Backup · alternatives
Alternatives to Velero
21 backup tools sit alongside Velero in this directory. Below is what separates each from Velero on the figures we hold, price, model, tier count and rating, and a direct comparison for every one.
- Alternatives listed
- 21
- With a free tier
- 12
- Cheaper to start
- -
- Velero starts at
- Free
Why people look past Velero
Only what the record supports. Each point below is a figure on the Velero entry measured against the tools listed beside it.
There is only one tier
Velero publishes a single plan, Velero at Free. There is no smaller tier to drop to if the fit is wrong or the budget moves.
What each alternative does differently
Ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry. Differences are drawn from price, pricing model, tier count and rating, the fields the category listing carries. For a feature-level difference, follow the head-to-head link on each card: those pages read both full records.
Kubernetes application backup with a free tier up to one terabyte
- Publishes an entry price of $0.2/node hour, where Velero does not.
- Sold on a Per node hour model rather than Open source, no licence fee.
- 2 tiers to Velero's 1.
Fast, secure, and efficient backup program
- Publishes an entry price of Free, where Velero does not.
- Sold on a free model rather than Open source, no licence fee.
Modern data protection for enterprise workloads
- Publishes an entry price of $250/year, where Velero does not.
Backup and recovery for OpenStack, Kubernetes and Red Hat Virtualization
- Sold on a Per node per year model rather than Open source, no licence fee.
- 2 tiers to Velero's 1.
Kubernetes-native backup, disaster recovery and application mobility
- Sold on a Per worker node model rather than Open source, no licence fee.
- 2 tiers to Velero's 1.
SaaS Kubernetes backup and migration with published per-node pricing
- Publishes an entry price of $69/month, where Velero does not.
- Sold on a Per node per month model rather than Open source, no licence fee.
- 3 tiers to Velero's 1.
Every Velero alternative at a glance
A dash means the catalogue entry carries no figure, not that the answer is nothing.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Tiers | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Velero (this page) | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 1 | |
| Portworx BackupPortworx Backup for a supported Kubernetes backup product with a free tier up to one terabyte | Free, then $0.2/node hour | Per node hour | 2 | vs Velero |
| ResticRestic where the requirement is file-level backup to object storage rather than Kubernetes resource capture | Free | Free | 1 | vs Velero |
| Veeam Backup & ReplicationVeeam Backup & Replication if you need one vendor covering Kubernetes alongside virtual machines | Free, then $250/year | - | - | vs Velero |
| Trilio | Free | Per node per year | 2 | vs Velero |
| Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes | Free | Per worker node | 2 | vs Velero |
| CloudCasa | Free, then $69/month | Per node per month | 3 | vs Velero |
| rustic | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 1 | vs Velero |
| UrBackup | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 1 | vs Velero |
| Proxmox Backup Server | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 2 | vs Velero |
| Kopia | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 1 | vs Velero |
| AOMEI Backupper | Free, then $39.95/one-time | One-time | 3 | vs Velero |
| Bacula | Free | Open-source | - | vs Velero |
| Redstor | On request | Quote | 1 | vs Velero |
| Clumio | $0.01/month | Per GiB-month protected | 3 | vs Velero |
| AvePoint Cloud Backup | On request | Quote | 1 | vs Velero |
| HYCU | On request | Quote | 1 | vs Velero |
| BDRShield | On request | Quote | 1 | vs Velero |
| Comet Backup | $19/month | Subscription | 4 | vs Velero |
| Backupify | $29/month | - | 2 | vs Velero |
| Commvault Complete Data Protection | On request | - | 4 | vs Velero |
| Datto Backup | On request | Subscription | - | vs Velero |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry; Softwr hosts no reviews of these products. How each figure is used is set out on the Velero badges page.
Cheaper ways to solve the same problem
Free to start (12)
These publish a tier that costs nothing, so they can be evaluated before any money changes hands.
- Portworx Backup , Free, then $0.2/node hour
- Restic , Free
- Veeam Backup & Replication , Free, then $250/year
- Trilio , Free
- Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes , Free
- CloudCasa , Free, then $69/month
- rustic , Free
- UrBackup , Free
What you would be giving up
Velero is most often brought in for a platform team needing namespace-level restore after an accidental deletion, with no budget for a backup product, migrating workloads between kubernetes clusters or between cloud providers using backup and restore, capturing cluster configuration before a risky upgrade so the previous state can be reinstated, an organisation proving a kubernetes recovery capability to an auditor before deciding whether to buy a commercial product. Anything replacing it has to cover the ones you actually depend on, and a cheaper tool that misses one of them is not cheaper.
Two things this page cannot settle. It compares on price, model, tier count and rating, because those are the fields the category listing carries, feature-level differences need both full records, which is what the head-to-head pages load. And the ratings are third-party aggregates imported with each entry rather than reviews written here, so a 0.2 difference between two tools is noise rather than a finding.
If Velero is broadly right and the question is cost, the Velero pricing breakdown covers every tier and what each one adds. If you want the whole field rather than a shortlist, the Backup category lists everything the directory holds, and best backup tools ranks them.
Velero runs on linux. Platform coverage is not carried on the category listing for the alternatives, so it is one more thing to check on each head-to-head page rather than here.
Questions about Velero alternatives
- What are the main alternatives to Velero?
- 21 other backup tools are listed in this directory, led by Portworx Backup, Restic, Veeam Backup & Replication, Trilio. They are ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry, not by any Softwr ranking.
- What is the best free alternative to Velero?
- 12 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: Portworx Backup, Restic, Veeam Backup & Replication, Trilio, Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes.
- Why do people look for an alternative to Velero?
- On the figures on record, one thing stands out: there is only one tier. Each is set out with the numbers behind it above.
- What would I give up by switching from Velero?
- Velero is most often brought in for a platform team needing namespace-level restore after an accidental deletion, with no budget for a backup product, migrating workloads between kubernetes clusters or between cloud providers using backup and restore, capturing cluster configuration before a risky upgrade so the previous state can be reinstated, an organisation proving a kubernetes recovery capability to an auditor before deciding whether to buy a commercial product. Anything you replace it with has to cover the ones you actually rely on, the side-by-side comparisons linked from each alternative below put the two feature records against each other.
- Is there an open-source alternative to Velero?
- Bacula is recorded with an open-source licence model.
- How were these Velero alternatives chosen?
- They are the tools filed in the same category, Backup, ordered by the aggregated rating on each entry. There is no editorial shortlist, and nothing on this page is paid: no sponsored placement runs on alternatives pages and the order cannot be bought. Softwr has not used these products.
- Where can I compare Velero against one of these directly?
- Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against Velero covering price, platforms, features and what each one is used for. Those pages read the full record for both products rather than the summary shown here.
- Does this list cover every backup tool?
- No. It covers what this directory holds in the Backup category, 21 tools beside Velero. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.