Bareos vs restic
Bareos
bareos.comrestic
restic.netSide by side
| Figure | Bareos | restic |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | €40/mo | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 12 | 2 |
| Spec score · Cloud Backup Services | 9.4 (#1) | 8.4 (#21) |
| Spec score · NAS Backup Software | 9.3 (#1) | 8.4 (#19) |
| Spec score · Backup software | 9.3 (#4) | 8.8 (#25) |
| Spec score · Data Backup Software | 9.2 (#3) | 8.3 (#15) |
| Backup scope | mixed | file |
| Computer backup | Yes | Yes |
| Documentation depth | The documentation covers installation, upgrades, WebUI, plugins, network protocols, encryption, security issues, APIs and release notes. | The manual covers installation, every major backend, backup selection, snapshots, integrity checks, tuning, restore, pruning, encryption, scripting, troubleshooting, design and developer information. |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Licence | The software is released under the GNU AGPLv3 and its source code is public. | restic is open source under the BSD 2-Clause License. |
| Operating systems | Supported server and client platforms listed by the price list include Debian, Fedora, RHEL derivatives, SLES, openSUSE, Ubuntu LTS, FreeBSD, Windows, AIX, Solaris and macOS clients. | The project supports Linux, BSD systems, macOS and Windows. |
| Supported platforms | web,windows,macos,linux,self_hosted | windows,macos,linux |
| Ransomware protection | Yes | No |
| Restore modes | mixed | file |
| Self-hosting | Community binaries and source code are publicly downloadable, while subscription repositories provide maintained vendor packages. | The REST backend can be operated on a machine you control, including a local server or small home device. |
| What it does | Bareos is a networked client-server system for backing up, recovering and verifying data, including deployments running on one computer. | restic is a backup program for files and directories that creates encrypted snapshots and stores them locally or on remote services. |
Plans
Bareos
- CommunityFree
- Subscription€480 a year
- Subscription€480 a year
- Setup Review€800, paid once
- Training€810, paid once
- Consulting€900, paid once
- Basic Support€1,080 a year
- Bareos Health Check€1,800, paid once
- Standard Support€2,850 a year
- Advanced Support€5,700 a year
In their own words
Bareos
Bareos is backup software for computers and servers, with mixed backup scope and restore modes. It includes ransomware protection and supports Linux, macOS, Windows, web, and self-hosted environments. The Community plan is open source, requires no subscription, and provides access to the public repository and complete source code at free. The paid Subscription plan starts at €480 a year and has a minimum of 10 units. Bareos is made by Bareos, founded in 2012 and headquartered in Cologne, Germany. The combination of computer and server backup can suit environments where both kinds of systems need protection. Its listed platform range includes desktop operating systems and web access, while self-hosted use is also supported. Buyers can choose the free Community edition or a paid annual subscription, whose stated minimum is 10 units.
restic
restic is a free, open-source program for backing up files on Linux, macOS, Windows, and BSD. It transfers only changed portions of backed-up files and runs as a single executable without a server or complex setup. Storage options include local repositories, SFTP, REST server, Amazon S3, S3-compatible services, OpenStack Swift, Backblaze B2, Azure Blob Storage, Google Cloud Storage, and rclone. Restic restores snapshots and checks repository metadata or full data integrity. Each repository requires a password, and multiple keys can be managed; losing the password prevents access to stored data. Official binaries are reproducibly built and can be checked with SHA-256 checksums and a PGP signature. The listed backup and restore scope is files. Mobile backup and ransomware protection are listed as unavailable. The latest listed release is restic 0.19.1, released July 5, 2026.