
CategoryFile Sync & StorageBackup & Recovery
LicenseAGPL-3.0MIT
LanguagePHPC
Setup difficultyMediumHard
Min. RAM512 MB256 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metal, snapdocker, binary
GitHub stars★ 36,362★ 4,296
First released20162013
ReplacesDropbox, Google Drive, Microsoft 365Veeam

Why pick each one

Choose Nextcloud if…

  • Feature-rich and extensible
  • Active development and large community
  • Integrates calendar, contacts and office
Nextcloud details

Choose pgBackRest if…

  • Released under the MIT license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Active community (4.3k GitHub stars)
  • Written in C
pgBackRest details

Frequently asked questions

Is Nextcloud or pgBackRest better?

Nextcloud is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider pgBackRest if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are Nextcloud and pgBackRest free and open-source?

Yes. Nextcloud is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and pgBackRest under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Nextcloud and pgBackRest with Docker?

Nextcloud: yes. pgBackRest: yes.

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