Nextcloud vs Velero

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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FeatureNextcloudVelero
CategoryFile Sync & StorageBackup & Recovery
LicenseAGPL-3.0Apache-2.0
LanguagePHPGo
Setup difficultyMediumHard
Min. RAM512 MB256 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metal, snapkubernetes, helm
GitHub stars★ 36,362★ 10,187
First released20162017
ReplacesDropbox, Google Drive, Microsoft 365Kasten K10

Why pick each one

Choose Nextcloud if…

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

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
Velero details

Frequently asked questions

Is Nextcloud or Velero better?

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

Are Nextcloud and Velero free and open-source?

Yes. Nextcloud is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Velero under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Nextcloud and Velero with Docker?

Nextcloud: yes. Velero: check the project docs for container support.

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