The best backup tools, according to hackers
19 backup tools were recommended on Hacker News between November 2025 and November 2026. We rank them by how many separate people recommend each one, and 7 earn the Hacker Approved badge.
Top picks
The three most recommended backup tools with the badge. Each figure is 5 people. RecommendsCriticizes One comment
Client-side encryption and deduplication
Free, open-source command-line backup tool with encrypted, deduplicated snapshots that work with many cloud and local storage. Caveat: setup is fiddly and not turnkey.
Reliable in production for years
Free PostgreSQL backup tool praised for physical standby backups, point-in-time recovery, and taking restore validation seriously. Main caveat: concerns about its future maintenance under a permissive license.
Deduplication saves space on backups
Deduplicating, encrypted backup tool that people recommend for space-efficient, verifiable backups. Critics note it is slow and memory-hungry, and needs fussing on some NAS systems.
All 19 backup tools, ranked
Select a column heading to sort. Approval share is recommenders out of everyone who gave an opinion; the tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs. Months counts the months, out of 13, in which someone recommended it.
| Rank | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | restic | 83 | 5 | 94% | 12 | — | Approved |
| 2 | pgBackRest | 32 | 6 | 84% | 6 | 1 yr4 owners | Approved |
| 3 | Borg Backup | 30 | 8 | 79% | 12 | — | Approved |
| 4 | iCloud Photos Downloader | 18 | 4 | 82% | 2 | — | — |
| 5 | Barman | 17 | 3 | 85% | 6 | — | Approved |
| 6 | Snapper | 13 | 1 | 93% | 7 | — | Approved |
| Tied 7 | immich-go | 12 | 1 | 92% | 6 | — | Approved |
| Tied 7 | PhotoSync | 12 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | Approved |
| 9 | Databasus | 9 | 3 | 75% | 4 | — | — |
| Tied 10 | Seedvault | 8 | 9 | 47% | 7 | — | — |
| Tied 10 | icloudpd | 8 | 1 | 89% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 10 | Parachute Backup | 8 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| 13 | Restoredrill | 7 | 1 | 88% | 1 | — | — |
| Tied 14 | Timeshift | 6 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | — |
| Tied 14 | sqlite3_rsync | 6 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
| Tied 14 | WAL-G | 6 | 3 | 67% | 4 | — | — |
| Tied 14 | Photos Backup Anywhere | 6 | 0 | 100% | 1 | — | — |
| Tied 18 | Vorta | 5 | 2 | 71% | 4 | — | — |
| Tied 18 | rustic | 5 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
How we rank
Rank is the number of separate people who recommend a product in a Hacker News comment over the past year. Someone who praises the same backup tool in five threads counts once.
The badge goes to backup tools that at least 10 people recommend, with recommenders outnumbering critics at least 2 to 1, recommended in at least 4 of the 13 months.
Rankings are never for sale. We may earn a commission when you buy through our links. It never changes the order.