Obnam2 vs Rclone
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted backup & recovery options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Rclone
Sync and copy files to dozens of cloud providers
| Feature | Obnam2 | Rclone |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | Rust | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | binary, bare-metal | binary, docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 200 | ★ 59,925 |
| First released | 2020 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Backblaze | Backblaze |
What are Obnam2 and Rclone?
Obnam2
Obnam2 is a backup program that splits files into chunks for deduplicated, encrypted storage to a backup server. It is built with a focus on simplicity and verifiable correctness.
- Chunk-based deduplication
- Encrypted storage
- Backup server model
- Simplicity focused
Rclone
Rclone is a command-line program to manage, sync, and copy files across more than seventy cloud storage providers. It targets users moving or backing up data between storage systems. It is deployed as a single binary.
- Supports 70+ cloud providers
- Encryption and mount support
- Powerful sync and copy
- Single self-contained binary
Obnam2 vs Rclone: key differences
Obnam2 is written in Rust, while Rclone is built with Go. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Obnam2 versus MIT for Rclone. Rclone is the more established project (first released 2014), while Obnam2 arrived in 2020. Rclone has the considerably larger community, at 59,925 GitHub stars versus 200. Rclone lists first-class Docker deployment; Obnam2 does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Obnam2 if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Written in Rust
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Choose Rclone if…
- Works with almost any cloud
- Extremely versatile
- Reliable
Watch out for
- Not a snapshot backup tool
- Command-line focused
Frequently asked questions
Is Obnam2 or Rclone better?
Neither is universally better. Rclone has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Obnam2 and Rclone free and open-source?
Yes. Obnam2 is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Rclone under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Obnam2 and Rclone with Docker?
Obnam2: check the project docs for container support. Rclone: yes.