Restic vs Arq Backup
A detailed comparison to help you choose between Restic and Arq Backup.
Quick Verdict
4.3/5
Restic
0 reviews
4.0/5
Arq Backup
0 reviews
Restic is rated higher (4.3 vs 4.0). Restic is a modern backup program that uses content-addressable storage, deduplication, and AES-256 encryption. Backs up to S3, B2, Google Cloud, SFTP, and more. No server required. 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.
Restic Fast, secure, encrypted open source backup | Arq Backup Mac and Windows backup to your own cloud | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Rating | 4.3 (0 reviews)✓ | 4.0 (0 reviews) |
| Pricing model | free | one-time purchase + optional subscription (Arq Premium is subscription) |
| Starting price | Free✓ | From $59.99/mo |
| Best for | Developers and sysadmins who want encrypted, deduplicated off-site backups to any storage backend and are comfortable owning key management and operations. | 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 Restic → | Visit Arq Backup → | |
Restic
Pros
- + Free BSD-2-Clause software with no paid tier or usage caps
- + Client-side AES-256-CTR encryption with Poly1305 authentication is always on
- + Content-addressed deduplication: incremental backups and multi-machine repositories
- + Native support for S3, B2, GCS, Azure Blob, SFTP, and REST backends; rclone for the rest
- + Openly documented repository format — no vendor lock-in, portable repositories
Cons
- - No password recovery: lose the repository key and the data is gone
- - Command-line only — scheduling, monitoring, and alerting are external
- - Community support only; no SLA or paid support option
- - Repository maintenance (prune, check) requires operational discipline
- - Pre-1.0 version numbering; the API surface can still shift between releases
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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