Rustic vs Tarsnap GUI
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?
Rustic
Fast encrypted deduplicated backup compatible with Restic
VS
Tarsnap GUI
Cross-platform desktop front end for Tarsnap backups
| Feature | Rustic | Tarsnap GUI |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | Apache-2.0 | BSD-2-Clause |
| Language | Rust | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | binary | binary, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,170 | ★ 250 |
| First released | 2022 | 2016 |
| Replaces | Backblaze, CrashPlan | Backblaze |
Why pick each one
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
Choose Tarsnap GUI if…
- Released under the BSD-2-Clause license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in C++
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Rustic or Tarsnap GUI better?
Neither is universally better. Rustic has the larger community, while Tarsnap GUI is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Rustic and Tarsnap GUI free and open-source?
Yes. Rustic is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Tarsnap GUI under BSD-2-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Rustic and Tarsnap GUI with Docker?
Rustic: check the project docs for container support. Tarsnap GUI: check the project docs for container support.