Software · head to head
Altaro VM Backup vs Amanda Enterprise
Altaro VM Backup
Software
Simple and powerful VM backup for SMBs
- From
- $595/perpetual
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Amanda Enterprise has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Altaro VM Backup limited to small and medium-market businesses with up to 50 host servers; Amanda Enterprise amanda Community Edition is genuinely open source, released under a mix of BSD, GPLv2, LGPL and Apache licenses with source on GitHub, but the Enterprise edition that adds central management and paid support is a separate proprietary product sold by Zmanda (a Betsol company since its 2018 acquisition); Zmanda's own pricing page returned 403 to direct fetch, so no current per-client or per-agent figure could be confirmed from the vendor directly.
- They diverge on capability: Altaro VM Backup covers Augmented inline dedup, Amanda Enterprise covers Cross-platform backup.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Altaro VM Backup and Amanda Enterprise actually diverge.
| Attribute | Altaro VM Backup | Amanda Enterprise |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $595/perpetual | Free |
| Pricing model | Unknown | subscription |
| Free tier | No | Yes |
| Platforms | Windows Server | Windows, Linux, Web |
| Founded | 2009 | 2005 |
Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in Altaro VM Backup
- Augmented inline dedup
- WAN-optimized replication
- Boot from backup
- Granular restore
- Cloud management
- Continuous CDP
- VMware
- Hyper-V
Only in Amanda Enterprise
- Cross-platform backup
- Cloud integration
- Disk staging
- Encryption
- Web-based management
- Bare metal recovery
- Google Cloud
- Windows Server
Both cover
- Azure
- AWS S3
- Windows support
- Web support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Altaro VM Backup
- Data protection
- Disaster recovery
- Business continuity
- Ransomware protection
- Compliance
Amanda Enterprise
- Data protection
- Disaster recovery
- Business continuity
- Ransomware protection
- Compliance
Both are used for data protection, disaster recovery, business continuity, ransomware protection, compliance, on those jobs the choice comes down to price and fit rather than capability.
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Altaro VM Backup
- Limited to small and medium-market businesses with up to 50 host servers
- Perpetual license model outdated compared to modern cloud-based backup solutions
- Lacks enterprise-grade features for large-scale deployments
- Offsite backup to cloud requires additional setup and configuration
Amanda Enterprise
- Amanda Community Edition is genuinely open source, released under a mix of BSD, GPLv2, LGPL and Apache licenses with source on GitHub, but the Enterprise edition that adds central management and paid support is a separate proprietary product sold by Zmanda (a Betsol company since its 2018 acquisition); Zmanda's own pricing page returned 403 to direct fetch, so no current per-client or per-agent figure could be confirmed from the vendor directly.
Pricing, plan by plan
Altaro VM Backup
$595/perpetualNo published plan breakdown. See the Altaro VM Backup review.
Amanda Enterprise
Free- Amanda Enterprise$30/month
- Cross-platform
- Cloud backup
- Web console
Which should you pick?
Choose Altaro VM Backup if
- You need augmented inline dedup.
- You work on Windows Server.
- You also want wan-optimized replication.
Choose Amanda Enterprise if
- You need cross-platform backup.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Windows, Linux, Web.
- You also want cloud integration.
Questions people ask
- Is Altaro VM Backup or Amanda Enterprise better?
- Neither clearly leads. Altaro VM Backup starts at $595/perpetual and Amanda Enterprise at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Altaro VM Backup or Amanda Enterprise?
- Amanda Enterprise has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $595/perpetual for Altaro VM Backup and Free for Amanda Enterprise.
- Does Altaro VM Backup or Amanda Enterprise run on more platforms?
- Altaro VM Backup runs on Windows Server. Amanda Enterprise runs on Windows, Linux, Web.
- Can I use Amanda Enterprise for free?
- Yes. Amanda Enterprise has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Altaro VM Backup starts at $595/perpetual.
- What is Altaro VM Backup best used for?
- Altaro VM Backup is most often used for data protection, disaster recovery, business continuity, ransomware protection.
- What can Altaro VM Backup do that Amanda Enterprise cannot?
- Altaro VM Backup covers Augmented inline dedup, WAN-optimized replication, Boot from backup, Granular restore. Amanda Enterprise covers Cross-platform backup, Cloud integration, Disk staging, Encryption. Both handle Azure, AWS S3, Windows support, Web support.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Altaro VM Backup: What is the price per host for Altaro VM Backup?
Altaro VM Backup pricing starts at $595 per host for the Standard Edition, with the Unlimited Edition at $695 per host and Unlimited Plus at $875 per host. Pricing includes the first year of priority support and updates.
Source