Backblaze Personal Backup backblaze.comFree alternatives to Backblaze Personal Backup
Backblaze Personal Backup costs $9/mo on the Computer Backup plan, or $108 a year. Here are 3 free and open-source options, what each one does, and what you give up compared with paying.
01At a glance
| Alternative | Type | Where it runs | Works on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Backrest | Open source | You host it | Web, Mac, Windows, Linux |
| Duplicati | Open source | On your device | Web, Mac, Windows, Linux |
| Kopia | Open source | On your device | Mac, Windows, Linux, Command line |
02Each alternative, in detail
Restic with buttons, schedules, checks, and enough guardrails to avoid living in a terminal.
Versus paying: It adds a friendly scheduler, but unlike Backblaze it includes no unlimited off-site storage, automatic destination, managed retention, or shipped physical restore.
Setup: Standalone installer or Homebrew on macOS/Linux, Windows installer, or Docker Compose; it downloads/manages restic on first run
Watch for: You still have to choose and provision storage, protect the repository password, grant filesystem access, and test restores; macOS may require Full Disk Access.
7,100 GitHub stars (checked Aug 6, 2026)
garethgeorge.github.io →Browser-driven encrypted backups to nearly any storage target, with more knobs than charm.
Versus paying: It can automate encrypted backups, but you must choose and pay for storage, protect credentials, monitor jobs, and test restores yourself instead of getting Backblaze's managed service.
Setup: Signed Windows/macOS/Linux package or Docker container, then configure backups through its local web UI
Watch for: The first setup is not just an install: you must supply destination credentials, choose encryption and retention, preserve the passphrase, and understand how to rebuild from remote volumes if the local database is lost.
14,900 GitHub stars (checked Aug 6, 2026)
duplicati.com →Encrypted snapshots to storage you choose; the cloud bill and restore drills are still yours.
Versus paying: Its snapshots are excellent, but the storage account, capacity, billing, scheduling, monitoring, and restore drills are all your responsibility rather than Backblaze's.
Setup: Install KopiaUI or the CLI from native Windows/macOS/Linux packages, then create or connect to a repository
Watch for: You must provision and pay for the storage target, enter its credentials, and safeguard the repository password, Kopia cannot recover data if that password is lost.
13,800 GitHub stars (checked Aug 6, 2026)
kopia.io →03What you give up by leaving Backblaze Personal Backup
- unlimited backup economics, client reliability, restore logistics, support, and durable infrastructure
- global sync network
- battle-tested conflict resolution
- ransomware recovery guarantees
- mobile clients and support
People still pay for Backblaze Personal Backup because storage subscriptions sell confidence that files will still exist after a lost device, bad sync, or provider incident. The recurring cost buys chunking, encryption, conflict detection, versions, garbage collection, bandwidth, restore drills, monitoring, billing, and disaster recovery, not just the visible interface.
04Questions
Is there a free alternative to Backblaze Personal Backup?
Yes. This page compares 3: Backrest, Duplicati and Kopia. All of them are open source, so you can run them yourself.
How much does Backblaze Personal Backup cost?
$9/mo on the Computer Backup plan (monthly per computer), which is $108 a year. Prices checked Aug 11, 2026.
What do you give up with a free alternative to Backblaze Personal Backup?
Most often: unlimited backup economics, client reliability, restore logistics, support, and durable infrastructure, global sync network, battle-tested conflict resolution and ransomware recovery guarantees. Each alternative on this page lists its own gap under “Versus paying.”
Can AI build me my own version of Backblaze Personal Backup?
Nah. A consolation build is possible, but the paid product's decisive value sits outside a solo rebuild. For Backblaze Personal Backup, continuously back up a selected computer to user-owned object storage and test restores. The hard boundary is unlimited backup economics, client reliability, restore logistics, support, and durable infrastructure, plus reliability, durability, and cross-device sync.
Prices change; confirm on the vendor's site before you decide.
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