Velero vs rsnapshot
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?
Velero
Backup and migrate Kubernetes cluster resources
VS
rsnapshot
Filesystem snapshot utility based on rsync
| Feature | Velero | rsnapshot |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Perl |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | kubernetes, helm | binary, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 10,187 | ★ 3,662 |
| First released | 2017 | 2003 |
| Replaces | Kasten K10 | Time Machine |
Why pick each one
Choose Velero if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Mature project with 10.2k GitHub stars
- Written in Go
Choose rsnapshot if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Active community (3.7k GitHub stars)
- Written in Perl
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Velero or rsnapshot better?
Neither is universally better. Velero has the larger community, while rsnapshot is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Velero and rsnapshot free and open-source?
Yes. Velero is licensed under Apache-2.0 and rsnapshot under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Velero and rsnapshot with Docker?
Velero: check the project docs for container support. rsnapshot: check the project docs for container support.