Velero vs Rustic
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
Rustic
Fast encrypted deduplicated backup compatible with Restic
| Feature | Velero | Rustic |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | kubernetes, helm | binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 10,187 | ★ 3,170 |
| First released | 2017 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Kasten K10 | Backblaze, CrashPlan |
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 Rustic if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Active community (3.2k GitHub stars)
- Written in Rust
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Velero or Rustic better?
Neither is universally better. Velero has the larger community, while Rustic is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Velero and Rustic free and open-source?
Yes. Velero is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Rustic under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Velero and Rustic with Docker?
Velero: check the project docs for container support. Rustic: check the project docs for container support.