nxs-backup vs zrepl
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted backup & recovery options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | nxs-backup | zrepl |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 74 · Good | 70 · Good |
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | binary, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 276 | ★ 1,159 |
| First released | 2022 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Veeam | Veeam |
What are nxs-backup and zrepl?
nxs-backup
Nxs-backup is an open-source backup solution that simplifies the backup of files and databases such as MySQL, PostgreSQL, and MongoDB. It supports incremental backups and remote storage.
- File and database backups
- Incremental support
- Remote storage targets
zrepl
zrepl is a one-stop solution for automated ZFS snapshot management and replication. It handles taking snapshots, pruning them per policy, and replicating datasets between machines with a simple daemon and configuration.
- Automatic ZFS snapshots
- Push and pull replication
- Flexible pruning policies
- Single daemon
nxs-backup vs zrepl: key differences
Both projects are written in Go. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for nxs-backup versus MIT for zrepl. Zrepl is the more established project (first released 2017), while nxs-backup arrived in 2022. Zrepl has the considerably larger community, at 1,159 GitHub stars versus 276. Nxs-backup lists first-class Docker deployment; zrepl does not.
Why pick each one
Choose nxs-backup if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Go
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Choose zrepl if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Active community (1.2k GitHub stars)
- Written in Go
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Watch out for
- ZFS required
- YAML configuration
Frequently asked questions
Is nxs-backup or zrepl better?
Neither is universally better. zrepl has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are nxs-backup and zrepl free and open-source?
Yes. nxs-backup is licensed under GPL-3.0 and zrepl under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run nxs-backup and zrepl with Docker?
nxs-backup: yes. zrepl: check the project docs for container support.