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5 top picks · 4 audience rankings

Best open source backup software

The best open source backup tool is restic (BSD-2-Clause, 36,851 GitHub stars). Duplicati stands out for the most commits in the last 12 months (2,792), and Kopia stands out for a permissive Apache-2.0 license.

This page also breaks the picks down by team size and use: Kopia leads for small business; restic for enterprise; Duplicati for solo developers and home use.

Updated · data from GitHub, refreshed daily

Top picks

  1. Rank 1:

    restic

    restic/restic

    Fast, secure and efficient backup program with encryption and deduplication.

    Active · last commit Oct 18, 2026

    BackupGo

    Stands out for the most GitHub stars. restic has 36,851 GitHub stars, uses the BSD-2-Clause license and had 644 commits in the last year.

  2. Rank 2:

    Duplicati

    duplicati/duplicati

    Free backup software that stores encrypted, incremental backups on cloud storage and servers.

    Active · last commit Oct 27, 2026

    BackupC#Docker

    Stands out for the most commits in the last 12 months (2,792). Duplicati has 15,172 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 2,792 commits in the last year.

  3. Rank 3:

    Kopia

    kopia/kopia

    Cross-platform backup tool with encryption, deduplication and a web UI.

    Active · last commit Oct 28, 2026

    BackupGoDocker

    Stands out for a permissive Apache-2.0 license. Kopia has 14,511 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 439 commits in the last year.

At a glance

Open source backup software compared

Ranked on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits across the 5 apps in the backup category. Projects with fewer than 12 commits in the last 12 months rank below every more active project.

Top 5 picks compared, data as of Oct 28, 2026
AppStands out forLicenseGitHub starsCommits (12 mo)Last commitDocker image
resticthe most GitHub starsBSD-2-Clause36,851644Oct 18, 2026No
Duplicatithe most commits in the last 12 months (2,792)MIT15,1722,792Oct 27, 2026Yes
Kopiaa permissive Apache-2.0 licenseApache-2.014,511439Oct 28, 2026Yes
BorgBackupa permissive BSD-3-Clause licenseBSD-3-Clause13,8872,249Oct 27, 2026No
Backrestits TypeScript codebaseGPL-3.07,757174Sep 21, 2026Yes

1 of 5 · 5 picks

Top picks

5 of the 5 apps in the backup category.

  1. 1

    restic

    Fast, secure and efficient backup program with encryption and deduplication.

    Stands out for the most GitHub stars. restic has 36,851 GitHub stars, uses the BSD-2-Clause license and had 644 commits in the last year.

  2. 2

    Duplicati

    Free backup software that stores encrypted, incremental backups on cloud storage and servers.

    Stands out for the most commits in the last 12 months (2,792). Duplicati has 15,172 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 2,792 commits in the last year.

  3. 3

    Kopia

    Cross-platform backup tool with encryption, deduplication and a web UI.

    Stands out for a permissive Apache-2.0 license. Kopia has 14,511 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 439 commits in the last year.

  4. 4

    BorgBackup

    Deduplicating backup program with compression and authenticated encryption.

    Stands out for a permissive BSD-3-Clause license. BorgBackup has 13,887 GitHub stars, uses the BSD-3-Clause license and had 2,249 commits in the last year.

  5. 5

    Backrest

    Web UI and orchestrator for restic backups.

    Stands out for its TypeScript codebase. Backrest has 7,757 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 174 commits in the last year.

2 of 5 · 5 picks

Which open source backup tool is best for small business?

For small business, Kopia ranks first (Apache-2.0, 14,511 GitHub stars), followed by restic and Duplicati. Ranked for small business on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses, project websites, recent commits and deploy guides.

  1. 1

    Kopia

    Cross-platform backup tool with encryption, deduplication and a web UI.

    Kopia has 14,511 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 439 commits in the last year. For small business it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license, a project website and a commit in the last 90 days.

  2. 2

    restic

    Fast, secure and efficient backup program with encryption and deduplication.

    restic has 36,851 GitHub stars, uses the BSD-2-Clause license and had 644 commits in the last year. For small business it also scores on an open-source license, a project website and a commit in the last 90 days.

  3. 3

    Duplicati

    Free backup software that stores encrypted, incremental backups on cloud storage and servers.

    Duplicati has 15,172 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 2,792 commits in the last year. For small business it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  4. 4

    BorgBackup

    Deduplicating backup program with compression and authenticated encryption.

    BorgBackup has 13,887 GitHub stars, uses the BSD-3-Clause license and had 2,249 commits in the last year. For small business it also scores on an open-source license, a project website and a commit in the last 90 days.

  5. 5

    Backrest

    Web UI and orchestrator for restic backups.

    Backrest has 7,757 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 174 commits in the last year. For small business it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license, a project website and a commit in the last 90 days.

