Velero vs zrepl
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
zrepl
Automated ZFS snapshot replication and pruning
| Feature | Velero | zrepl |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | kubernetes, helm | binary, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 10,187 | ★ 1,151 |
| First released | 2017 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Kasten K10 | Veeam |
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 zrepl if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Active community (1.2k GitHub stars)
- Written in Go
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Velero or zrepl better?
Neither is universally better. Velero has the larger community, while zrepl is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Velero and zrepl free and open-source?
Yes. Velero is licensed under Apache-2.0 and zrepl under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Velero and zrepl with Docker?
Velero: check the project docs for container support. zrepl: check the project docs for container support.