AList vs Backrest
| Tagline | File list program supporting multiple storages, with WebDAV and web UI | Web UI and orchestrator for restic backups across local and cloud storage |
| Category | File Storage & Sync | File Storage & Sync |
| Replaces | Google Drive, Dropbox | Dropbox, Google Drive |
| GitHub stars | 50k | 7.3k |
| Language | Go | Go |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Self-host difficulty | 2/5 Easy | 2/5 Easy |
| Deploy options | Docker Manual | Docker Docker Compose Manual |
| Managed hosting | ||
| Last updated | 4 days ago | 8 days ago |
| View repo | View repo |
Where each falls short
The honest trade-offs — what you give up with each, versus the proprietary tools they replace.
AList
- Primarily a read/list and aggregation layer; not a true two-way sync engine like Dropbox
- No native desktop/mobile sync clients (relies on WebDAV)
- Limited collaboration, versioning, and team permission features
- Documentation is partly Chinese-first and can lag for some backends
Backrest
- It's a backup tool, not a live sync/share platform like Dropbox
- No real-time file syncing across devices or shareable links
- No multi-user collaboration or document editing
- Restore is snapshot-based rather than continuous file availability
Bottom line
Both are a similar lift to self-host; choose AList for the larger community and ecosystem. AList has seen more recent development. Open each guide below for deploy steps and the full feature gap.
Backrest
Web UI and orchestrator for restic backups across local and cloud storage