Box Backup vs rclone
Box Backup
boxbackup.orgrclone
rclone.orgSide by side
| Figure | Box Backup | rclone |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Data Backup Software | 8.6 (#6) | 8.4 (#11) |
| Encryption | The site says TLS is used to encrypt connections and authenticate servers and clients, while stored file data uses AES and metadata uses Blowfish. | The crypt remote provides client-side encryption, encrypts files before upload and decrypts them after download, and leaves data encrypted at rest in the wrapped remote. |
| Platforms | The installation wiki lists packages for Debian, FreeBSD, Windows, Gentoo Linux, Arch Linux, and RPM-based systems, and source compilation instructions for Linux, Mac OS X, FreeBSD, and Windows. | The downloads page lists builds for Windows, macOS, Linux, BSD variants, Plan 9, and Solaris; Android builds are available but are not first-class builds. |
| Purpose | Box Backup is an open source, automatic online backup system. | Rclone is a command-line program for managing files on cloud storage. |
Plans
In their own words
Box Backup
Box Backup has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.
rclone
Rclone is a free command-line program for managing files on cloud storage. It can back up and restore files, mirror or migrate data, mount storage as a disk, and combine file systems. The project lists more than 70 cloud storage products, including Amazon S3, Google Drive, Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive, and Backblaze B2. Sync options include copying changed files, one-way sync, and two-way bisync. Rclone checks MD5 and SHA1 hashes, preserves timestamps, and can restart operations. Where supported, it transfers between providers without using local disk. It can mount local, cloud, or virtual file systems and serve files over SFTP, HTTP, WebDAV, FTP, and DLNA. Rclone is also available through scripts and an API. Its crypt remote encrypts files before upload and decrypts them after download, but leaves file length and modification time unencrypted. The crypt password in the configuration file is only lightly obscured unless configuration encryption is enabled. The web-based GUI is described as experimental, and Android builds are not yet first-class builds.