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.
Not the right match-up?
Restic Mailer
Notification wrapper for restic backup jobs
VS
Deja Dup
Simple backup tool for the GNOME desktop
| Feature | Restic Mailer | Deja Dup |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | ★ 661 | ★ 600 |
| First released | 2018 | 2008 |
| Replaces | Backblaze | Time Machine, Backblaze |
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.