BorgBackup: Open-Source Backup Ledger 2026

Part of the Open-Source Backup Ledger (edition 2026-10-02). How the scores work: methodology.

Snapshot

Kind: Backup tool
Licence: BSD-3-Clause
Backer: Community collective led by Thomas Waldmann; commercial hosting by BorgBase
Paid edition or support: No vendor support; BorgBase repository hosting
Latest release: 1.4.5 stable (2026-07-18); 2.0.0b25 (2026-09-27)
Next signal: Borg 2.0 final: new repository format, upgrade path from 1.x
Archetype: Community tool, single lead
Evidence grade: A. Release dates verified against GitHub; one say-do row (1.4.4 in March 2024, before 1.4.0) is inconsistent in the research file.

Scope of the scores: A backup tool, not a platform: it has no central server, scheduler of its own (borgmatic adds one) or hypervisor integration.

Scorecard

Dimension	Score	Direction
Capability today	53.2 / 100	higher is better
Momentum since end of 2022	+0.0 points	higher is better
Credibility	18.5 / 25	higher is better
Sustainability risk	9.5 / 25	lower is better
Technical lock-in	5.5 / 25	lower is better
Support and ecosystem	13.0 / 20	higher is better
AI leverage	1.0 / 20	higher is better
Ledger Index	54.4 / 100	balanced weights

Capability by domain

Scores 0 to 5 against fixed anchors; total is weighted to 100.

Domain (weight)	2016	2019	2022	Today
Virtual and physical servers (12)	2	2	2	2
Databases and applications (12)	1	2	2	2
Recovery (14)	3	3	3	3
Cyber resilience (14)	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5
Storage efficiency and targets (10)	3	3	3	3
Long-term retention and tape (6)	3	3	3	3
Replication and DR (10)	n/a	2.5	2.5	2.5
Security and compliance (8)	3	3	3.5	3.5
New-platform support (VMware exit) (8)	1	1	1	1
Management at scale and automation (6)	2	3	3	3
Total / 100	43.8	52.4	53.2	53.2

Year by year: 2016: 43.8 · 2017: 43.8 · 2018: 43.8 · 2019: 52.4 · 2020: 53.2 · 2021: 53.2 · 2022: 53.2 · 2023: 53.2 · 2024: 53.2 · 2025: 53.2 · 2026: 53.2

What moved the score

Year	Domain	Change	Points	Trigger
2019	Databases and applications	1 → 2	+2.4	borgmatic database hooks (logical dumps)
2019	Management at scale and automation	2 → 3	+1.2	borgmatic declarative configuration; JSON output
2020	Security and compliance	3 → 3.5	+0.8	Independent security audit published

Direction, 2023 to 2026

Each item carries one theme and one driver (V vision, C customer need, M market window, U upstream, P portfolio).

Date	Item	Theme	Driver
2023-03	1.2.4 maintenance release	D12 Packaging and licensing	C
2024	Python 3.12 support	D12 Packaging and licensing	U
2024-07	1.4.0 stable series	D12 Packaging and licensing	C
2026-09	2.0 beta 25: borg transfer, new crypto	D6 Replication and DR	V

Centre of gravity: Packaging and licensing (3), Replication and DR (1)
Driver mix: Vision 25%, Customer need 50%, Market window 0%, Upstream 25%, Portfolio 0%

Credibility: 18.5 / 25

Criterion	Score	Basis
Cadence	3.5	Regular 1.x releases, but 2.0 in beta since 2022
Roadmap transparency	4.5	Public milestones and issues
Say-do	3	5 of 6 shipped; Borg 2.0 GA pending after 4.5 years of betas
Velocity	3.5	Steady
Lifecycle stability	4	1.x maintained alongside 2.0 development

Say-do record, 2023 to 2026: 6 items: 5 shipped (1.4 series, Python 3.12, borgmatic hooks, 'borg transfer' in betas); Borg 2.0 final still pending after 25 betas.

Sustainability risk: 9.5 / 25 (lower is better)

Criterion	Score	Basis
Maintainer concentration	3.5	Lead maintainer writes 41 to 77% of commits
Backer health	3	No company; hosting ecosystem only
Licence-change risk	1	Permissive, distributed copyright
Abandonment signs	1	Active
Security response	1	Audited, active fixes

Project health: 13,796 stars; 214 open issues (median 59 days), 35 open PRs (20 days). Distinct authors fell to 2 in 2025 sample, 5 in 2026.

Technical lock-in: 5.5 / 25 (lower is better)

Criterion	Score	Basis
Formats	2.5	Own repository format
Export path	1.5	Extract or FUSE mount
Stack coupling	0.5	Standalone CLI
Hardware / cloud coupling	0	Any storage reachable by SSH or locally
Skills and tooling coupling	1	Common Linux skills

Support and ecosystem: 13.0 / 20

Criterion	Score	Basis
Paid support	2	Hosting providers, no vendor support
Consultants and partners	2.5	Widely used by consultancies
Documentation	4	Thorough versioned docs
Community and packaging	4.5	In every distribution; borgmatic, Vorta and web tools around it

AI leverage: 1 / 20

Strand	Today	Latest step
AI for protection / protecting AI	0	none
AI platform stack	0	none
AI-assisted operations	0	none
Agent openness	1	2022: JSON output on all commands

No AI features.

Reading

Borg is a trusted, audited deduplicating backup tool with append-only repositories, widely packaged and used. It needs borgmatic or scripts to act like a backup system, has no object-storage target in 1.x and no Windows client, and its next major version has been in beta since 2022.

Open questions and evidence caveats

Borg 2.0 changes the repository format; plan the upgrade path.
Object storage arrives only with Borg 2.