# Compare backup approaches

There are several ways to back up a Linux server. These pages put NeverWiped next to the three most common ones, with facts only: what NeverWiped does today, each point linked to the page that documents it, and what the other approach does by design. They name no other product: products change their features and prices, so we list the questions to check instead.

## At a glance {#glance}

| Question | NeverWiped | Your host’s snapshots | restic on your own | rsync with cron |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who runs it | Our agent on your server, on a schedule | Your hosting provider, from outside the server | You | You |
| Where the copy is | Our storage server in France, outside your hosting account | With your host, in your hosting account | Storage you choose | A machine you choose |
| Encrypted before it leaves the server | Yes, by restic, with a key that stays on your server | Ask your host | Yes, restic always encrypts | No: encrypted in transit over SSH, stored as plain files |
| Can the server delete its own backups | Not day to day: the storage is append-only ([limits](https://neverwiped.com/security#limits)) | Only through your hosting account or its API tokens | Yes, unless you make the storage append-only | Yes, if it can write there |
| History | Set by your plan, per server ([retention](https://neverwiped.com/docs/storage#retention)) | Ask your host | What your `restic forget` rules keep | One copy, unless you build a rotation |
| Databases | Consistent dumps, made by the agent | A disk image, as after a power cut | You script the dump | You script the dump |
| Alerts | Emails when a backup fails or stops | Ask your host | You build them | You build them |
| Restore | One command: a date, into a separate folder, or in place after you confirm | Ask your host: whole disk, or files too | `restic restore` | Copy files back |
| Leaving | Plain restic format, readable with restic alone | The snapshots stay with your host | Nothing to leave | Nothing to leave |

## The three pages {#pages}

- [NeverWiped and your host’s snapshots](https://neverwiped.com/compare/host-snapshots): a copy outside your hosting account, file by file, with database dumps, next to a whole-disk image that only your host can reach.
- [NeverWiped and restic on your own](https://neverwiped.com/compare/restic-yourself): the same backup software and format, with the schedule, database dumps, append-only storage, checks and alerts done for you.
- [NeverWiped and rsync with cron](https://neverwiped.com/compare/rsync-and-cron): encrypted history next to a plain mirror.

## When something else fits better {#other-fits}

- **The machine is not a Linux server.** NeverWiped backs up Linux servers only (amd64 and arm64).
- **You want two copies in two places.** NeverWiped stores one copy, on one storage server, on disks in RAID 6 ([known limits](https://neverwiped.com/security#limits)). Keep a second one: your host’s snapshots, or [your own copy](https://neverwiped.com/docs/if-we-disappear#own-copy).
- **You want full control and have the time.** Run restic yourself. NeverWiped uses restic too, so you can move either way.
- **You want the whole disk back in one go, system included.** That is what a host snapshot does. NeverWiped restores files, folders, databases and Docker volumes; on a new server you install the base software first ([a whole server](https://neverwiped.com/docs/getting-started#whole-server)).

These approaches can be combined. A host snapshot for a quick rollback and NeverWiped for an encrypted copy outside your hosting account do different jobs.

## How these pages are written {#method}

- Every fact about NeverWiped links to the page that documents it, and those pages follow the code. The full list of claims and their sources is kept with the site’s source.
- Facts about restic and rsync come from their own documentation ([restic](https://github.com/restic/restic)). About hosting providers we only state what holds by design, and list the questions to ask, because each host is different.
- No product names, no prices other than [ours](https://neverwiped.com/pricing), no speed test, no customer quote.
- If you find something wrong here, write to the contact address of the [legal notice](https://neverwiped.com/legal/notice) and we will correct it.

Last reviewed: 6 November 2026.