Restic Mailer vs Deja Dup
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted backup & recovery options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Restic Mailer | Deja Dup |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Shell | Vala |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 663 | ★ 600 |
| First released | 2018 | 2008 |
| Replaces | Backblaze | Time Machine, Backblaze |
What are Restic Mailer and Deja Dup?
Restic Mailer
A wrapper around restic that runs backups on schedule and emails detailed success or failure reports. It adds visibility to unattended restic deployments.
- Scheduled restic runs
- Email job reports
- systemd integration
- Unattended backups
Deja Dup
Deja Dup is a simple backup tool that hides the complexity of doing backups properly. It supports local, network, and cloud storage with encryption and incremental backups powered by Restic.
- Beginner-friendly GUI
- Encrypted incremental backups
- Local and cloud targets
Restic Mailer vs Deja Dup: key differences
Restic Mailer is written in Shell, while Deja Dup is built with Vala. Licensing differs — MIT for Restic Mailer versus GPL-3.0 for Deja Dup. Restic Mailer is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Deja Dup. Deja Dup is the more established project (first released 2008), while Restic Mailer arrived in 2018. Restic Mailer lists first-class Docker deployment; Deja Dup does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Restic Mailer if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Shell
Choose Deja Dup if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in Vala
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Restic Mailer or Deja Dup better?
Neither is universally better. Restic Mailer has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Restic Mailer and Deja Dup free and open-source?
Yes. Restic Mailer is licensed under MIT and Deja Dup under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Restic Mailer and Deja Dup with Docker?
Restic Mailer: yes. Deja Dup: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Restic Mailer or Deja Dup?
Restic Mailer has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Deja Dup. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.