rsnapshot vs Sanoid
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted backup & recovery options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | rsnapshot | Sanoid |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 72 · Good | 69 · Good |
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | GPL-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Perl | Perl |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | binary, bare-metal | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,683 | ★ 3,861 |
| First released | 2003 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Time Machine | Time Machine |
What are rsnapshot and Sanoid?
rsnapshot
rsnapshot is a filesystem snapshot utility built on rsync that makes incremental backups of local and remote machines. It uses hard links to keep multiple full backups while saving disk space.
- Hard-link snapshot rotation
- Local and remote backups
- Low storage overhead
Sanoid
Sanoid is a policy-driven snapshot management tool for ZFS filesystems, bundled with Syncoid for snapshot replication. Together they automate ZFS snapshots and offsite backup replication.
- Policy-based ZFS snapshots
- Syncoid replication included
- Automated pruning
rsnapshot vs Sanoid: key differences
Both projects are written in Perl. Licensing differs — GPL-2.0 for rsnapshot versus GPL-3.0 for Sanoid. Rsnapshot is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 128 MB for Sanoid. Rsnapshot is the more established project (first released 2003), while Sanoid arrived in 2014.
Why pick each one
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
Choose Sanoid if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Active community (3.9k GitHub stars)
- Written in Perl
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is rsnapshot or Sanoid better?
Neither is universally better. Sanoid 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 rsnapshot and Sanoid free and open-source?
Yes. rsnapshot is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Sanoid under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run rsnapshot and Sanoid with Docker?
rsnapshot: check the project docs for container support. Sanoid: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, rsnapshot or Sanoid?
rsnapshot has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for Sanoid. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.