Quick Overview
- 1#1: Veeam Backup & Replication - Delivers agentless backup, replication, and instant recovery for VMware vSphere, Hyper-V, and Nutanix VMs with advanced ransomware protection.
- 2#2: NAKIVO Backup & Replication - Provides fast, agentless VM backup and replication for VMware, Hyper-V, and Nutanix with site recovery and cloud tiering.
- 3#3: Altaro VM Backup - Offers straightforward, cost-effective backup and replication for Hyper-V and VMware VMs with direct-to-cloud options.
- 4#4: Acronis Cyber Protect - Combines VM backup for VMware and Hyper-V with cybersecurity features like anti-malware and endpoint protection.
- 5#5: Rubrik - Secures and manages VM backups across hybrid cloud environments with immutable storage and policy-driven automation.
- 6#6: Cohesity DataProtect - Converged backup and recovery platform for VMs on VMware, Hyper-V, and Kubernetes with global deduplication.
- 7#7: Commvault Complete Data Protection - Enterprise-grade VM backup solution supporting VMware, Hyper-V, and cloud VMs with metallic recovery options.
- 8#8: Veritas NetBackup - Scalable backup software for protecting VMs in VMware, Hyper-V, and Nutanix environments with cloud integration.
- 9#9: Vembu BDRSuite - Affordable, agentless backup and disaster recovery for VMs on VMware, Hyper-V, and Proxmox with perpetual licensing.
- 10#10: Unitrends - All-in-one backup appliance for VMs across physical, virtual, and cloud environments with forever-incremental backups.
We evaluated tools based on feature depth (e.g., agentless protection, replication, cloud integration), performance, user interface clarity, and overall value, balancing technical rigor with practical usability to guide informed decision-making.
Comparison Table
This comparison table outlines key VM backup tools—including Veeam Backup & Replication, NAKIVO Backup & Replication, Altaro VM Backup, Acronis Cyber Protect, Rubrik, and more—to help readers evaluate options. It highlights features, advantages, and use cases, enabling informed decisions for your infrastructure needs.
| # | Tool | Category | Overall | Features | Ease of Use | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Veeam Backup & Replication Delivers agentless backup, replication, and instant recovery for VMware vSphere, Hyper-V, and Nutanix VMs with advanced ransomware protection. | enterprise | 9.8/10 | 9.9/10 | 9.2/10 | 9.4/10 |
| 2 | NAKIVO Backup & Replication Provides fast, agentless VM backup and replication for VMware, Hyper-V, and Nutanix with site recovery and cloud tiering. | enterprise | 9.2/10 | 9.3/10 | 9.1/10 | 9.4/10 |
| 3 | Altaro VM Backup Offers straightforward, cost-effective backup and replication for Hyper-V and VMware VMs with direct-to-cloud options. | specialized | 8.7/10 | 9.0/10 | 9.2/10 | 8.4/10 |
| 4 | Acronis Cyber Protect Combines VM backup for VMware and Hyper-V with cybersecurity features like anti-malware and endpoint protection. | enterprise | 8.4/10 | 9.1/10 | 7.7/10 | 8.0/10 |
| 5 | Rubrik Secures and manages VM backups across hybrid cloud environments with immutable storage and policy-driven automation. | enterprise | 8.6/10 | 9.2/10 | 8.4/10 | 7.9/10 |
| 6 | Cohesity DataProtect Converged backup and recovery platform for VMs on VMware, Hyper-V, and Kubernetes with global deduplication. | enterprise | 8.7/10 | 9.2/10 | 8.0/10 | 8.3/10 |
| 7 | Commvault Complete Data Protection Enterprise-grade VM backup solution supporting VMware, Hyper-V, and cloud VMs with metallic recovery options. | enterprise | 8.2/10 | 9.1/10 | 7.0/10 | 7.4/10 |
| 8 | Veritas NetBackup Scalable backup software for protecting VMs in VMware, Hyper-V, and Nutanix environments with cloud integration. | enterprise | 8.3/10 | 9.2/10 | 7.0/10 | 7.8/10 |
| 9 | Vembu BDRSuite Affordable, agentless backup and disaster recovery for VMs on VMware, Hyper-V, and Proxmox with perpetual licensing. | specialized | 8.2/10 | 8.5/10 | 7.8/10 | 8.7/10 |
| 10 | Unitrends All-in-one backup appliance for VMs across physical, virtual, and cloud environments with forever-incremental backups. | enterprise | 7.6/10 | 7.9/10 | 7.2/10 | 7.1/10 |
Delivers agentless backup, replication, and instant recovery for VMware vSphere, Hyper-V, and Nutanix VMs with advanced ransomware protection.
