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File Storage · head to head

Duplicati vs K3s

Duplicati logo

Duplicati

File Storage

Free open-source backup with encryption

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
K3s logo

K3s

Cloud

Lightweight certified Kubernetes distribution in a single binary

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Duplicati no managed service or commercial support; K3s the SQLite default is single-server only; highly available control planes need etcd or an external datastore, which removes much of the simplicity
  • They diverge on capability: Duplicati covers AES-256 encryption, K3s covers Single binary.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Duplicati and K3s actually diverge.

Attributes where Duplicati and K3s differ
AttributeDuplicatiK3s
Pricing modelUnknownOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsWindows, macOS, LinuxLinux, ARM, Self-hosted
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 K3s

  • Single binary
  • SQLite by default
  • Certified conformant
  • Batteries included
  • Low resource footprint
  • Simple install

What people use each for

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

Duplicati

  • Data protectionnot K3s
  • Disaster recoverynot K3s
  • Business continuitynot K3s
  • Ransomware protectionnot K3s
  • Compliancenot K3s

K3s

  • Kubernetes on edge sites and IoT hardware where full clusters will not fitnot Duplicati
  • Development and CI clusters that must start fast and cost nothingnot Duplicati
  • Small production clusters where full Kubernetes is more operations than the workload justifiesnot Duplicati
  • Teaching and learning Kubernetes without cloud spendnot 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

K3s

  • The SQLite default is single-server only; highly available control planes need etcd or an external datastore, which removes much of the simplicity
  • Bundled components such as Traefik are opinionated defaults that larger teams often strip out and replace
  • Removed in-tree cloud provider integrations mean cloud-specific features need external controllers
  • Aimed at small and edge clusters, so very large deployments are better served by a standard distribution

Pricing, plan by plan

Duplicati

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Duplicati review.

K3s

Free
  • K3sFree
    • Full functionality
    • No usage limits
    • Community support

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 K3s if

  • You need single binary.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, ARM, Self-hosted.
  • You also want sqlite by default.
K3s review

Questions people ask

Is Duplicati or K3s better?
Neither clearly leads. Duplicati starts at Free and K3s at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Duplicati or K3s?
Duplicati starts at Free and K3s at Free.
Does Duplicati or K3s run on more platforms?
Duplicati runs on Windows, macOS, Linux. K3s runs on Linux, ARM, Self-hosted.
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 K3s is typically brought in for.
What can Duplicati do that K3s cannot?
Duplicati covers AES-256 encryption, Incremental backup, Deduplication, Multiple cloud backends. K3s covers Single binary, SQLite by default, Certified conformant, Batteries included.

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
K3s: Is K3s free?

Yes. K3s is open source with no licence fee. SUSE sells commercial support around Rancher separately.

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
K3s: Is K3s real Kubernetes?

Yes. It is CNCF-certified conformant, so standard manifests, kubectl and Helm charts work without modification.

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
K3s: Why is K3s smaller than Kubernetes?

It strips legacy, alpha and in-tree cloud provider code, packages everything as one binary, and defaults to SQLite instead of etcd.

K3s: Can K3s run in production?

Yes, and it does, particularly at the edge and for small clusters. For a highly available control plane you need to move off the SQLite default to etcd or an external datastore.

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