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Backup · head to head

Altaro VM Backup vs Paragon Backup & Recovery

Altaro VM Backup logo

Altaro VM Backup

Backup

Simple and powerful VM backup for SMBs

From
$595/perpetual
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Paragon Backup & Recovery logo

Paragon Backup & Recovery

Backup

Professional-grade backup for Windows

From
$50/year
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; Paragon Backup & Recovery the free Community Edition is licensed for non-commercial use only
  • They diverge on capability: Altaro VM Backup covers Augmented inline dedup, Paragon Backup & Recovery covers Full disk backup.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Altaro VM Backup and Paragon Backup & Recovery actually diverge.

Attributes where Altaro VM Backup and Paragon Backup & Recovery differ
AttributeAltaro VM BackupParagon Backup & Recovery
Starting price$595/perpetual$50/year
Pricing modelUnknownsubscription
PlatformsWindows ServerWindows
Founded20091994

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 Paragon Backup & Recovery

  • Full disk backup
  • File-level backup
  • Incremental/differential
  • Recovery media
  • Virtual disk mount
  • UEFI support
  • Windows
  • Network shares

Both cover

  • Windows support

What people use each for

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

Altaro VM Backup

  • Data protectionnot Paragon Backup & Recovery
  • Disaster recoverynot Paragon Backup & Recovery
  • Business continuitynot Paragon Backup & Recovery
  • Ransomware protectionnot Paragon Backup & Recovery
  • Compliancenot Paragon Backup & Recovery

Paragon Backup & Recovery

  • Full disk and partition backup on Windowsnot Altaro VM Backup
  • Bare metal recovery from an imagenot Altaro VM Backup
  • Scheduled incremental backups for a home machinenot Altaro VM Backup
  • Migrating an installation to a new drive on the paid editionsnot 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

Paragon Backup & Recovery

  • The free Community Edition is licensed for non-commercial use only
  • Windows only, and specifically Windows 10 x64 from 1809, Windows 11 x64 and Windows 11 Arm64
  • Volume and OS copying, partition management and email notifications need the Advanced edition
  • Windows Server support requires the Business edition
  • Paid edition prices are not shown on the product page

Pricing, plan by plan

Altaro VM Backup

$595/perpetual

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

Paragon Backup & Recovery

$50/year
  • Community Edition$50/year
    • Full disk backup
    • File-level backup
    • Recovery media

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 Paragon Backup & Recovery if

  • You need full disk backup.
  • You work on Windows.
  • You also want file-level backup.
Paragon Backup & Recovery review

Questions people ask

Is Altaro VM Backup or Paragon Backup & Recovery better?
Neither clearly leads. Altaro VM Backup starts at $595/perpetual and Paragon Backup & Recovery at $50/year, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Altaro VM Backup or Paragon Backup & Recovery?
Altaro VM Backup starts at $595/perpetual and Paragon Backup & Recovery at $50/year.
Does Altaro VM Backup or Paragon Backup & Recovery run on more platforms?
Altaro VM Backup runs on Windows Server. Paragon Backup & Recovery runs on 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 Paragon Backup & Recovery is typically brought in for.
What can Altaro VM Backup do that Paragon Backup & Recovery cannot?
Altaro VM Backup covers Augmented inline dedup, WAN-optimized replication, Boot from backup, Granular restore. Paragon Backup & Recovery covers Full disk backup, File-level backup, Incremental/differential, Recovery media. Both handle Windows 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
Paragon Backup & Recovery: Is Paragon Backup & Recovery still available?

No, Paragon Backup & Recovery has been unavailable since October 8, 2025, and is marked as a legacy product. Business customers are directed to explore alternative products for business use.

Source
Paragon Backup & Recovery: How much does Paragon Backup & Recovery cost?

No pricing information is published. The product is restricted to home use only and customers must contact Paragon's sales team directly for any inquiries.

Source
Paragon Backup & Recovery: What should business users do if they used Paragon Backup & Recovery?

Business customers are recommended to explore the company's other products designed for business use and contact the sales team for alternative solutions.

Source
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