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restic vs Kopia

restic lands on Depends, and Kopia lands on Worth it.

restic

restic.net

Depends
Confidence: Medium

Use it if you're technical and want free, encrypted, deduplicated backups to any storage backend.

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Kopia

kopia.io

Worth it
Confidence: Medium

Free, fast, encrypted open-source backup that technical users and self-hosters love.

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restic versus Kopia
CompareresticKopia
VerdictDependsWorth it
Best forSelf-hosters and homelab adminsSelf-hosters and NAS owners
Who it's not forNon-technical users wanting point-and-click backupsNon-technical users wanting set-and-forget backups . use Backblaze or Time Machine
PrivacyNo known public vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.⁹Encrypted by default; one critical server RCE (CVE-2026-45695) fixed in 0.23.0 . run the latest version.
Support qualityCommunity forum only, no vendorCommunity forums only; no paid support
Public sentimentHomelab and developer communities widely praise restic's encryption and snapshot model, with GUI polish the recurring complaint.³Overwhelmingly positive among self-hosters and technical users who praise its speed, with a minority reporting defaults and performance issues.14
Biggest gotchaNo vendor support; the community forum is your helpdesk⁷Patch to 0.23.0+ before running Kopia server; unauthenticated RCE (CVE-2026-45695)

Pick restic when

  • Self-hosters and homelab admins
  • Developers scripting server backups
  • Kubernetes data protection
  • Encrypted backups to S3/cloud

When restic is not a fit

  • Non-technical users wanting point-and-click backups
  • Teams needing vendor SLA support contracts
  • Anyone unwilling to maintain backup scripts
  • Windows users wanting a polished restore GUI

Pick Kopia when

  • Self-hosters and NAS owners
  • Multi-OS households and small offices
  • Developers backing up to S3/B2
  • Privacy-focused users wanting encrypted dedup

When Kopia is not a fit

  • Non-technical users wanting set-and-forget backups . use Backblaze or Time Machine
  • Businesses needing vendor SLAs and support contracts
  • Anyone who won't promptly patch an internet-exposed Kopia server
  • Guess: enterprises needing certified compliance and managed backup

Sources

  1. restic · Backups done right! (official)restic.net
    official
  2. Restic: Backups done right . Hacker Newsnews.ycombinator.com
    review
  3. Restic - Backups Done Right . Hacker Newsnews.ycombinator.com
    review
  4. Restic backups done right: encryption, retention, browsing . Vantaxvantax.eu
    review
  5. 25 Free and Open-source Data Backup Solutions . Medevelmedevel.com
    news
  6. Restic Backups wrapper scripts . GitLabgitlab.com
    review
  7. restic forum (community support)forum.restic.net
    news
  8. Cloudron adds restic backup backendforum.cloudron.io
    news
  9. restic security pagerestic.net
    security
  10. autorestic vs rustic comparison . LibHuntlibhunt.com
    news
  11. Restic backup strategy with Healthchecks.ionerdyarticles.com
    review
  12. Kopia official sitekopia.io
    official
  13. Kopia GitHub repositorygithub.com
    official
  14. Kopia is brilliant : r/selfhostedreddit.com
    review
  15. Kopia is by far the fastest backup tool . LowEndTalklowendtalk.com
    review
  16. MakeUseOf: open-source backup reviewmakeuseof.com
    review