Open Archiver vs Velero
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?
Open Archiver
Email archiving solution with full-text search and eDiscovery search
VS
Velero
Backup and migrate Kubernetes cluster resources
| Feature | Open Archiver | Velero |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker | kubernetes, helm |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,224 | ★ 10,187 |
| First released | 2026 | 2017 |
| Replaces | — | Kasten K10 |
Why pick each one
Choose Open Archiver if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2.2k GitHub stars)
- Written in TypeScript
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
Frequently asked questions
Is Open Archiver or Velero better?
Neither is universally better. Velero has the larger community, while Open Archiver is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Open Archiver and Velero free and open-source?
Yes. Open Archiver is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Velero under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Open Archiver and Velero with Docker?
Open Archiver: yes. Velero: check the project docs for container support.