BorgBase vs BorgBackup
A detailed comparison to help you choose between BorgBase and BorgBackup.
Quick Verdict
4.1/5
BorgBase
0 reviews
4.3/5
BorgBackup
0 reviews
BorgBackup is rated higher (4.3 vs 4.1). BorgBase provides managed backup repositories specifically designed for BorgBackup and Restic. Append-only repos, alerting for missed backups, and EU/US storage options. BorgBackup is a free, open source, deduplicating backup program for Linux/macOS with compression, encryption, and deduplication. Pairs with BorgBase for managed repository hosting. Our long-standing pick for self-hosters.
BorgBase Managed backup repositories for BorgBackup and Restic | BorgBackup Open source deduplicating backup — free self-hosted | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Rating | 4.1 (0 reviews) | 4.3 (0 reviews)✓ |
| Pricing model | freemium | free |
| Starting price | Free tier available | Free |
| Best for | Sysadmins, freelancers, and homelabbers running BorgBackup or Restic who want append-only offsite repositories with missed-backup alerting and honest per-GB billing. | Technical users and self-hosters who want deduplicated, encrypted, versioned backups to storage they control, without per-gigabyte vendor fees |
| Features | ||
| IPv6 | ||
| DDoS protection | ||
| Automated backups | ||
| Snapshots | ||
| Managed option | ||
| Bare metal | ||
| GPU available | ||
| S3-compatible | ||
| Hourly billing | ||
| Free tier | ||
| Tags | ||
| Tags | free tiereu datacenterus datacenter | free tieropen sourceself hostable |
| Visit BorgBase → | Visit BorgBackup → | |
BorgBase
Pros
- + Purpose-built for BorgBackup and Restic with append-only mode and end-to-end encryption
- + Free forever tier: 10 GB across 2 repositories with no card and no transfer charges
- + Billed after compression and deduplication; restores and API calls are free
- + Stale-backup alerting (email, Pushover, webhook), quotas, and a full automation API
- + EU and US regions mixable per repository; supports Borg, Borgmatic, and its own Vorta GUI
Cons
- - Only supports Borg and Restic — no image backups, Windows agents, or S3-compatible access
- - No geographic redundancy by design (no backup of your backup) and no published SLA
- - Email-only support from a small company; large custom volumes are an email conversation
- - Requires comfort with command-line backup tooling and manual restore verification
- - Third-party price listings disagree with vendor pages — confirm at checkout
BorgBackup
Pros
- + Deduplication plus per-repo compression makes repeated backups far cheaper in storage than full-image schemes
- + Authenticated encryption with a documented untrusted-server model; append-only mode defends backup history against compromise
- + Free BSD-licensed software with a decade-long public track record and detailed on-disk format documentation
- + Runs against any filesystem or SSH target — no lock-in, no required vendor
- + Mature companion ecosystem: Borgmatic for config-driven runs, Vorta for desktop GUI, BorgBase for hosted repos
Cons
- - Command-line only with no official GUI; keyfile and retention semantics take real learning
- - No native S3/object-storage repository mode in 1.4.x — cloud-object workflows need rclone-style workarounds
- - File-level tool: consistent database or VM backups need hooks or snapshots; no bare-metal restore agents
- - Support is community-based unless you pay for consulting or a hosting provider's SLA
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