Restic vs rclone: Choosing the Best Backup Solution for You

Picking a backup tool is tough when you’re staring at choices like restic and rclone. Both can handle your files and cloud storage, but they really tackle different parts of your backup routine.

Restic is a dedicated backup program that creates versioned snapshots with encryption and deduplication. Rclone, on the other hand, is a file syncing tool that copies files straight to cloud storage providers—no built-in versioning.

Think of restic as your safety net, keeping multiple versions of your files over time. Rclone’s more like a workhorse, moving big files to the cloud fast. You can even combine them: restic stores backups through rclone to reach dozens of cloud providers.

The main difference kicks in when you delete or change a file. Rclone just mirrors your files, so deleting locally wipes them from the cloud too. Restic creates a new snapshot every backup, keeping your old files around even if you delete them later. So, your choice depends—do you want simple syncing or real backup protection with history?

Key Takeaways

• Restic creates encrypted, deduplicated backup snapshots with version history, while rclone directly syncs files to cloud storage.
• You can use restic and rclone together to get restic’s backup features and access to more cloud providers.
• Restic’s great for backups that need recovery points. Rclone shines when you’re syncing big files to cloud storage.

What Are Restic and rclone?

Restic is a backup program that saves your data in chunks with encryption and deduplication. Rclone is a file copying tool that moves your files between different storage locations.

Both run from the command line, but they approach data protection in their own ways.

Overview of restic

Restic is backup software built to keep your files safe. When you run it, it splits your files into smaller chunks and stores them in a way that saves space using deduplication.

The program encrypts everything before sending it anywhere. Your data stays private, so you don’t need to mess with extra security add-ons.

Restic creates snapshots of your files at different points in time. You can roll back to any previous version when things go wrong or you just want to undo a mistake.

The software works with many cloud services and shrugs off brief connection hiccups. It’s really a backup-first tool that puts your data’s safety first.

Overview of rclone

Rclone is more of a general-purpose file copying tool that syncs your files across locations. It’s like a Swiss Army knife for moving data around.

The program copies files in a 1:1 format to your storage provider. What you see locally is what gets stored remotely—no chunking like restic does.

You can use rclone with dozens of file storage services: cloud providers, network drives, USB sticks, you name it. It’s fantastic for syncing big files or shuffling data between cloud services.

Rclone isn’t mainly backup software, but you can use flags like --backup-dir and --suffix to keep older versions as you sync.

Key Differences in Purpose

The biggest difference? Restic is a backup program. Rclone is a file transfer tool that can help with backups, but it wasn’t built for that.

Here’s a quick comparison:

Feature	Restic	Rclone
Primary purpose	Backups with history	File syncing and copying
File storage	Chunks with deduplication	1:1 copies
Built-in encryption	Yes	Optional
Version history	Multiple snapshots	Limited (with extra flags)

Restic does deduplication automatically. Rclone doesn’t, so restic saves you space when you’ve got duplicate data in your backups.

Need to sync files or move data between cloud services? Rclone is your friend. But if you want incremental backups, encryption, and the ability to restore from different points in time, restic is the way to go. Actually, a lot of folks use both—restic for the backups, rclone for cloud access.

Feature Comparison: restic vs rclone

Restic is built for backups with versioning and deduplication. Rclone’s specialty is syncing files one-to-one with cloud storage.

Backup Methods and Data Handling

Restic splits your files into chunks and stores them in a backup repository using content-addressable storage. When you back up, it creates a snapshot of your files at that moment. Only new or changed chunks get uploaded, so incremental backups are fast and efficient.

This chunking means deduplication happens automatically. Got the same file in two folders? Restic stores it once. If only part of a file changes, restic uploads just those pieces. You can keep tons of snapshots without filling up your storage because old and new snapshots share unchanged data.

Rclone works differently. It just copies files as they are—one file turns into one object in cloud storage. No chunking, no deduplication, no automatic versioning. When you sync with rclone, your backup mirrors your current files. Delete something locally and sync again, it’s gone from the backup too (unless you use flags like --backup-dir).

Encryption and Security

Restic encrypts everything before it leaves your computer. Your backup repository is locked down by default, and you’ll need your password to get anything back. If someone grabs your backup storage, they can’t read your files without your key.

Rclone can encrypt files, but you have to set it up yourself using rclone’s crypt remote. It’s not automatic. Skip that step, and your files just go up to the cloud as-is.

Cloud Storage Support

Rclone connects to over 40 cloud storage providers: Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, S3, Backblaze B2, and more. It’s made for talking to all sorts of cloud APIs, so it’s super flexible for moving data around.

Restic supports popular services like S3, Google Cloud Storage, Azure, and Backblaze B2 natively. But here’s the cool part—restic can use rclone as a backend. That means you can point restic at any rclone remote and get restic’s backup features (snapshots, deduplication, encryption) with rclone’s huge cloud support. Pretty slick, honestly.

Use Cases and Real-World Scenarios

Each tool shines in its own situations. Restic is perfect when you want secure backups with version history and deduplication. Rclone’s better for simple file transfers and sync jobs.

