Rclone vs Deja Dup
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
VS
Deja Dup
Simple backup tool for the GNOME desktop
| Feature | Rclone | Deja Dup |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | Vala |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | binary, docker | binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 59,925 | ★ 600 |
| First released | 2014 | 2008 |
| Replaces | Backblaze | Time Machine, Backblaze |
What are Rclone and Deja Dup?
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
Deja Dup
Deja Dup is a simple backup tool that hides the complexity of doing backups properly. It supports local, network, and cloud storage with encryption and incremental backups powered by Restic.
- Beginner-friendly GUI
- Encrypted incremental backups
- Local and cloud targets
Rclone vs Deja Dup: key differences
Rclone is written in Go, while Deja Dup is built with Vala. Licensing differs — MIT for Rclone versus GPL-3.0 for Deja Dup. Rclone is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Deja Dup. Deja Dup is the more established project (first released 2008), while Rclone arrived in 2014. Rclone has the considerably larger community, at 59,925 GitHub stars versus 600. Rclone lists first-class Docker deployment; Deja Dup does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Rclone if…
- Works with almost any cloud
- Extremely versatile
- Reliable
Watch out for
- Not a snapshot backup tool
- Command-line focused
Choose Deja Dup if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in Vala
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Rclone or Deja Dup better?
Neither is universally better. Rclone has the larger community, while Deja Dup is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Rclone and Deja Dup free and open-source?
Yes. Rclone is licensed under MIT and Deja Dup under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Rclone and Deja Dup with Docker?
Rclone: yes. Deja Dup: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Rclone or Deja Dup?
Rclone has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Deja Dup. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.