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Backup & Disaster Recovery · head to head

Restic vs Spanning Backup

Restic logo

Restic

Backup & Disaster Recovery

Fast, secure, and efficient backup program

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Spanning Backup logo

Spanning Backup

Backup & Disaster Recovery

SaaS backup for Google Workspace and Microsoft 365

From
$4/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Restic has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • 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; Spanning Backup cloud-only deployment; no on-premise or self-hosted options available
  • They diverge on capability: Restic covers Content-defined chunking, Spanning Backup covers Automated daily backup.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Restic and Spanning Backup actually diverge.

Attributes where Restic and Spanning Backup differ
AttributeResticSpanning Backup
Starting priceFree$4/month
Pricing modelfreesubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWindows, Mac, LinuxCloud SaaS
Founded20142010

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Backup & Disaster Recovery).

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 Spanning Backup

  • Automated daily backup
  • Point-in-time restore
  • Cross-user restore
  • eDiscovery
  • Unlimited storage
  • Admin delegation
  • Google Workspace
  • Microsoft 365

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 Spanning Backup
  • Scripted server backups with snapshot retention policiesnot Spanning Backup

Spanning Backup

  • Cloud-to-cloud backup and disaster recovery for Microsoft 365 applicationsnot Restic
  • Data protection and compliance management for Google Workspace and Salesforcenot 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

Spanning Backup

  • Cloud-only deployment; no on-premise or self-hosted options available

Pricing, plan by plan

Restic

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

Spanning Backup

$4/month
  • Spanning Backup$4/month
    • Daily backup
    • Point-in-time restore
    • Unlimited storage

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.
Restic review

Choose Spanning Backup if

  • You need automated daily backup.
  • You work on Cloud SaaS.
  • You also want point-in-time restore.
Spanning Backup review

Questions people ask

Is Restic or Spanning Backup better?
Neither clearly leads. Restic starts at Free and Spanning Backup at $4/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Restic or Spanning Backup?
Restic has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Restic and $4/month for Spanning Backup.
Does Restic or Spanning Backup run on more platforms?
Restic runs on Windows, Mac, Linux. Spanning Backup runs on Cloud SaaS.
Can I use Restic for free?
Yes. Restic has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Spanning Backup starts at $4/month.
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 Spanning Backup is typically brought in for.
What can Restic do that Spanning Backup cannot?
Restic covers Content-defined chunking, Cryptographic verification, Deduplication, Encryption. Spanning Backup covers Automated daily backup, Point-in-time restore, Cross-user restore, eDiscovery.
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