Secure Backup for Personal Files

Backing up your personal documents, photos, and important files? Restic’s got your back. It encrypts everything before upload, so your files stay private even if someone sneaks into your backup storage. Deduplication means you won’t waste space storing the same file over and over.

You might set up restic to back up to a local drive first, then use rclone to copy those backups to cloud storage for extra safety. That combo gives you both speed and offsite protection. Restic also keeps snapshots over time, so you can roll back if you need to.

The tool handles interruptions well. If your internet drops mid-upload, you won’t lose progress or end up with broken backups.

Server Backups with Backblaze B2

Backblaze B2 works great with both tools, but restic is usually the smarter pick for regular server backups. Restic breaks files into chunks and only uploads what changed, saving you money on storage—especially when you’re backing up databases, configs, or code that change a lot.

Setting up restic with Backblaze B2 through rclone is pretty painless. You configure rclone to connect to B2, then point restic at that remote. Your server backups run on autopilot, and you only pay for the actual data stored after deduplication.

For static files like archives or big media files that never change, rclone by itself does the job. It just copies files to B2 without the extra processing restic does.

File Synchronization and Replication

Need to keep files in sync across multiple places? Rclone handles that better than restic. It copies files one-to-one between your machine and cloud storage—perfect for replication.

You can use rclone to mirror entire folders to services like OneDrive, Google Drive, or your own server. The --backup-dir flag lets you keep old versions in a separate folder, giving you some version history without the full complexity of restic.

Rclone doesn’t deduplicate, so it’s not ideal for classic backup tasks. But if you’re just synchronizing or keeping copies of large, unchanging files in different places, it’s the simpler pick.

Working with Cloud Providers and Storage Options

Both tools are great at connecting to cloud storage, just in different ways. Restic handles chunking and encryption while using rclone as a transport layer. Rclone focuses on syncing and transferring files directly to cloud providers.

Supported Cloud Storage Services

Restic works with cloud storage by integrating directly with rclone, giving you access to over 40 cloud providers. That means you can use Amazon S3, Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, and more—even if restic doesn’t natively support them.

Rclone supports these providers on its own. You get direct connections to big names and smaller platforms too. The setup is pretty straightforward with rclone’s interactive process.

When you pair restic with rclone, you really get the best of both worlds. Restic handles backup logic with deduplication and encryption; rclone manages the actual transfer to your cloud provider. This combo just works, because restic chunks your data into smaller pieces that upload reliably.

Nextcloud, Backblaze B2, and More

Nextcloud works with both tools, but each has its quirks. With rclone, you sync files straight to Nextcloud using WebDAV.

Restic can back up to Nextcloud by running through rclone or tapping into Nextcloud’s S3-compatible storage. It’s a nice bit of flexibility if you’re already in the Nextcloud ecosystem.

Backblaze B2 is a favorite for its price and dependability. Here’s how each tool fits in:

• Restic: Native B2 support, just pop in your account ID and app key
• Rclone: Direct integration to sync, copy, or mount B2 buckets as if they’re local drives

Both encrypt your data before it leaves your computer, so your backups stay private. Restic sticks to backups, with snapshots and versioning baked in.

Rclone feels more like a Swiss Army knife, giving you plenty of options for file operations beyond just backing things up.

Server-Side Transfers and Bandwidth Management

Server-side transfers are where rclone really flexes. If you’re moving files between two cloud providers, rclone can do it all in the cloud—no local bandwidth wasted.

This is a lifesaver for big migrations or if you want redundant backups across different providers. Restic doesn’t do server-side transfers; it’s focused on backing up from your machine to storage, encrypting and chunking everything locally.

Got limited bandwidth? Both tools help you out:

• Rclone’s --bwlimit caps upload and download speeds
• Restic picks up bandwidth controls when you use rclone as its backend
• You can set limits in KB, MB, or even as a percentage

These limits let you back up during the day without crushing your internet. Set a cap—say, 5MB/s—and you can keep streaming or working while backups run quietly in the background.

Command-Line Interface and Core Commands

Both tools live in your terminal, but their “languages” are different. Restic gives you backup-centric commands for repositories and snapshots.

Rclone borrows from classic Unix file tools, but adapts them for the cloud. If you’re used to the shell, you’ll probably feel at home with rclone.

Restic’s Essential Commands

Restic keeps things straightforward. The main commands are backup, restore, snapshots, and forget.

Run restic backup to create a new snapshot. Add --dry-run if you just want to see what would happen.

The snapshots command shows you every saved version, which is a lifesaver if you’re hunting down a file from last week. restic restore gets your files back from a chosen snapshot ID.

Use check to verify your repository’s health, and prune to clear out old data after using forget to mark snapshots for deletion.

Here’s a typical workflow:

• restic init – Set up your repository
• restic backup /home/user – Back up your files
• restic snapshots – List backups
• restic restore latest --target /restore – Restore files

You can use mount to browse backups like a regular filesystem. That’s way easier than remembering a bunch of snapshot IDs.

Rclone’s Command Suite

Rclone feels familiar if you’ve used Unix commands. You get copy, move, sync, and delete—they work like cp, mv, and rm, but for cloud storage.

