#15 of 16 open-source backup tools · Updated October 2026
BackupPC review 2026
BackupPC · Revived, low velocity
BackupPC ranks #15 of 16 open-source backup tools in the Open-Source Backup Ledger 2026, with a Ledger Index of 33.9 out of 100. BackupPC still does what it always did: agentless file backup of many machines into a deduplicated pool with a web console.
Scores
Source: Open-Source Backup Ledger 2026, edition 2026-10-02. How each score works: methodology.
Pros
No domain scores 4 or higher out of 5.
Cons
- Databases and applications1/5
- Replication and DR1/5
- New-platform support (VMware exit)1/5
What the Ledger says
BackupPC still does what it always did: agentless file backup of many machines into a deduplicated pool with a web console. It has had no stable release since 2020, survives on one volunteer, and plans no new features. Fine where it already runs; not a choice for new enterprise deployments.
No AI features.
Capability by area
Buying, lock-in and release record
Buying and licence (sustainability risk)(lower is better)
- Maintainer concentration4.5
- One volunteer maintainer
- Backer health4
- No organisation behind it
- Licence-change risk1
- GPLv3 with distributed copyright
- Abandonment signs4
- No stable release in six years; issues median age 1,597 days
- Security response3.5
- No security process
Technical lock-in(lower is better)
- Formats2.5
- Own content-addressed pool format
- Export path1.5
- BackupPC_tarCreate extracts files
- Stack coupling1.5
- Perl daemon with Apache CGI
- Hardware / cloud coupling0
- Local POSIX filesystem
- Skills and tooling coupling2.5
- Perl and legacy skills
Release credibility
- Cadence1
- No stable release since June 2020
- Roadmap transparency2.5
- Public GitHub
- Say-do2
- 4 items: 1 shipped, 1 partial, 1 pending, 1 dropped
- Velocity1
- 0 commits in 2023, 3 in 2026
- Lifecycle stability2
- Kept buildable mainly by distribution maintainers
Partners and services
- Paid support0.5
- None
- Consultants and partners1
- Informal administrators only
- Documentation2.5
- Manual is complete but dated
- Community and packaging3
- Packaged in Debian and others; 1.6k stars
Alternatives to BackupPC
Questions about BackupPC
Is BackupPC any good?
BackupPC ranks #15 of 16 open-source backup tools in the Open-Source Backup Ledger 2026, with a Ledger Index of 33.9 out of 100. Its weakest are databases and applications, replication and dr, new-platform support (vmware exit).
What are the best alternatives to BackupPC?
The closest by Ledger Index are Burp (35.2), Amanda (31.6), UrBackup (46.7), Bacula (51.8).
How is BackupPC licensed and sold?
One volunteer maintainer.
How much lock-in does BackupPC bring?
BackupPC scores 8 out of 25 on technical lock-in (lower is better). Export path: BackupPC_tarCreate extracts files.
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