rdiff-backup vs Sanoid
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 | Sanoid |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 65 · Good | 69 · Good |
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | GPL-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Python | Perl |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | binary | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,267 | ★ 3,861 |
| First released | 2001 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Time Machine | Time Machine |
What are rdiff-backup and Sanoid?
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
Sanoid
Sanoid is a policy-driven snapshot management tool for ZFS filesystems, bundled with Syncoid for snapshot replication. Together they automate ZFS snapshots and offsite backup replication.
- Policy-based ZFS snapshots
- Syncoid replication included
- Automated pruning
rdiff-backup vs Sanoid: key differences
Rdiff-backup is written in Python, while Sanoid is built with Perl. Licensing differs — GPL-2.0 for rdiff-backup versus GPL-3.0 for Sanoid. Rdiff-backup is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 128 MB for Sanoid. Rdiff-backup is the more established project (first released 2001), while Sanoid arrived in 2014. Sanoid has the considerably larger community, at 3,861 GitHub stars versus 1,267.
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 Sanoid if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Active community (3.9k GitHub stars)
- Written in Perl
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is rdiff-backup or Sanoid better?
Neither is universally better. Sanoid has the larger community, while rdiff-backup is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are rdiff-backup and Sanoid free and open-source?
Yes. rdiff-backup is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Sanoid under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run rdiff-backup and Sanoid with Docker?
rdiff-backup: check the project docs for container support. Sanoid: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, rdiff-backup or Sanoid?
rdiff-backup has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for Sanoid. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.