Provides fast, agentless VM backup and replication for VMware, Hyper-V, and Nutanix with site recovery and cloud tiering.
Offers straightforward, cost-effective backup and replication for Hyper-V and VMware VMs with direct-to-cloud options.
Combines VM backup for VMware and Hyper-V with cybersecurity features like anti-malware and endpoint protection.
Secures and manages VM backups across hybrid cloud environments with immutable storage and policy-driven automation.
Converged backup and recovery platform for VMs on VMware, Hyper-V, and Kubernetes with global deduplication.
Enterprise-grade VM backup solution supporting VMware, Hyper-V, and cloud VMs with metallic recovery options.
Scalable backup software for protecting VMs in VMware, Hyper-V, and Nutanix environments with cloud integration.
Affordable, agentless backup and disaster recovery for VMs on VMware, Hyper-V, and Proxmox with perpetual licensing.
All-in-one backup appliance for VMs across physical, virtual, and cloud environments with forever-incremental backups.
Veeam Backup & Replication
enterpriseDelivers agentless backup, replication, and instant recovery for VMware vSphere, Hyper-V, and Nutanix VMs with advanced ransomware protection.
Instant VM Recovery, booting production VMs directly from backups in seconds without full restoration
Veeam Backup & Replication is the industry-leading backup and replication solution for virtual machines, physical servers, cloud workloads, and Kubernetes. It excels in agentless backups using native hypervisor APIs for VMware vSphere, Hyper-V, Nutanix AHV, and more, enabling instant recovery, replication, and data mobility. With built-in ransomware protection, automated testing via SureBackup, and support for modern storage like object storage, it ensures data resilience and compliance across hybrid environments.
Pros
- Unmatched speed with instant VM recovery and changed block tracking for efficient incremental backups
- Comprehensive multi-platform support including VMware, Hyper-V, cloud (AWS, Azure, GCP), and NAS
- Advanced security like immutable backups, air-gapped repositories, and AI-driven threat detection
Cons
- Premium pricing can be steep for small businesses or low-workload environments
- Advanced features require significant configuration expertise and training
- High resource demands on backup proxies and repositories for large-scale deployments
Best For
Enterprise IT teams and service providers managing large-scale virtualized and hybrid cloud infrastructures requiring bulletproof data protection.
Pricing
Free Community Edition for up to 10 workloads; subscription tiers (Veeam Data Platform) from ~$10/VM/year for standard to $25+/VM/year for premium with advanced features, billed per VM, socket, or capacity.
NAKIVO Backup & Replication
enterpriseProvides fast, agentless VM backup and replication for VMware, Hyper-V, and Nutanix with site recovery and cloud tiering.
Forever-Forward Incremental technology for always-incremental backups without periodic full backups
NAKIVO Backup & Replication is a powerful data protection platform specializing in agentless backups for virtual environments like VMware vSphere, Microsoft Hyper-V, Nutanix AHV, and cloud platforms such as AWS and Azure. It enables efficient replication, instant recovery, and disaster recovery orchestration to ensure minimal downtime. Key strengths include ransomware protection via immutable backups and air-gapping, alongside support for hybrid and multi-tenant deployments.
Pros
- Agentless backup and replication for major hypervisors
- Advanced ransomware remediation and immutable storage integration
- Cost-effective perpetual licensing with free edition available
Cons
- Resource-intensive for very large-scale environments
- Limited native support for containerized workloads like Kubernetes
- Setup complexity in heterogeneous hybrid setups
Best For
Mid-sized enterprises and MSPs seeking high-performance VM backup with strong recovery options at a competitive price.
Pricing
Perpetual licenses start at $229 per VM workload; annual subscriptions from $99 per workload; free version for up to 2 VMs.
Altaro VM Backup
specializedOffers straightforward, cost-effective backup and replication for Hyper-V and VMware VMs with direct-to-cloud options.
Forever-Incremental backups that perform only changed block tracking after the initial full backup for minimal backup windows
Altaro VM Backup is a dedicated backup solution for VMware vSphere and Microsoft Hyper-V virtual environments, providing agentless backups with forever-incremental technology to eliminate full backups after the initial one. It features efficient deduplication, compression, WAN optimization, and robust offsite copy capabilities including ALTARO OFFSITE for secure remote replication. The software also includes ransomware detection, bootable recovery media, and seamless cloud integration for long-term retention.
Pros
- Agentless backups with forever-incremental for fast, efficient operations
- Strong deduplication, compression, and offsite replication
- Free edition for up to 2 VMs and intuitive single-pane interface
Cons
- Limited to Hyper-V and VMware only, no support for other hypervisors
- Per-VM pricing can become costly in large environments
- Lacks native physical server backup and advanced enterprise archiving
Best For
SMBs and MSPs seeking simple, reliable VM backups for Hyper-V or VMware without enterprise complexity.
