Alternatives to rdiff-backup

Reverse incremental backup that keeps the newest copy as a plain mirror. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.

Replacements

Listings that take over the same core job as rdiff-backup.

  • rsnapshot

    Filesystem snapshot backups using rsync and hard links.

    FreeOpen sourcemacOSLinuxCommand line

    rsnapshot keeps every snapshot as a browsable directory using rsync and hard links, so old versions restore by copying, but it needs a hard-link-capable destination.

  • BorgBackup

    A deduplicating archiver for Linux, macOS and BSD that makes daily backups cost almost nothing beyond the day’s changes.

    FreeOpen sourceLinuxmacOSCommand line

    BorgBackup adds authenticated encryption, compression and deduplication over SSH, but archives are no longer a plain mirror and Windows needs WSL or Cygwin.

  • restic

    A single-executable backup program that makes encrypted, deduplicated snapshots and can send them almost anywhere.

    FreeOpen sourceWindowsmacOSLinuxCommand line

    Restic adds client-side encryption and deduplicated snapshots to local, SFTP and cloud backends, while backups are stored in a repository instead of a plain mirror.

  • Back In Time

    Graphical front-end for incremental rsync backups on Linux.

    FreeOpen sourceLinux

    Back In Time gives a Linux graphical front end to hard-linked rsync snapshots that restore from a file manager, but still has no built-in encryption.

  • Duplicity

    Encrypted, bandwidth-efficient incremental backup to remote storage.

    FreeOpen sourcemacOSLinuxCommand line

    Duplicity encrypts and signs backups for many remote back ends, but uses forward incremental chains that need periodic full backups and make restores slower.

  • Kopia

    An encrypted snapshot backup tool with both a command line and a proper desktop app, pointed at whatever storage you choose.

    FreeOpen sourceWindowsmacOSLinuxCommand line

    Kopia adds end-to-end encryption, compression and a desktop app on Windows, macOS and Linux, though it is still pre-1.0 with possible format changes.

  • bup

    Command-line backup system built on the git packfile format with deduplication and fast incremental saves.

    FreeOpen sourcemacOSLinuxCommand line

    bup stores deduplicated backups in git packfile format with fast incremental saves and handles large files like VM images well, and it is also command line only.

Also worth comparing

These listings name rdiff-backup as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.

  • Disk ARchive (dar)

    Command-line archiver and backup tool with compression, encryption and differential archives.

    FreeOpen sourceLinuxCommand line

    rdiff-backup keeps the newest backup as a plain readable mirror with reverse deltas for history, runs on Windows too, but has no client-side encryption.

Similar software

Related functionality, not a direct replacement.