ZFS Autobackup vs zrepl
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted backup & recovery options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | ZFS Autobackup | zrepl |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 65 · Good | 70 · Good |
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | GPL-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | Python | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, binary | binary, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 794 | ★ 1,159 |
| First released | 2012 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Veeam | Veeam |
What are ZFS Autobackup and zrepl?
ZFS Autobackup
zfs-autobackup is a tool for automatically creating and replicating ZFS snapshots between hosts and pools. It handles retention thinning and supports encrypted transfers.
- Automated ZFS snapshots
- Cross-host replication
- Retention thinning
- Encrypted sends
zrepl
zrepl is a one-stop solution for automated ZFS snapshot management and replication. It handles taking snapshots, pruning them per policy, and replicating datasets between machines with a simple daemon and configuration.
- Automatic ZFS snapshots
- Push and pull replication
- Flexible pruning policies
- Single daemon
ZFS Autobackup vs zrepl: key differences
ZFS Autobackup is written in Python, while zrepl is built with Go. Licensing differs — GPL-2.0 for ZFS Autobackup versus MIT for zrepl. ZFS Autobackup is the more established project (first released 2012), while zrepl arrived in 2017.
Why pick each one
Choose ZFS Autobackup if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Written in Python
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Choose zrepl if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Active community (1.2k GitHub stars)
- Written in Go
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Watch out for
- ZFS required
- YAML configuration
Frequently asked questions
Is ZFS Autobackup or zrepl better?
Neither is universally better. zrepl has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are ZFS Autobackup and zrepl free and open-source?
Yes. ZFS Autobackup is licensed under GPL-2.0 and zrepl under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run ZFS Autobackup and zrepl with Docker?
ZFS Autobackup: check the project docs for container support. zrepl: check the project docs for container support.