Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Borg Backup VS Duplicity

Compare Borg Backup VS Duplicity and see what are their differences

Borg Backup logo Borg Backup

Deduplicating backup program with compression and authenticated encryption

Duplicity logo Duplicity

Duplicity backs directories by producing encrypted tar-format volumes and uploading them to a remote or local file server.
  • Borg Backup Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-24
  • Duplicity Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-12

Borg Backup features and specs

  • Deduplication
    Borg Backup uses content-based deduplication, which saves space by storing only unique pieces of data. This effectively reduces the storage needed for backups, especially if there are many similar files.
  • Compression
    Borg supports multiple compression algorithms such as zlib and LZMA, allowing users to choose the level of compression that fits their needs and further reduce storage requirements for backups.
  • Encryption
    Borg provides strong encryption using AES256, ensuring that all backup data is securely protected from unauthorized access.
  • Performance
    Borg is designed for speed and efficiency, handling large datasets and producing backups quickly while minimizing resource usage.
  • Open Source
    As an open-source project, Borg is free to use and can be audited for security and reliability by anyone, ensuring transparency and community-driven development.
  • Cross-Platform
    Borg Backup can be used on various operating systems, including Linux, macOS, and Windows (via WSL), making it versatile for different environments.

Possible disadvantages of Borg Backup

  • Complexity
    Borg Backup can be complex to set up and requires a good understanding of command-line operations and backup strategies, which could be challenging for non-technical users.
  • Resource Intensive
    During backup operation, Borg can be resource-intensive, especially CPU-bound during deduplication and compression, which may affect system performance.
  • Limited Front-End Tools
    While powerful, Borg lacks a wide range of GUI tools, which limits its appeal to users who prefer graphical interfaces for managing backups.
  • No Built-in Cloud Integration
    Borg does not have built-in support for cloud storage services, meaning users will need to handle cloud integration manually, which can complicate workflows.
  • Lack of Incremental Restore
    Borg lacks a native incremental restore feature, necessitating restoration of the entire snapshot which may not be efficient for all use cases.

Duplicity features and specs

  • Encrypted Backups
    Duplicity uses GnuPG to encrypt and sign backups, ensuring that data is secure and protected from unauthorized access.
  • Incremental Backups
    Supports incremental backups which only save the changes made since the last backup, reducing storage requirements and speeding up the backup process.
  • Storage Flexibility
    Supports various backends for backup storage including local files, FTP, SCP, Amazon S3, Google Cloud Storage, and others, giving users flexible storage options.
  • Bandwidth Efficiency
    Uploads bandwidth-efficient tar-format volumes using rsync or ssh+rsync, optimizing network usage.
  • Open Source
    Duplicity is open source software, meaning it is free to use and the codebase can be reviewed and modified by the community.
  • Cross-Platform
    Available on various operating systems including Unix-like systems (Linux, macOS) and Windows, making it versatile for different user environments.

Possible disadvantages of Duplicity

  • Complex Configuration
    Has a steep learning curve and complex configuration setup which may be challenging for non-technical users or those new to backup management.
  • Dependency on External Libraries
    Relies on several external libraries such as GnuPG and Python, which may complicate installation and maintenance.
  • Command Line Interface
    Lacks a graphical user interface (GUI), requiring users to operate through a command line, potentially limiting its usability for those unfamiliar with command-line operations.
  • Backup Speed
    Incremental backups can still be relatively slow, especially for large datasets or when using certain storage backends.
  • Restoration Time
    Restoring data can be time-consuming, particularly if multiple incremental backups need to be reassembled to recover the most recent version of files.
  • Limited Community Support
    Though it is open source, the community around Duplicity is smaller compared to more mainstream backup solutions, potentially leading to slower support and fewer third-party resources.

Analysis of Borg Backup

Overall verdict

  • Borg Backup is a strong choice for those seeking a robust, reliable, and secure backup tool. Its features make it particularly suitable for environments where data integrity and storage efficiency are priorities.

Why this product is good

  • Borg Backup is often regarded as a reliable and efficient backup solution due to its advanced features, such as de-duplication, compression, and encryption. It is appreciated for its focus on speed and security, allowing users to effortlessly back up data while minimizing storage costs. The open-source community actively maintains it, ensuring regular updates and improvements.

