Restic vs resticprofile
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted backup & recovery options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Restic | resticprofile |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 99 · Excellent | 77 · Good |
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | BSD-2-Clause | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | binary, docker | binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 36,213 | ★ 1,425 |
| First released | 2015 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Backblaze, Carbonite | Backblaze |
What are Restic and resticprofile?
Restic
Restic is a fast and secure backup program that creates encrypted, deduplicated snapshots to many storage backends. It targets users and admins who want reliable command-line backups. It is deployed as a single binary.
- Encrypted deduplicated snapshots
- Many storage backends
- Fast incremental backups
- Single self-contained binary
resticprofile
Resticprofile is a configuration profiles manager for Restic that simplifies running scheduled backups. It lets you define complex backup workflows in YAML, TOML, or JSON files.
- Profile-based Restic config
- Scheduling integration
- Multiple config formats
Restic vs resticprofile: key differences
Both projects are written in Go. Licensing differs — BSD-2-Clause for Restic versus GPL-3.0 for resticprofile. Resticprofile is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Restic. Restic is the more established project (first released 2015), while resticprofile arrived in 2019. Restic has the considerably larger community, at 36,213 GitHub stars versus 1,425. Restic lists first-class Docker deployment; resticprofile does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Restic if…
- Strong encryption
- Efficient deduplication
- Wide backend support
Watch out for
- Command-line only
- No built-in scheduler
Choose resticprofile 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 Restic or resticprofile better?
Neither is universally better. Restic has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Restic and resticprofile free and open-source?
Yes. Restic is licensed under BSD-2-Clause and resticprofile under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Restic and resticprofile with Docker?
Restic: yes. resticprofile: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Restic or resticprofile?
resticprofile has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Restic. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.