3 of 5 · 5 picks

Which open source backup tool is best for enterprise?

For enterprise, restic ranks first (BSD-2-Clause, 36,851 GitHub stars), followed by Duplicati and BorgBackup. Ranked for enterprise on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, open-source licenses and recent commits.

  1. 1

    restic

    Fast, secure and efficient backup program with encryption and deduplication.

    restic has 36,851 GitHub stars, uses the BSD-2-Clause license and had 644 commits in the last year. For enterprise it also scores on an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  2. 2

    Duplicati

    Free backup software that stores encrypted, incremental backups on cloud storage and servers.

    Duplicati has 15,172 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 2,792 commits in the last year. For enterprise it also scores on an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  3. 3

    BorgBackup

    Deduplicating backup program with compression and authenticated encryption.

    BorgBackup has 13,887 GitHub stars, uses the BSD-3-Clause license and had 2,249 commits in the last year. For enterprise it also scores on an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  4. 4

    Kopia

    Cross-platform backup tool with encryption, deduplication and a web UI.

    Kopia has 14,511 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 439 commits in the last year. For enterprise it also scores on an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  5. 5

    Backrest

    Web UI and orchestrator for restic backups.

    Backrest has 7,757 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 174 commits in the last year. For enterprise it also scores on an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

4 of 5 · 5 picks

Which open source backup tool is best for solo developers?

For solo developers, Duplicati ranks first (MIT, 15,172 GitHub stars), followed by Kopia and restic. Ranked for solo developers on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits.

  1. 1

    Duplicati

    Free backup software that stores encrypted, incremental backups on cloud storage and servers.

    Duplicati has 15,172 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image, is written in C# and had 2,792 commits in the last year. For solo developers it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  2. 2

    Kopia

    Cross-platform backup tool with encryption, deduplication and a web UI.

    Kopia has 14,511 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image, is written in Go and had 439 commits in the last year. For solo developers it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  3. 3

    restic

    Fast, secure and efficient backup program with encryption and deduplication.

    restic has 36,851 GitHub stars, uses the BSD-2-Clause license, is written in Go and had 644 commits in the last year. For solo developers it also scores on an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  4. 4

    BorgBackup

    Deduplicating backup program with compression and authenticated encryption.

    BorgBackup has 13,887 GitHub stars, uses the BSD-3-Clause license, is written in Python and had 2,249 commits in the last year. For solo developers it also scores on an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  5. 5

    Backrest

    Web UI and orchestrator for restic backups.

    Backrest has 7,757 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image, is written in TypeScript and had 174 commits in the last year. For solo developers it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

5 of 5 · 5 picks

Which open source backup tool is best for home use?

For home use, Duplicati ranks first (MIT, 15,172 GitHub stars), followed by Kopia and restic. Ranked for home use on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits.

  1. 1

    Duplicati

    Free backup software that stores encrypted, incremental backups on cloud storage and servers.

    Duplicati has 15,172 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 2,792 commits in the last year. For home use it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  2. 2

    Kopia

    Cross-platform backup tool with encryption, deduplication and a web UI.

    Kopia has 14,511 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 439 commits in the last year. For home use it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  3. 3

    restic

    Fast, secure and efficient backup program with encryption and deduplication.

    restic has 36,851 GitHub stars, uses the BSD-2-Clause license and had 644 commits in the last year. For home use it also scores on an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  4. 4

    Backrest

    Web UI and orchestrator for restic backups.

    Backrest has 7,757 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 174 commits in the last year. For home use it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  5. 5

    BorgBackup

    Deduplicating backup program with compression and authenticated encryption.

    BorgBackup has 13,887 GitHub stars, uses the BSD-3-Clause license and had 2,249 commits in the last year. For home use it also scores on an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

FAQ

Questions and answers

Still curious? Email info@appsgit.com.

Is restic free?

Yes. restic is open-source software released under the BSD-2-Clause license, so you can self-host it at no cost. You only pay for the server it runs on, and some projects also offer an optional paid cloud plan.

Can I self-host these backup software with Docker?

Yes, 3 of the 5 picks. Duplicati, Kopia and Backrest publish Docker images, so you can run them on a VPS or home server with Docker Compose. The others install from their own packages or source; follow each project's install guide.

Are all of these backup software open source?

All 5 apps on this list are open source. You can self-host and modify each one under its license.

Which of these backup software is the most actively developed?

Duplicati, with 2,792 commits in the last 12 months and a latest release, v2.4.0.1_stable_2026-10-07, from October 2026. Activity is a good sign that bugs and security issues get fixed.

How is this list ranked?

Ranked on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits across the 5 apps in the backup category. Projects with fewer than 12 commits in the last 12 months rank below every more active project.

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