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Backup · head to head

Altaro VM Backup vs HYCU

Altaro VM Backup logo

Altaro VM Backup

Backup

Simple and powerful VM backup for SMBs

From
$595/perpetual
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
HYCU logo

HYCU

Backup

Backup as a service spanning SaaS applications as well as infrastructure

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Altaro VM Backup limited to small and medium-market businesses with up to 50 host servers; HYCU pricing is quoted with different billing units for different services, so an estate spanning virtual machines, cloud and SaaS is billed three ways and annual forecasting becomes guesswork.
  • They diverge on capability: Altaro VM Backup covers Augmented inline dedup, HYCU covers R-Cloud platform.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Altaro VM Backup and HYCU actually diverge.

Attributes where Altaro VM Backup and HYCU differ
AttributeAltaro VM BackupHYCU
Starting price$595/perpetualOn request
Pricing modelUnknownquote
PlatformsWindows ServerWeb, Linux, Windows
Founded2009Unknown

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Backup).

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 HYCU

  • R-Cloud platform
  • SaaS application backup
  • Nutanix and VMware backup
  • Cloud infrastructure backup
  • R-Graph
  • Development kit
  • Immutable backup targets

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Altaro VM Backup

  • Data protectionnot HYCU
  • Disaster recoverynot HYCU
  • Business continuitynot HYCU
  • Ransomware protectionnot HYCU
  • Compliancenot HYCU

HYCU

  • An organisation that has just realised its Okta, Jira and GitHub data is not covered by any backup product it ownsnot Altaro VM Backup
  • A Nutanix environment needing agentless backup that understands the platform rather than treating it as generic virtual machinesnot Altaro VM Backup
  • A mid-market IT team wanting one vendor across on premises virtual machines, cloud workloads and SaaS applicationsnot Altaro VM Backup
  • Building an immutable off-site copy with object lock to satisfy a cyber insurance requirementnot Altaro VM Backup

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

HYCU

  • Pricing is quoted with different billing units for different services, so an estate spanning virtual machines, cloud and SaaS is billed three ways and annual forecasting becomes guesswork.
  • Backup storage and cloud egress on restore are billed by your cloud provider rather than by HYCU, which means the recovery cost of a large incident appears on a different invoice and is rarely modelled in advance.
  • SaaS integration depth varies considerably by application, and a source appearing on the supported list does not guarantee that every object type within it is captured; verify the specific data you need.
  • Integrations built with the development kit may come from partners rather than HYCU, so the support path for a given source is worth establishing before you rely on it.
  • The product's Nutanix heritage still shows in feature depth, and organisations with predominantly VMware or physical estates often find the incumbent backup vendors more mature for those workloads.

Pricing, plan by plan

Altaro VM Backup

$595/perpetual

No published plan breakdown. See the Altaro VM Backup review.

HYCU

On request
  • HYCU R-Cloud$undefined/year
    • Consumption pricing by virtual machine, tebibyte or gibibyte depending on service
    • Different units for different data sources under one agreement
    • Cloud storage target costs billed separately by your provider

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.
Altaro VM Backup review

Choose HYCU if

  • You need r-cloud platform.
  • You work on Web, Linux, Windows.
  • You also want saas application backup.
HYCU review

Questions people ask

Is Altaro VM Backup or HYCU better?
Neither clearly leads. Altaro VM Backup starts at $595/perpetual and HYCU at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Altaro VM Backup or HYCU?
Altaro VM Backup starts at $595/perpetual and HYCU at On request.
Does Altaro VM Backup or HYCU run on more platforms?
Altaro VM Backup runs on Windows Server. HYCU runs on Web, Linux, Windows.
What is Altaro VM Backup best used for?
Altaro VM Backup is most often used for data protection, disaster recovery, business continuity, ransomware protection. Of those, data protection and disaster recovery are not what HYCU is typically brought in for.
What can Altaro VM Backup do that HYCU cannot?
Altaro VM Backup covers Augmented inline dedup, WAN-optimized replication, Boot from backup, Granular restore. HYCU covers R-Cloud platform, SaaS application backup, Nutanix and VMware backup, Cloud infrastructure backup.

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
HYCU: Is pricing published?

No. It is consumption based by virtual machine, tebibyte or gibibyte depending on the service, and quoted. Ask specifically which unit applies to each data source in your estate.

HYCU: Does it really back up SaaS applications?

Yes, that is the main differentiator, with a long supported source list. Confirm the depth of coverage for the specific objects you need in each application.

HYCU: Who holds the encryption keys?

Ask directly and get it in writing. Key custody differs by deployment model and it determines whether you can render backup copies unreadable independently of the vendor.

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