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Software · head to head

Clonezilla vs Restic

Clonezilla logo

Clonezilla

Software

Free disk cloning and imaging solution

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Restic logo

Restic

Software

Fast, secure, and efficient backup program

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Clonezilla the destination partition must be equal to or larger than the source partition; 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: Clonezilla covers Disk/partition imaging, Restic covers Content-defined chunking.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Clonezilla and Restic actually diverge.

Attributes where Clonezilla and Restic differ
AttributeClonezillaRestic
PlatformsLinux, WindowsWindows, Mac, Linux
Founded20042014

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 Clonezilla

  • Disk/partition imaging
  • Disk cloning
  • Multicast deployment
  • Multiple file systems
  • Encryption support
  • Unattended mode
  • PXE boot
  • DRBL

Only in Restic

  • Content-defined chunking
  • Cryptographic verification
  • Deduplication
  • Encryption
  • Multiple backends
  • Snapshot management
  • AWS S3
  • Azure

Both cover

  • Linux support
  • Windows support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Clonezilla

  • Bare metal backup and restore of a whole disk or partitionnot Restic
  • Mass deployment of a disk image to many PCs over the networknot Restic

Restic

  • Encrypted deduplicated backups to S3, B2, SFTP and local disk from the command linenot Clonezilla
  • Scripted server backups with snapshot retention policiesnot Clonezilla

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Clonezilla

  • The destination partition must be equal to or larger than the source partition
  • Differential and incremental backup is not implemented
  • Online imaging and cloning is not implemented; the partition being imaged or cloned has to be unmounted first
  • The image format cannot be explored or mounted, so a single file cannot be recovered from an image
  • Recovery media spanning multiple CDs or DVDs is not implemented; the recovery ISO must fit on one disc
  • Clonezilla SE requires a DRBL server to be prepared in advance and the target machine to boot from the network
  • Runs only on x86 or x86-64 processors and needs at least 196 MB of RAM

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

Clonezilla

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Disk cloning
    • Multicast
    • Multiple file systems

Restic

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Content-defined chunking
    • Encryption
    • Multiple backends

Which should you pick?

Choose Clonezilla if

  • You need disk/partition imaging.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows.
  • You also want disk cloning.
Clonezilla review

Choose Restic if

  • You need content-defined chunking.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, Mac, Linux.
  • You also want cryptographic verification.
Restic review

Questions people ask

Is Clonezilla or Restic better?
Neither clearly leads. Clonezilla 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, Clonezilla or Restic?
Clonezilla starts at Free and Restic at Free.
Does Clonezilla or Restic run on more platforms?
Clonezilla runs on Linux, Windows. Restic runs on Windows, Mac, Linux.
Can I use Clonezilla for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Clonezilla best used for?
Clonezilla is most often used for bare metal backup and restore of a whole disk or partition, mass deployment of a disk image to many pcs over the network. Of those, bare metal backup and restore of a whole disk or partition and mass deployment of a disk image to many pcs over the network are not what Restic is typically brought in for.
What can Clonezilla do that Restic cannot?
Clonezilla covers Disk/partition imaging, Disk cloning, Multicast deployment, Multiple file systems. Restic covers Content-defined chunking, Cryptographic verification, Deduplication, Encryption. Both handle Linux support, Windows support.
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