Pricing
Free for up to 2 VMs; paid subscriptions start at ~$129/VM/year (1-year term), with volume discounts and 3-year options reducing costs to ~$89/VM/year.
Acronis Cyber Protect
enterpriseCombines VM backup for VMware and Hyper-V with cybersecurity features like anti-malware and endpoint protection.
AI-powered Active Protection that detects and blocks ransomware in real-time during VM backups
Acronis Cyber Protect is a comprehensive cyber protection platform that delivers agentless backup, disaster recovery, and replication for virtual machines on hypervisors like VMware vSphere, Microsoft Hyper-V, Nutanix AHV, and KVM. It integrates traditional VM backup with advanced cybersecurity features such as AI-driven anti-ransomware protection, malware scanning, and blockchain-based data verification. This makes it suitable for environments requiring both data resilience and threat prevention in virtualized setups.
Pros
- Agentless backups and replication for efficient VM protection across multiple hypervisors
- Integrated cybersecurity with AI anti-ransomware and full disk encryption
- Scalable cloud integration and fast granular recovery options
Cons
- Higher pricing compared to dedicated VM backup tools
- Complex interface that requires training for optimal use
- Potential performance overhead in very large-scale deployments
Best For
Mid-sized enterprises needing unified VM backup with built-in cybersecurity features.
Pricing
Subscription-based; starts at ~$69 per VM/year for standard backup, higher tiers up to $150+ with advanced cyber protection.
Rubrik
enterpriseSecures and manages VM backups across hybrid cloud environments with immutable storage and policy-driven automation.
Rubrik's AI-powered Anomaly Detection for proactive ransomware threat identification and automated response
Rubrik is an enterprise-grade data resilience platform specializing in backup, recovery, and cyber resilience for virtual machines across VMware, Hyper-V, and Nutanix environments. It provides agentless backups, policy-driven automation, deduplication, replication, and instant recovery capabilities to minimize downtime. With built-in ransomware protection through immutable backups and AI-driven threat detection, Rubrik ensures secure data management in hybrid and multi-cloud setups.
Pros
- Agentless VM backups with instant recovery via Live Mount
- Advanced ransomware resilience with immutable snapshots and anomaly detection
- Scalable policy-based automation for large-scale environments
Cons
- High enterprise-level pricing that may not suit SMBs
- Steep initial setup for complex multi-site deployments
- Limited flexibility in on-premises only scenarios compared to cloud-native rivals
Best For
Large enterprises managing extensive VM fleets in hybrid cloud environments requiring robust cyber resilience and automated data protection.
Pricing
Subscription-based capacity licensing starting at around $10,000/year for small clusters; enterprise quotes typically scale with protected data volume.
Cohesity DataProtect
enterpriseConverged backup and recovery platform for VMs on VMware, Hyper-V, and Kubernetes with global deduplication.
Lock & Reduce immutable snapshots with air-gapped vaulting for superior ransomware resilience
Cohesity DataProtect is an enterprise-grade backup and recovery solution optimized for VM environments, supporting agentless backups for VMware vSphere and Microsoft Hyper-V. It provides instant recovery, replication, and advanced security features like immutable snapshots to combat ransomware. The platform integrates secondary storage, data management, and multi-cloud capabilities for scalable data protection.
Pros
- Agentless VM backups with direct-to-cloud options and low RTO/RPO
- Immutable backups and AI-driven ransomware detection
- Unified management across on-prem, cloud, and multi-site environments
Cons
- Complex initial setup and learning curve for advanced features
- Higher cost unsuitable for SMBs
- Limited flexibility without Cohesity hardware ecosystem
Best For
Mid-to-large enterprises with extensive VM fleets requiring robust, scalable protection against cyber threats.
Pricing
Quote-based SaaS subscription, typically $40-60 per TiB/month protected, with on-premises appliance options starting at $100K+.
Commvault Complete Data Protection
enterpriseEnterprise-grade VM backup solution supporting VMware, Hyper-V, and cloud VMs with metallic recovery options.
IntelliSnap for hardware-accelerated, application-consistent VM snapshots across multiple storage arrays
Commvault Complete Data Protection is a comprehensive enterprise data protection platform specializing in VM backups for environments like VMware vSphere, Microsoft Hyper-V, Nutanix, and cloud hypervisors. It provides automated discovery, deduplication, replication, and instant recovery options including live mounts and virtual server recovery. The solution integrates cyber resilience features like immutable storage and AI-driven threat detection to protect against ransomware.
