rdiff-backup vs snapper
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted backup & recovery options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | rdiff-backup | snapper |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 65 · Good | 83 · Excellent |
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | GPL-2.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | Python | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | binary | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,267 | ★ 1,171 |
| First released | 2001 | 2011 |
| Replaces | Time Machine | Time Machine |
What are rdiff-backup and snapper?
rdiff-backup
rdiff-backup backs up one directory to another, keeping the latest copy plus reverse diffs for older versions. It preserves permissions, ownership, and special files while working over SSH.
- Reverse-incremental storage
- Preserves file metadata
- Works over SSH
snapper
Snapper is a tool for managing filesystem snapshots on Btrfs and LVM thin volumes. It can create automatic timeline snapshots and roll back the system to a previous state.
- Automatic timeline snapshots
- Btrfs and LVM support
- System rollback
rdiff-backup vs snapper: key differences
Rdiff-backup is written in Python, while snapper is built with C++. Rdiff-backup is the more established project (first released 2001), while snapper arrived in 2011.
Why pick each one
Choose rdiff-backup if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Active community (1.3k GitHub stars)
- Written in Python
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Choose snapper if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Active community (1.2k GitHub stars)
- Written in C++
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is rdiff-backup or snapper better?
Neither is universally better. rdiff-backup has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are rdiff-backup and snapper free and open-source?
Yes. rdiff-backup is licensed under GPL-2.0 and snapper under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run rdiff-backup and snapper with Docker?
rdiff-backup: check the project docs for container support. snapper: check the project docs for container support.