Rdiffweb vs Rustic
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted backup & recovery options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Rdiffweb | Rustic |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Python | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 200 | ★ 3,273 |
| First released | 2014 | 2022 |
| Replaces | CrashPlan | Backblaze, CrashPlan |
What are Rdiffweb and Rustic?
Rdiffweb
Rdiffweb is a web application used to browse and restore data from rdiff-backup repositories. It provides email notifications, quota management, and multi-user access.
- Browse rdiff-backup repos
- Email notifications
- Per-user quotas
Rustic
Rustic is a backup tool written in Rust that creates fast, encrypted, and deduplicated backups. It is fully compatible with Restic repositories while offering lower memory usage.
- Restic-compatible repositories
- Low memory footprint
- Cold storage support
Rdiffweb vs Rustic: key differences
Rdiffweb is written in Python, while Rustic is built with Rust. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for Rdiffweb versus Apache-2.0 for Rustic. Rustic is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Rdiffweb. Rdiffweb is the more established project (first released 2014), while Rustic arrived in 2022. Rustic has the considerably larger community, at 3,273 GitHub stars versus 200. Rdiffweb lists first-class Docker deployment; Rustic does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Rdiffweb if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Python
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Choose Rustic if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Active community (3.3k GitHub stars)
- Written in Rust
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Rdiffweb or Rustic better?
Neither is universally better. Rustic has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Rdiffweb and Rustic free and open-source?
Yes. Rdiffweb is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Rustic under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Rdiffweb and Rustic with Docker?
Rdiffweb: yes. Rustic: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Rdiffweb or Rustic?
Rustic has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Rdiffweb. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.