Rclone vs resticprofile
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
resticprofile
Self-hosted backup orchestration for Restic repositories
| Feature | Rclone | resticprofile |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 100 · Excellent | 77 · Good |
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | binary, docker | binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 59,925 | ★ 1,425 |
| First released | 2014 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Backblaze | Backblaze |
What are Rclone and resticprofile?
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
resticprofile
Resticprofile is a configuration profiles manager for Restic that simplifies running scheduled backups. It lets you define complex backup workflows in YAML, TOML, or JSON files.
- Profile-based Restic config
- Scheduling integration
- Multiple config formats
Rclone vs resticprofile: key differences
Both projects are written in Go. Licensing differs — MIT for Rclone versus GPL-3.0 for resticprofile. Resticprofile is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 128 MB for Rclone. Rclone is the more established project (first released 2014), while resticprofile arrived in 2019. Rclone has the considerably larger community, at 59,925 GitHub stars versus 1,425. Rclone lists first-class Docker deployment; resticprofile 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 resticprofile if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Active community (1.4k GitHub stars)
- Written in Go
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Rclone or resticprofile 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 Rclone and resticprofile free and open-source?
Yes. Rclone is licensed under MIT and resticprofile under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Rclone and resticprofile with Docker?
Rclone: yes. resticprofile: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Rclone or resticprofile?
resticprofile has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for Rclone. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.