- Home
- Backup software
- Bareos
Bareos
Bareos · Cologne, Germany · founded 2012
What it is
Bareos is backup software for computers and servers, with mixed backup scopes and restore modes. Ransomware protection is included. It supports Linux, macOS, Windows, and web access, as well as self-hosted use. The Community plan costs nothing, requires no subscription, and provides access to the public repository and complete source code. The Subscription plan starts at €480 a year and requires at least 10 units. Bareos was founded in 2012 and is headquartered in Cologne, Germany. The combination of computer and server backup can serve environments that include both types of systems. Users can begin with the free Community edition or consider the annual subscription, keeping its unit minimum in mind.
For and against
For
- Covers computer and server backup
- Includes ransomware protection
- Supports mixed backup scopes and restore modes
- Community plan requires no subscription
Against
- Subscription starts at €480 a year
- Subscription requires a minimum of 10 units
The verdict
Bareos offers a no-subscription Community edition alongside a paid annual subscription. The paid option has a 10-unit minimum.
Who it suits
Bareos may suit people managing backups for computers and servers. The supported platforms and self-hosted option may be relevant to users working across those environments.
Plans and prices
Community
Open-source community edition · Public repository access · Complete source code
Read 20 Sep 2026 · bareos.com
Subscription
minimum 10 backup units · maintained binary repositories · selected plugins · tested updates
Read 21 Oct 2026 · bareos.com
Setup Review
review and recommendations
Read 21 Oct 2026 · bareos.com
Training
admin training
Read 21 Oct 2026 · bareos.com
Consulting
project consulting
Read 21 Oct 2026 · bareos.com
Basic Support
best effort, no SLA · up to 20 units · 3 incidents
Read 21 Oct 2026 · bareos.com
Bareos Health Check
one day
Read 21 Oct 2026 · bareos.com
Standard Support
2nd business day response · 10 incidents
Read 21 Oct 2026 · bareos.com
Advanced Support
next business day response · 20 incidents
Read 21 Oct 2026 · bareos.com
On the record
- API
- The developer documentation describes scripting the Director and building GUI interfaces, including API modes, BVFS and a REST API.docs.bareos.org · read 21 Oct 2026
- Architecture
- The product is organized around Director, Console, File Daemon, Storage Daemon and catalog services.docs.bareos.org · read 21 Oct 2026
- Backup modes
- The home page lists full, differential, incremental and Always Incremental backup strategies.bareos.com · read 21 Oct 2026
- Backup scope
- mixedbareos.com · read 20 Sep 2026
- Catalog database
- Bareos uses PostgreSQL to store metadata about jobs, files, clients, volumes and storage locations.bareos.com · read 21 Oct 2026
- Cloud integration
- The official FAQ says Linux and Windows workloads in AWS, Azure and OpenStack can be protected and that S3-compatible storage can be used as a target.bareos.com · read 21 Oct 2026
- Company founded
- LinkedIn lists the company as founded in 2013, while Bareos describes the software project as starting in 2010.de.linkedin.com · read 21 Oct 2026
- Company headquarters
- The registered address is Zollstockgürtel 65, 50969 Cologne, Germany.openregister.de · read 21 Oct 2026
- Company legal name
- The maker is Bareos GmbH & Co. KG.openregister.de · read 21 Oct 2026
- Company size
- LinkedIn lists Bareos at 11–50 employees.de.linkedin.com · read 21 Oct 2026
- Computer backup
- Yesbareos.com · read 20 Sep 2026
- Database integrations
- Included subscription plugins cover MariaDB, MySQL, Microsoft SQL Server and PostgreSQL.bareos.com · read 21 Oct 2026
- Documentation depth
- The documentation covers installation, upgrades, WebUI, plugins, network protocols, encryption, security issues, APIs and release notes.docs.bareos.org · read 21 Oct 2026
- Download policy
- The community repository publishes current stable builds publicly, while subscription repositories retain binaries for the last three major releases.download.bareos.org · read 21 Oct 2026
- Extensibility
- Bareos documents C-style File Daemon plugin entry points and a Python plugin API for extending backup behavior.docs.bareos.org · read 21 Oct 2026
- Feature limitation
- The FAQ states Bareos has no native deduplication engine; its dedupable backend instead prepares data for deduplication by storage systems such as ZFS, Btrfs or VDO.bareos.com · read 21 Oct 2026
- Free software economics
- The price list says there are no licence fees, while maintained packages, support and services are sold separately.bareos.com · read 21 Oct 2026
- Licence
- The software is released under the GNU AGPLv3 and its source code is public.bareos.com · read 21 Oct 2026