Pros
- Scalable for large-scale VM environments with auto-discovery and policy-based management
- Advanced recovery options like instant VM boot from backup and granular restores
- Strong integration with cloud providers and cyber recovery vaults
Cons
- Complex setup and steep learning curve for non-expert admins
- High licensing costs that may not suit SMBs
- Resource-intensive agents and higher storage overhead compared to lighter alternatives
Best For
Enterprise IT teams managing thousands of VMs in hybrid on-premises and multi-cloud environments needing robust protection.
Pricing
Subscription-based, typically $15-25 per VM/month or capacity-based licensing starting at $50,000+ annually for mid-sized deployments.
Veritas NetBackup
enterpriseScalable backup software for protecting VMs in VMware, Hyper-V, and Nutanix environments with cloud integration.
NetBackup Accelerator technology enabling up to 100x faster incremental VM backups and restores
Veritas NetBackup is an enterprise-class data protection platform specializing in backup, recovery, and disaster recovery for virtual machines across VMware vSphere, Microsoft Hyper-V, Nutanix AHV, and other hypervisors. It leverages advanced technologies like snapshot-based backups, deduplication, and instant VM recovery to minimize downtime and optimize storage efficiency. Designed for large-scale environments, it integrates seamlessly with cloud storage and offers application-aware protection for consistent VM backups.
Pros
- Highly scalable for petabyte-scale VM environments
- Advanced deduplication and replication reduce storage and bandwidth costs
- Strong multi-hypervisor support with instant recovery capabilities
Cons
- Steep learning curve and complex management interface
- High licensing costs based on capacity
- Requires significant resources for optimal performance
Best For
Large enterprises with complex, multi-site virtualized infrastructures needing robust, high-performance VM protection.
Pricing
Capacity-based licensing (per TB or core); starts at around $200-500/TB/year depending on features, with custom quotes for enterprise deployments.
Vembu BDRSuite
specializedAffordable, agentless backup and disaster recovery for VMs on VMware, Hyper-V, and Proxmox with perpetual licensing.
Seamless agentless backups across VMware, Hyper-V, Nutanix, and KVM in one console
Vembu BDRSuite is a unified backup, disaster recovery, and replication platform tailored for virtual machine environments across multiple hypervisors like VMware vSphere, Microsoft Hyper-V, Nutanix AHV, and KVM. It delivers agentless backups, data deduplication, compression, encryption, and instant VM recovery to minimize downtime. The solution also supports cloud tiering, application-aware backups, and integrated verification testing for reliable restores.
Pros
- Strong multi-hypervisor support without agents
- Cost-effective licensing with deduplication for storage savings
- Instant recovery and replication for quick DR
Cons
- User interface feels dated compared to premium competitors
- Limited advanced automation and orchestration features
- Customer support can be slower for non-enterprise users
Best For
SMBs and mid-market IT teams needing affordable, multi-platform VM backup and DR without high costs.
Pricing
Free for up to 10 VMs; paid subscriptions start at ~$12/VM/year or per-socket licensing, with volume discounts.
Unitrends
enterpriseAll-in-one backup appliance for VMs across physical, virtual, and cloud environments with forever-incremental backups.
Recovery- Assurance warranty that compensates for downtime if recovery fails
Unitrends is an all-in-one backup and recovery platform specializing in VM protection for VMware, Hyper-V, and Nutanix environments through agentless image-based backups. It features perpetual incremental backups, global deduplication, and instant recovery options to minimize downtime. The solution is primarily delivered via purpose-built appliances, offering ransomware protection and automated recovery testing.
Pros
- Agentless VM backups with strong support for major hypervisors
- Perpetual incremental technology for efficient storage and fast recovery
- Integrated ransomware detection and recovery assurance warranty
Cons
- Appliance-centric model increases upfront costs
- User interface feels dated and less intuitive than modern competitors
- Limited flexibility for cloud-native or multi-cloud deployments
Best For
Mid-sized enterprises needing reliable, hardware-based VM backup with guaranteed recovery.
Pricing
Quote-based; hardware appliances start at ~$10,000 with annual maintenance/subscription fees.
Conclusion
After evaluating all 10 tools, Veeam Backup & Replication emerges as the top choice, delivering agentless protection, instant recovery, and advanced ransomware safeguards across key virtual environments. NAKIVO Backup & Replication and Altaro VM Backup follow strongly, with NAKIVO excelling in speed and cloud integration and Altaro offering cost-effective, straightforward solutions—each a standout alternative depending on specific needs. The review highlights the importance of matching tool features to organizational requirements for reliable VM protection.
Take the first step toward robust VM protection by trying Veeam Backup & Replication, the leading choice for its comprehensive and versatile features.
Tools Reviewed
All tools were independently evaluated for this comparison