Software · head to head
Restic vs AOMEI Backupper
AOMEI Backupper
Software
Complete backup and restore solution for Windows
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: 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; AOMEI Backupper windows only, covering Windows 7 through 11
- They diverge on capability: Restic covers Content-defined chunking, AOMEI Backupper covers System backup.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Restic and AOMEI Backupper actually diverge.
| Attribute | Restic | AOMEI Backupper |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | free | freemium |
| Platforms | Windows, Mac, Linux | Windows |
| Founded | 2014 | 2010 |
Identical on both: starting price (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 Restic
- Content-defined chunking
- Cryptographic verification
- Deduplication
- Encryption
- Multiple backends
- Snapshot management
- AWS S3
- Azure
Only in AOMEI Backupper
- System backup
- Disk clone
- File sync
- Real-time sync
- Universal restore
- Bootable media
- OneDrive
- Google Drive
Both cover
- Windows support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Restic
- Encrypted deduplicated backups to S3, B2, SFTP and local disk from the command linenot AOMEI Backupper
- Scripted server backups with snapshot retention policiesnot AOMEI Backupper
AOMEI Backupper
- Free disk and file backup on a personal Windows machinenot Restic
- System image and bare metal recoverynot Restic
- Cloning a drive when upgrading to a larger disk on the paid editionsnot Restic
- Scheduled incremental backupsnot Restic
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
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
AOMEI Backupper
- Windows only, covering Windows 7 through 11
- The free Standard edition is licensed for personal use; business use requires a paid edition from $39.95
- Differential backup, cloud backup and system cloning are all withheld from the free edition, which clones data disks only
- The free edition reads from disk more slowly than the paid ones
- Email notifications on Standard are limited to Gmail and Hotmail servers
- Support on the free edition is business hours rather than 24/7
Pricing, plan by plan
Restic
Free- FreeFree
- Content-defined chunking
- Encryption
- Multiple backends
AOMEI Backupper
Free- Professional$40/year
- System clone
- Universal restore
- Real-time sync
Which should you pick?
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.
Choose AOMEI Backupper if
- You need system backup.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Windows.
- You also want disk clone.
Questions people ask
- Is Restic or AOMEI Backupper better?
- Neither clearly leads. Restic starts at Free and AOMEI Backupper at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Restic or AOMEI Backupper?
- Restic starts at Free and AOMEI Backupper at Free.
- Does Restic or AOMEI Backupper run on more platforms?
- Restic runs on Windows, Mac, Linux. AOMEI Backupper runs on Windows.
- Can I use Restic for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Restic best used for?
- Restic is most often used for encrypted deduplicated backups to s3, b2, sftp and local disk from the command line, scripted server backups with snapshot retention policies. Of those, encrypted deduplicated backups to s3, b2, sftp and local disk from the command line and scripted server backups with snapshot retention policies are not what AOMEI Backupper is typically brought in for.
- What can Restic do that AOMEI Backupper cannot?
- Restic covers Content-defined chunking, Cryptographic verification, Deduplication, Encryption. AOMEI Backupper covers System backup, Disk clone, File sync, Real-time sync. Both handle Windows support.