Recommended for

  • Users in need of secure, encrypted backups
  • Administrators who manage large datasets and want efficient storage
  • Developers and tech-savvy individuals comfortable with command-line tools
  • Open-source enthusiasts who prefer actively maintained projects

Analysis of Duplicity

Overall verdict

  • Duplicity is considered a highly capable backup software, especially appreciated for its encryption and compatibility with multiple storage solutions. However, its command-line nature might present a learning curve for those unfamiliar with terminal operations. Overall, it is well-regarded in tech communities for its flexibility and security features.

Why this product is good

  • Duplicity is a reliable and versatile backup solution that supports encrypted, versioned, and incremental backups. It utilizes the rsync algorithm and supports a wide range of backends, offering secure and confidential data storage over various protocols like FTP, SSH, and cloud services. Its robust encryption ensures data security during transfer and storage. Additionally, it provides command-line functionality, allowing advanced users to automate and customize their backup operations effectively.

Recommended for

  • Tech-savvy users comfortable with command-line interfaces
  • Individuals or organizations needing encrypted backups
  • Users requiring incremental backups and version control
  • Linux users seeking open-source backup solutions

Borg Backup videos

The Borg Backup Project by Manuel Riel

More videos:

  • Review - Thomas Waldmann: Attic / Borg Backup

Duplicity videos

Duplicity Movie Review: Beyond The Trailer

More videos:

  • Review - "Duplicity" (Funny Movie Review)
  • Review - Duplicity Spill Review

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Borg Backup and Duplicity)
File Sharing And Backup
65 65%
35% 35
Cloud Storage
0 0%
100% 100
File Sharing
54 54%
46% 46
Backup & Restore
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Borg Backup and Duplicity

Borg Backup Reviews

We have no reviews of Borg Backup yet.
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Duplicity Reviews

25 Outstanding Backup Utilities for Linux Systems in 2020
Duplicity is a free open source, secure and bandwidth-efficient backup tool based on rsync. It creates encrypted backups of directories in tar-format archives and backs them on the local or remote machine over SSH. When launched for the first time, it performs a full backup, and in subsequent backups in the future, it only records parts of files that have changed.
Source: www.tecmint.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Duplicity seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 12 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Borg Backup mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Borg Backup yet. Tracking of Borg Backup recommendations started around Mar 2021.

Duplicity mentions (12)

  • Restic: Backups Done Right
    Other popular choices include borg, duplicity, and duplicati. After evaluating these and others mentioned in the comments, I ended up using borg with borgmatic to define homelab backups with yaml files that are version controlled in gitea and deployed using ansible. I also use duplicity to back up my sister in laws storefront website to backblaze. I've been quite happy with both.... - Source: Hacker News / 8 months ago
  • Are small ceph clusters viable?
    Overbuilt and OTT? Sure... But this works fantastically for my use case. I have current backups of everything except my media library because of the size of it; my VM's are all backed up to my Synology nightly using Backy2, my application data gets dumped to that same Synology NAS nightly as well, and all of that also gets synced to Glacier deep storage once a week using Duplicity. I'm going to be adding a new ZFS... Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Most used selfhosted services in 2022?
    There are some backup tools in this thread. Duplicati, rsync, restic, Duplicity, Syncthing. Source: over 2 years ago
  • reposting help with bash script
    Here are a couple of projects that implement what you seem to be trying to do: https://duplicity.gitlab.io , https://borgbackup.readthedocs.io/en/stable/index.html# . You could either use them or just look at the scripts for ideas Writing your own script is a great exercise but a robust, historical and conveniently accessible backup system is more complicated. (I personally use rsnapshot to an encrypted drive... Source: over 2 years ago
  • Simple backup tools for Fedora?
    GUI based on https://duplicity.gitlab.io/. Source: over 2 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Borg Backup and Duplicity, you can also consider the following products

Restic - Easy: Doing backups should be a frictionless process, otherwise you are tempted to skip it.

Duplicati - Free backup software to store backups online with strong encryption. Works with FTP, SSH, WebDAV, OneDrive, Amazon S3, Google Drive and many others.

SpiderOak - SpiderOak makes it possible for you to privately store, sync, share & access your data from everywhere.

rsync - rsync is a file transfer program for Unix systems. rsync uses the "rsync algorithm" which provides a very fast method for bringing remote files into sync.

UrBackup - UrBackup is a open source client/server backup system, that through a combination of image and file...

Bacula - Bacula is a set of Open Source, enterprise ready, computer programs that permit you (or the system...