The ls command lists remote files. Need more info? Try lsl for sizes and dates, or lsd to see just directories.

Want a tree view? tree gives you a familiar file hierarchy. Some commands are cloud-specific, like mount (turns cloud storage into a local drive) or ncdu (an interactive disk usage explorer—super handy for tracking down storage hogs).

You can pipe data with cat and rcat for shell pipelines. Rclone’s serve commands let you share remote storage over HTTP, FTP, WebDAV, or even as a restic backend.

The bisync command does bidirectional syncing between two locations, keeping both sides up to date.

Scripting and Shell Integration

Both tools work well in scripts, but their approaches differ. Restic uses environment variables like RESTIC_REPOSITORY and RESTIC_PASSWORD so you’re not typing credentials every time.

Just export them in your shell profile and get on with your day. Rclone stores configs in a file you set up once with rclone config.

After that, you reference remotes by name in scripts. Both support --dry-run to test scripts safely.

You can chain rclone commands in pipelines since it reads from stdin and writes to stdout. Restic prefers working with files, but it plays nicely with cron jobs and systemd timers.

Both spit out machine-readable results with --json when you want to parse output programmatically.

Alternative Backup and Synchronization Tools

Besides restic and rclone, there are other solid choices. Rsync is great for direct server transfers, borg is efficient for local backups, and duplicati has a friendly interface. Each has its own sweet spot in a backup setup.

rsync and borg

rsync is the old standby for server-to-server syncing. It’s dead simple: copy files from here to there.

You don’t get encryption, deduplication, or backup history with rsync—it just moves files. borg shines for local and network backups, with deduplication and compression that save space by storing only changes between versions.

Borg isn’t built for cloud object storage like S3 or Backblaze B2. You can work around this with tools like s3fs, but that adds another layer and makes things less reliable than restic’s native S3 support.

If you’re backing up to local or network drives, borg is excellent. For cloud backups, restic is the safer bet.

duplicati and suresync

duplicati gives you a graphical interface, which is great if the command line isn’t your thing. It supports encryption and works with tons of cloud providers.

The downside? It can be slower than restic, and some users have reported reliability issues over the years. Duplicati stores your backups in a proprietary format, so you need duplicati itself to restore them.

Restic and rclone let you keep more flexibility here.

Multi-Way Processing and Sync Features

Multi-way processing means syncing files between three or more places at once. rclone does this with its sync and copy commands, so you can keep identical copies across multiple clouds or local systems.

But neither restic nor rclone offers true multi-way syncing right out of the box. You’ll need to run separate commands for each direction.

If you need bidirectional or multi-way sync, FreeFileSync specializes in that. For backups, though, you usually just push data from your source to your backup—not keep multiple live copies in sync.

Technical Considerations for Long-Term Use

If you want backups that’ll last for years, you need tools that won’t leave you stranded. Restic automatically handles incremental changes and snapshot history.

With rclone, you have to build those features yourself with scripts and flags. It’s less hand-holding, more DIY.

Incremental Backup and Snapshots

Restic builds incremental backups right into its design. Each backup only stores the chunks of data that changed since last time—no extra flags needed.

Every backup creates a snapshot with a unique ID and timestamp. You can keep lots of snapshots without eating up storage, since restic deduplicates across all of them.

If the same file pops up in ten snapshots, it’s only stored once. Rclone does things differently: it copies files 1:1 by default.

If you want incremental backups, you’ll need flags like --backup-dir and --suffix to make versioned copies. You’re managing the logic through scripts and automation.

Here’s how it plays out:

• Restic: Just run restic backup /path again and again—it sorts it all out
• Rclone: You build your own system with dated folders and custom logic

Backward Compatibility and Semantic Versioning

Your backup tool should read old archives years down the line. Restic follows semantic versioning and keeps its repository format stable.

Updates won’t break your old backups. The tool uses a well-documented public API for its repository structure, so even if restic vanished tomorrow, you could write something to read your data.

Rclone keeps backward compatibility too. Since it’s a general file sync tool, your files stay as regular files on your storage provider—no weird formats to worry about.

Both tools get regular updates and won’t break your workflow. Upgrading shouldn’t put your backups at risk, and that’s a relief.

Integrity Checks and Checksums

Can you really trust that your backup data hasn’t quietly corrupted over time? Both tools try to help, but they go about it in their own ways.

Restic calculates checksums for every data chunk it stores. If you run restic check, the tool goes through your entire repository and checks that the checksums still line up.

This command reads your backup data and confirms everything matches up. It’s probably a good idea to run integrity checks every month or so—maybe quarterly if you’re feeling lucky.

Rclone handles things a bit differently. It uses checksums while transferring files to make sure they’re copied correctly.

You can run rclone check to compare files between the source and destination using MD5, SHA1, or another hash. By default, it looks at file sizes and modification timestamps, but you can ask it to dig deeper with checksums.

Here’s the main difference: Restic checks the internal consistency of your backup repository. Rclone compares two locations to see if they match up. Both are pretty useful, but they’re solving different problems in your backup strategy.