Duplicati vs Arq Backup
A detailed comparison to help you choose between Duplicati and Arq Backup.
Quick Verdict
4.0/5
Duplicati
0 reviews
4.0/5
Arq Backup
0 reviews
Both Duplicati and Arq Backup are equally rated at 4.0/5. Duplicati is a free, open source backup client that stores encrypted, compressed backups to local drives or cloud storage (S3, B2, Google Drive, OneDrive, and more). Web-based UI. Arq Backup sends encrypted backups to your own S3, B2, Wasabi, or Google Drive. No subscription to Arq cloud — you own the destination. One-time purchase for macOS and Windows.
Duplicati Free open source backup to any cloud storage | Arq Backup Mac and Windows backup to your own cloud | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Rating | 4.0 (0 reviews) | 4.0 (0 reviews) |
| Pricing model | freemium | one-time purchase + optional subscription (Arq Premium is subscription) |
| Starting price | Free tier available✓ | From $59.99/mo |
| Best for | Home users and small businesses wanting free, encrypted, bring-your-own-storage backups with a GUI and a scriptable CLI | Mac and Windows users who want a one-time-purchase backup app sending encrypted, versioned backups to their own cloud or NAS storage |
| Features | ||
| IPv6 | ✓ | |
| DDoS protection | ✓ | |
| Automated backups | ✓ | |
| Snapshots | ✓ | |
| Managed option | ||
| Bare metal | ||
| GPU available | ||
| S3-compatible | ||
| Hourly billing | ✓ | |
| Free tier | ✓ | |
| Tags | ||
| Tags | free tieropen source | encryptedself hosted |
| Visit Duplicati → | Visit Arq Backup → | |
Duplicati
Pros
- + Client is completely free (MIT core) — you only pay your storage provider
- + Client-side AES-256/GPG encryption with keys that never leave your machine
- + Wide backend coverage: S3, B2, Azure, Google Drive, OneDrive, MEGA, Storj, WebDAV, SFTP, FTP and more
- + Incremental backups, deduplication, compression and scheduling keep storage costs low
- + Cheap tenant backup for Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace at $0.50 per user per month
Cons
- - Local metadata database can desync after interrupted runs; repair on large sets is slow
- - Years of 2.x beta left a mixed reliability reputation that newer releases have had to overcome
- - Free-tier support is community-only (forum, GitHub issues); priority support is a paid console feature
- - Open-core split: parts of the repository (console stack) are under the company's license, not MIT
Arq Backup
Pros
- + One-time $59.99 per-computer license with an optional, genuinely optional updates subscription
- + Backs up to storage you own — S3, B2, Wasabi, Google Drive, SFTP, NAS and other S3-compatible targets
- + End-to-end encryption with keys that never leave your machine
- + Open, documented backup format — restores do not depend on the vendor existing
Cons
- - macOS and Windows desktops only — no Linux or server agent
- - Destination storage, request and egress costs are separate and ongoing
- - File backup only: no disk imaging or bare-metal recovery
- - Small-company support with no published SLA
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