Velero vs BackupNinja
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
BackupNinja
Lightweight backup configuration and scheduling system
| Feature | Velero | BackupNinja |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Shell |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | kubernetes, helm | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 10,187 | ★ 68 |
| First released | 2017 | 2004 |
| Replaces | Kasten K10 | 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 BackupNinja if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Written in Shell
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Velero or BackupNinja better?
Neither is universally better. Velero has the larger community, while BackupNinja is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Velero and BackupNinja free and open-source?
Yes. Velero is licensed under Apache-2.0 and BackupNinja under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Velero and BackupNinja with Docker?
Velero: check the project docs for container support. BackupNinja: check the project docs for container support.