Restic Browser vs Velero
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted backup & recovery options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Restic Browser
Desktop app to browse and restore Restic snapshots
VS
Velero
Backup and migrate Kubernetes cluster resources
| Feature | Restic Browser | Velero |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | binary | kubernetes, helm |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,275 | ★ 10,187 |
| First released | 2022 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Time Machine | Kasten K10 |
Why pick each one
Choose Restic Browser if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (1.3k GitHub stars)
- Written in TypeScript
Choose Velero if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Mature project with 10.2k GitHub stars
- Written in Go
Frequently asked questions
Is Restic Browser or Velero better?
Neither is universally better. Velero has the larger community, while Restic Browser is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Restic Browser and Velero free and open-source?
Yes. Restic Browser is licensed under MIT and Velero under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Restic Browser and Velero with Docker?
Restic Browser: check the project docs for container support. Velero: check the project docs for container support.