Deja Dup vs Tarsnap GUI
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted backup & recovery options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Deja Dup | Tarsnap GUI |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | GPL-3.0 | BSD-2-Clause |
| Language | Vala | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | binary | binary, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 600 | ★ 251 |
| First released | 2008 | 2016 |
| Replaces | Time Machine, Backblaze | Backblaze |
What are Deja Dup and Tarsnap GUI?
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
Tarsnap GUI
Tarsnap GUI is a cross-platform graphical client for the Tarsnap secure online backup service, making encrypted deduplicated backups accessible without the command line. It manages archives, scheduling, and restores through a desktop interface.
- Tarsnap archive management
- Scheduling support
- Encrypted deduplicated backups
- Cross-platform UI
Deja Dup vs Tarsnap GUI: key differences
Deja Dup is written in Vala, while Tarsnap GUI is built with C++. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for Deja Dup versus BSD-2-Clause for Tarsnap GUI. Tarsnap GUI is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Deja Dup. Deja Dup is the more established project (first released 2008), while Tarsnap GUI arrived in 2016. Deja Dup has the considerably larger community, at 600 GitHub stars versus 251.
Why pick each one
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
Choose Tarsnap GUI if…
- Released under the BSD-2-Clause license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in C++
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Watch out for
- Tarsnap service is paid
- Requires Tarsnap CLI
Frequently asked questions
Is Deja Dup or Tarsnap GUI better?
Neither is universally better. Deja Dup has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Deja Dup and Tarsnap GUI free and open-source?
Yes. Deja Dup is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Tarsnap GUI under BSD-2-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Deja Dup and Tarsnap GUI with Docker?
Deja Dup: check the project docs for container support. Tarsnap GUI: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Deja Dup or Tarsnap GUI?
Tarsnap GUI has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Deja Dup. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.