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File Storage · head to head

Duplicati vs Infracost

Duplicati logo

Duplicati

File Storage

Free open-source backup with encryption

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Infracost logo

Infracost

Cloud

Cloud cost estimates in pull requests, with governance in the paid tier

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Duplicati no managed service or commercial support; Infracost usage-based resources such as object storage, serverless functions and data transfer have no cost without monthly usage figures supplied by hand, and the documentation warns plainly that engineers otherwise read them as free.
  • They diverge on capability: Duplicati covers AES-256 encryption, Infracost covers Pull request cost diffs.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Duplicati and Infracost actually diverge.

Attributes where Duplicati and Infracost differ
AttributeDuplicatiInfracost
Pricing modelUnknownFree open source tool, then per month by run volume
PlatformsWindows, macOS, LinuxWeb, macOS, Linux, Windows, Docker
CategoryFile StorageCloud
Founded2008Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

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 Duplicati

  • AES-256 encryption
  • Incremental backup
  • Deduplication
  • Multiple cloud backends
  • Compression
  • Web interface
  • AWS S3
  • Azure

Only in Infracost

  • Pull request cost diffs
  • Multi-format parsing
  • Apache-2.0 CLI
  • FinOps policies
  • Automated remediation
  • IDE integration

What people use each for

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

Duplicati

  • Data protectionnot Infracost
  • Disaster recoverynot Infracost
  • Business continuitynot Infracost
  • Ransomware protectionnot Infracost
  • Compliancenot Infracost

Infracost

  • Teams that want an expensive infrastructure change questioned at review rather than discovered on an invoicenot Duplicati
  • Platform groups enforcing tagging so cloud spend can be attributed to a team at allnot Duplicati
  • Organisations adopting FinOps practice without buying a full cloud management platformnot Duplicati
  • Engineers who want a cost figure in the editor while writing the Terraformnot Duplicati

Where each one falls short

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

Duplicati

  • No managed service or commercial support
  • Relies on community support
  • No enterprise features

Infracost

  • Usage-based resources such as object storage, serverless functions and data transfer have no cost without monthly usage figures supplied by hand, and the documentation warns plainly that engineers otherwise read them as free.
  • Splitting production from non-production usage assumptions is not supported in the free usage file, which the docs attribute to a missing project filter, so that separation requires the paid product.
  • The step from 250 to 1,000 dollars a month is large and the Cloud tier includes only ten admin seats, with developer seats charged at a figure that is not published, so the cost for a large organisation cannot be computed from the pricing page.
  • Estimates are list price. Negotiated agreements, committed use discounts and reserved instance economics require SKU-level overrides available only on Enterprise, so the number in the pull request is not the number on the bill.
  • The share of the product covered by the Apache-2.0 licence is shrinking. Checks, automated fixes, policies and agent integrations are all hosted-only, so the permissive licence increasingly protects the estimation engine rather than the product.

Pricing, plan by plan

Duplicati

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Duplicati review.

Infracost

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 1,000 runs a month
    • Terraform, CloudFormation and CDK estimates
    • Community support
  • Starter$250/month
    • 10,000 runs a month
    • Email support
  • Cloud$1000/month
    • Ten admin seats, developer seats charged separately
    • FinOps policies and cost guardrails
    • Dashboards and audit trails
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • SKU-level price overrides for negotiated rates
    • Business unit reporting
    • SSO with SAML group mapping

Which should you pick?

Choose Duplicati if

  • You need aes-256 encryption.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, macOS, Linux.
  • You also want incremental backup.
Duplicati review

Choose Infracost if

  • You need pull request cost diffs.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, macOS, Linux, Windows, Docker.
  • You also want multi-format parsing.
Infracost review

Questions people ask

Is Duplicati or Infracost better?
Neither clearly leads. Duplicati starts at Free and Infracost at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Duplicati or Infracost?
Duplicati starts at Free and Infracost at Free.
Does Duplicati or Infracost run on more platforms?
Duplicati runs on Windows, macOS, Linux. Infracost runs on Web, macOS, Linux, Windows, Docker.
Can I use Duplicati for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Duplicati best used for?
Duplicati is most often used for data protection, disaster recovery, business continuity, ransomware protection. Of those, data protection and disaster recovery are not what Infracost is typically brought in for.
What can Duplicati do that Infracost cannot?
Duplicati covers AES-256 encryption, Incremental backup, Deduplication, Multiple cloud backends. Infracost covers Pull request cost diffs, Multi-format parsing, Apache-2.0 CLI, FinOps policies.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Duplicati: Is Duplicati free?

Yes. Duplicati is completely free and open-source under the LGPL license. There are no premium tiers, trials, or limitations.

Source
Infracost: Is the open source version genuinely useful on its own?

Yes, for estimation. It parses your definitions and produces breakdowns and diffs locally. What it does not do is comment on pull requests, enforce policy or report across an organisation, all of which are hosted-only.

Duplicati: What does Duplicati support?

Duplicati supports zero-trust, fully encrypted backups to local storage, network drives, and cloud services. It includes deduplication and incremental backups.

Source
Infracost: Will the estimate match my cloud bill?

No. It is list price. Committed use discounts, enterprise agreements and reserved instances need SKU-level overrides that sit in the Enterprise tier.

Duplicati: What are the platforms?

Duplicati runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux. It can back up data to local storage, network drives, or cloud providers.

Source
Infracost: Why do my S3 and Lambda resources show no cost?

Usage-based resources need monthly usage values supplied in a usage file or defined centrally. Without them they estimate at zero, which is the documented behaviour and the most common way the tool misleads.

Infracost: Has the licence ever changed?

No. The command line tool has been Apache 2.0 throughout, with no Business Source or AGPL episode, which is unusual in this category.

Infracost: What is a run?

Not defined on the public pricing page, and the run allowance is what separates the free and Starter tiers, so establish the definition before choosing between them.

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