Software · head to head
Borg Backup vs Restic
Borg Backup
Software
Deduplicating archiver with compression and encryption
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Borg Backup linux, macOS and BSD only; Windows is not a supported platform; Restic cold storage is not natively supported; restoring from S3 Glacier and S3 Glacier Deep Archive is only available as an experimental feature behind a feature flag
- They diverge on capability: Borg Backup covers Compression, Restic covers Cryptographic verification.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Borg Backup and Restic actually diverge.
| Attribute | Borg Backup | Restic |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | Linux, Mac | Windows, Mac, Linux |
| Founded | 2015 | 2014 |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in Borg Backup
- Compression
- Authenticated encryption
- Pruning
- Mount archives
- SSH
- BorgBase
- rsync.net
- Hetzner Storage Box
Only in Restic
- Cryptographic verification
- Encryption
- Multiple backends
- Snapshot management
- AWS S3
- Azure
- Google Cloud
- Backblaze B2
Both cover
- Content-defined chunking
- Deduplication
- Linux support
- Mac support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Borg Backup
- Deduplicated backups where daily full snapshots would otherwise be expensivenot Restic
- Encrypted backup to a server you do not fully trust, since the server never sees plaintextnot Restic
- Browsing previous versions by mounting an archive over FUSEnot Restic
- Scripted server backups with no agent or daemon to runnot Restic
Restic
- Encrypted deduplicated backups to S3, B2, SFTP and local disk from the command linenot Borg Backup
- Scripted server backups with snapshot retention policiesnot Borg Backup
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Borg Backup
- Linux, macOS and BSD only; Windows is not a supported platform
- Command-line only, with no graphical interface in the project itself
- Version 2.0 is still in beta, so production use means staying on the 1.4 line
- Restoring requires the Borg tooling, since archives are a deduplicated chunk store rather than plain files
Restic
- Cold storage is not natively supported; restoring from S3 Glacier and S3 Glacier Deep Archive is only available as an experimental feature behind a feature flag
- A Windows file whose name contains a character Windows treats as invalid cannot be read by restic and has to be renamed
- Antivirus real-time protection degrades performance on Windows unless the restic binary is added to an exclusions list
- On large repositories the built-in five minute stuck-request timeout fires during file listing and has to be raised manually with --stuck-request-timeout
Pricing, plan by plan
Borg Backup
Free- FreeFree
- Deduplication
- Compression
- Encryption
Restic
Free- FreeFree
- Content-defined chunking
- Encryption
- Multiple backends
Which should you pick?
Choose Borg Backup if
- You need compression.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Linux, Mac.
- You also want authenticated encryption.
Choose Restic if
- You need cryptographic verification.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Windows, Mac, Linux.
- You also want encryption.
Questions people ask
- Is Borg Backup or Restic better?
- Neither clearly leads. Borg Backup starts at Free and Restic at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Borg Backup or Restic?
- Borg Backup starts at Free and Restic at Free.
- Does Borg Backup or Restic run on more platforms?
- Borg Backup runs on Linux, Mac. Restic runs on Windows, Mac, Linux.
- Can I use Borg Backup for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Borg Backup best used for?
- Borg Backup is most often used for deduplicated backups where daily full snapshots would otherwise be expensive, encrypted backup to a server you do not fully trust, since the server never sees plaintext, browsing previous versions by mounting an archive over fuse, scripted server backups with no agent or daemon to run. Of those, deduplicated backups where daily full snapshots would otherwise be expensive and encrypted backup to a server you do not fully trust, since the server never sees plaintext are not what Restic is typically brought in for.
- What can Borg Backup do that Restic cannot?
- Borg Backup covers Compression, Authenticated encryption, Pruning, Mount archives. Restic covers Cryptographic verification, Encryption, Multiple backends, Snapshot management. Both handle Content-defined chunking, Deduplication, Linux support, Mac support.