Rclone 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.
Rclone
Sync and copy files to dozens of cloud providers
VS
Tarsnap GUI
Cross-platform desktop front end for Tarsnap backups
| Feature | Rclone | Tarsnap GUI |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 100 · Excellent | 7 · At risk |
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | MIT | BSD-2-Clause |
| Language | Go | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | binary, docker | binary, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 59,925 | ★ 251 |
| First released | 2014 | 2016 |
| Replaces | Backblaze | Backblaze |
What are Rclone and Tarsnap GUI?
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
Tarsnap GUI
Tarsnap GUI is a cross-platform graphical client for the Tarsnap secure online backup service, making encrypted deduplicated backups accessible without the command line. It manages archives, scheduling, and restores through a desktop interface.
- Tarsnap archive management
- Scheduling support
- Encrypted deduplicated backups
- Cross-platform UI
Rclone vs Tarsnap GUI: key differences
Rclone is written in Go, while Tarsnap GUI is built with C++. Licensing differs — MIT for Rclone versus BSD-2-Clause for Tarsnap GUI. Rclone is the more established project (first released 2014), while Tarsnap GUI arrived in 2016. Rclone has the considerably larger community, at 59,925 GitHub stars versus 251. Rclone lists first-class Docker deployment; Tarsnap GUI 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 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
Watch out for
- Tarsnap service is paid
- Requires Tarsnap CLI
Frequently asked questions
Is Rclone or Tarsnap GUI better?
Neither is universally better. Rclone 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 Rclone and Tarsnap GUI free and open-source?
Yes. Rclone is licensed under MIT and Tarsnap GUI under BSD-2-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Rclone and Tarsnap GUI with Docker?
Rclone: yes. Tarsnap GUI: check the project docs for container support.