Software Alternatives & Reviews

Restic VS FreeFileSync

Compare Restic VS FreeFileSync and see what are their differences

Restic logo Restic

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

FreeFileSync logo FreeFileSync

FreeFileSync is a free open source data backup software that helps you synchronize files and folders on Windows, Linux and macOS.
  • Restic Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-07-22
  • FreeFileSync Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-24

Restic videos

Making Backups From The Linux Command Line: Restic Review

More videos:

  • Review - Using Restic for backups - Quick and Easy

FreeFileSync videos

Simple, Fast, Automated File Backup [FREE] | 2020 [FreeFileSync]

More videos:

  • Review - FreeFileSync: Tips and Tricks
  • Review - FreeFileSync: RealTimeSync
  • Review - FreeFileSync: Folder Comparison and Synchronization

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Restic and FreeFileSync)
Backup
100 100%
0% 0
File Sharing And Backup
28 28%
72% 72
Backup And Disaster Recovery
Cloud Storage
37 37%
63% 63

User comments

Share your experience with using Restic and FreeFileSync. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Restic and FreeFileSync

Restic Reviews

25 Outstanding Backup Utilities for Linux Systems in 2020
Restic is a free open source, efficient, easy-to-use, fast and secure command-line based backup program. It is designed to secure backup data against attackers, in any kind of storage environment.
Source: www.tecmint.com

FreeFileSync Reviews

15 Best Rclone Alternatives 2022
As a result, FreeFileSync helps speed up backup procedures by comparing source and target folders and just copying what is needed rather than copying everything. Additional synchronization options are available via the command line just like with rclone.
The 5 Best File Syncing Apps
FreeFileSync is useful for individuals and businesses for comparing multiple folders and synchronizing folders. It provides a robust backup solution. Choose to sync folders in real time, sync on a schedule, or run the sync program at startup.
Review of the File Synchronization Tools
FreeFileSync is a folder comparison and synchronization software, which can create and manage backup copies of all important files. FreeFileSync does not need to copy every file every time but determines the difference between the source folder and the destination folder and transfers only the minimum amount of data required. FreeFileSync is open source software, which can...
8 best Windows 10 file sync software
User feedback: “After wasting $40+ dollars on a competitor’s product, I tried out Freefilesync. FreefileSync was able to compare hundreds of thousands of files […] in 10 minutes, which was taking the competitor’s product over 3 hours.”
12 Free File and Folder Synchronization Tools for windows
Enhanced for maximum performance, FreeFileSync is an open source tool that assists you to sync files and folders for different operating systems like, Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. It comes with a simplified interface and offers an optimized usability. Using this tool you can compare data by date, size or content. You simply need to drag and drop the folders you want to...
Source: thegeekpage.com

Social recommendations and mentions

FreeFileSync might be a bit more popular than Restic. We know about 203 links to it since March 2021 and only 183 links to Restic. 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.

Restic mentions (183)

  • Ask HN: What is your approach for managing personal digital assets?
    I religiously use Google contacts. It's the simplest way to keep people contacts up to date on Android. I archive all important documents in specific folders by subject and date. This is backed up to back blaze with restic. https://restic.net/ I use https://ente.io for pictures. I convinced my wife to use it, and she agreed to auto share her photos so I don't nag her for copies. It had simple import from Facebook... - Source: Hacker News / about 1 month ago
  • Rclone syncs your files to cloud storage
    You might be interested in https://restic.net :). - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
  • Duplicity
    After Borg, I switched to Restic: https://restic.net/ AFAIK, the only difference is that Restic doesn't require Restic installed on the remote server, so you can efficiently backup to things like S3 or FTP. Other than that, both are fantastic. - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
  • Duplicity
    +1 for restic. I tried various solutions and restic is the best by far. So fast, so reliable. https://restic.net/. - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
  • best backup for ubuntu ?
    I use and recommend restic. I use it for about 60 machines on my LAN, and it's absolutely fantastic. Source: 5 months ago
View more

FreeFileSync mentions (203)

  • Ask HN: What Underrated Open Source Project Deserves More Recognition?
    FreeFileSync https://freefilesync.org/ I have been a happy user for years and have made a donation too. - Source: Hacker News / about 2 months ago
  • Which synchronization tool are you using together with the pCloud Crypto Folder?
    FreeFileSync messed up my pCloud database a couple times at first (causing disappearing files in the Crypto Folder, mirroring of the same files over and over again). Pcloud support provided an easy way to fix the database. To fix the root cause, one needs to exclude FreeFileSync's temporary files from the backup: pCloud Drive > Settings > Backup/Sync Exclusions, exclude sync.ffs_lock and *.ffs_tmp. Source: 5 months ago
  • Why are file backups so slow on Windows 11?
    As per Apprehensive_Arm_754 answer below, https://freefilesync.org is the solution to my particular problem, since it allows all kind of simple rules and logic to apply, so I can make sure that the copy only happens in one direction, and only ever by file date etc. Much appreciated. Source: 5 months ago
  • Why are file backups so slow on Windows 11?
    I use this one: https://freefilesync.org. Source: 5 months ago
  • Is it possible to sync Calibre configuration between Mac and Windows continuously?
    It was me, I'd probably play around with setting up shared folders of preferences and plug-ins and whatnot on something like dropbox or Google Drive. There are various folder sinking tools on both platforms such as free file sync on Windows. Since they are two completely different platforms, I don't know how interchangeable some of the preferences or plugins would be. I haven't used a Mac in a 100 years. Source: 6 months ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Restic and FreeFileSync, you can also consider the following products

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

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.

Borg Backup - Deduplicating backup program with compression and authenticated encryption

Syncthing - Syncthing replaces proprietary sync and cloud services with something open, trustworthy and...

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

GoodSync - GoodSync provides highly reliable file backup and synchronization for both individuals and businesses.