SHSelfHostIndex

Backup tool nono Plakar vs Tarsnap GUI

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?
BA Backup tool nono Plakar Effortless backup with built-in verification and UI VS TA Tarsnap GUI Cross-platform desktop front end for Tarsnap backups
FeatureBackup tool nono PlakarTarsnap GUI
CategoryBackup & RecoveryBackup & Recovery
LicenseISCBSD-2-Clause
LanguageGoC++
Setup difficultyMediumEasy
Min. RAM256 MB128 MB
Deploymentdocker, binarybinary, bare-metal
GitHub stars★ 2,013★ 250
First released20212016
ReplacesBackblaze, CrashPlanBackblaze

Why pick each one

Choose Backup tool nono Plakar if…

  • Released under the ISC license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Active community (2k GitHub stars)
  • Written in Go
Backup tool nono Plakar details

Choose Tarsnap GUI if…

  • Released under the BSD-2-Clause license
  • Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
  • Written in C++
  • Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Tarsnap GUI details

Frequently asked questions

Is Backup tool nono Plakar or Tarsnap GUI better?

Neither is universally better. Backup tool nono Plakar has the larger community, while Tarsnap GUI is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.

Are Backup tool nono Plakar and Tarsnap GUI free and open-source?

Yes. Backup tool nono Plakar is licensed under ISC and Tarsnap GUI under BSD-2-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Backup tool nono Plakar and Tarsnap GUI with Docker?

Backup tool nono Plakar: yes. Tarsnap GUI: check the project docs for container support.

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