ServerCrate gives you a private hosted Restic backup server with SFTP access, zero-knowledge encryption, ZFS-backed storage, and no egress fees. No servers to manage, no RAID to configure - just a working Restic endpoint ready in five minutes.
Restic is one of the most popular open-source backup tools among Linux users, developers, and homelab operators. It handles encryption, deduplication, and snapshot management locally - but it needs somewhere to send the data. That's where a Restic backup server comes in.
A Restic backup server is a remote storage endpoint that Restic connects to over SFTP (or REST) to store your encrypted backup snapshots. The server stores the data; Restic handles all the encryption and deduplication logic on your side before anything is transmitted.
You have two options: self-host a Restic-compatible server on a VPS or dedicated machine, or use a managed service like ServerCrate. Self-hosting means managing SSH access, storage, RAID arrays, monitoring, and backups of the backup server itself. ServerCrate handles all of that so you can focus on running your actual workloads.
ServerCrate provisions a dedicated SFTP vault for each user on ZFS-backed storage. Your Restic client connects to the vault over SFTP using the connection string from your portal. Restic encrypts everything on your machine before transmission - ServerCrate receives only encrypted data it cannot read.
The connection looks like this:
Self-hosting your Restic repository on a VPS or storage box is a perfectly valid approach. But it comes with real operational overhead that adds up over time:
ServerCrate removes all of that. You get a hardened, monitored, ZFS-backed Restic endpoint that you connect to over SFTP - and everything else is handled. The time you save is better spent on your actual projects.
Restic's encryption model is genuinely zero-knowledge: your repository password is used to derive the encryption key, and that key never leaves your machine. When Restic sends data to the server, it's already encrypted with AES-256. ServerCrate stores only the encrypted chunks - we cannot decrypt your data even if we wanted to.
This means your backups are safe even in the event of a full infrastructure compromise on our end. The encrypted data is mathematically worthless without your repository password.
Restic's repository format relies on content-addressed chunks being stored reliably over months and years. Bit rot - the silent corruption of stored data - is a real problem in long-term storage, and most systems don't detect it until a restore fails.
ServerCrate uses ZFS for all vault storage. ZFS checksums every block on write and verifies every block on read, automatically detecting and flagging any corruption. Your Restic repository stays byte-perfect over its entire lifetime.
ServerCrate plans are flat monthly pricing with no egress fees. You pay one price per month and restore as many times as you need without additional charges.
The simplest automation uses a systemd timer or cron job to run daily backups. Here is a minimal systemd setup:
Yes. ServerCrate uses standard Restic over SFTP - no custom agents, no modified clients, no proprietary protocol. Any version of Restic that supports SFTP backends works out of the box. Install Restic from your package manager or the official releases and connect directly.
Yes. Multiple machines can back up to the same Restic repository, and Restic handles deduplication across them. On Standard and Pro plans, you can back up 3 or 5 devices respectively from the same vault. Data shared between machines is stored once.
Install Restic on the new machine, set the same RESTIC_REPOSITORY and RESTIC_PASSWORD environment variables, and run restic restore. The restoration pulls encrypted chunks from ServerCrate and decrypts them locally - no special recovery process required.
BorgBase primarily targets Borg users, though it also supports Restic. ServerCrate is purpose-built around the Restic over SFTP workflow with simpler flat pricing and a more focused interface. See the full BorgBase vs ServerCrate comparison.
Free plan includes 10 GB. No credit card required. Vault provisions in seconds.