Deja Dup vs Restic alt MiniBackup
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?
Deja Dup
Simple backup tool for the GNOME desktop
VS
Restic alt MiniBackup
Self-hosted backup orchestration for Restic repositories
| Feature | Deja Dup | Restic alt MiniBackup |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Vala | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | binary | binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 600 | ★ 1,381 |
| First released | 2008 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Time Machine, Backblaze | Backblaze |
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 Restic alt MiniBackup if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Active community (1.4k GitHub stars)
- Written in Go
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Deja Dup or Restic alt MiniBackup better?
Neither is universally better. Restic alt MiniBackup has the larger community, while Deja Dup is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Deja Dup and Restic alt MiniBackup free and open-source?
Yes. Deja Dup is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Restic alt MiniBackup under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Deja Dup and Restic alt MiniBackup with Docker?
Deja Dup: check the project docs for container support. Restic alt MiniBackup: check the project docs for container support.