Restic Browser 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 | Restic Browser | Sanoid |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 76 · Good | 69 · Good |
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | Perl |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | binary | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,306 | ★ 3,861 |
| First released | 2022 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Time Machine | Time Machine |
What are Restic Browser and Sanoid?
Restic Browser
Restic Browser is a cross-platform desktop application that lets you explore the contents of Restic backup repositories and restore individual files. It provides a graphical alternative to the CLI.
- Browse Restic snapshots visually
- Restore individual files
- Cross-platform desktop app
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
Restic Browser vs Sanoid: key differences
Restic Browser is written in TypeScript, while Sanoid is built with Perl. Licensing differs — MIT for Restic Browser versus GPL-3.0 for Sanoid. Sanoid is the more established project (first released 2014), while Restic Browser arrived in 2022. Sanoid has the considerably larger community, at 3,861 GitHub stars versus 1,306.
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 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 Restic Browser or Sanoid better?
Neither is universally better. Sanoid 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 Sanoid free and open-source?
Yes. Restic Browser is licensed under MIT and Sanoid under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Restic Browser and Sanoid with Docker?
Restic Browser: check the project docs for container support. Sanoid: check the project docs for container support.