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Backup · head to head

Altaro VM Backup vs Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes

Altaro VM Backup logo

Altaro VM Backup

Backup

Simple and powerful VM backup for SMBs

From
$595/perpetual
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes logo

Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes

Backup

Kubernetes-native backup, disaster recovery and application mobility

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes 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; Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes licensing is per worker node, so clusters designed with many small nodes for scheduling flexibility pay considerably more than the same capacity in fewer large nodes.
  • They diverge on capability: Altaro VM Backup covers Augmented inline dedup, Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes covers Application-aware capture.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Altaro VM Backup and Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes actually diverge.

Attributes where Altaro VM Backup and Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes differ
AttributeAltaro VM BackupVeeam Kasten for Kubernetes
Starting price$595/perpetualFree
Pricing modelUnknownPer worker node
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWindows ServerKubernetes, Linux
Founded2009Unknown

Identical on both: 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 Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes

  • Application-aware capture
  • Policy engine
  • Immutable targets
  • Restore transformation
  • Database hooks
  • Ransomware detection

What people use each for

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

Altaro VM Backup

  • Data protectionnot Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes
  • Disaster recoverynot Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes
  • Business continuitynot Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes
  • Ransomware protectionnot Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes
  • Compliancenot Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes

Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes

  • A platform team that must prove to auditors it can restore a production namespace, not just its disksnot Altaro VM Backup
  • Migrating a stateful application from on-premises OpenShift to a managed cloud Kubernetes servicenot Altaro VM Backup
  • Protecting Kubernetes workloads to an immutable object store so ransomware cannot delete the backupsnot Altaro VM Backup
  • A team using operators and custom resources that volume-snapshot tools silently fail to capturenot 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

Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes

  • Licensing is per worker node, so clusters designed with many small nodes for scheduling flexibility pay considerably more than the same capacity in fewer large nodes.
  • The free Starter edition is scale limited and community supported, so it works for evaluation and small clusters but there is no gentle upgrade path when production grows past the limit.
  • Backup performance depends on the underlying CSI driver snapshot capability, so on storage without proper CSI snapshot support it falls back to slower generic copying.
  • Restores into a different cluster need matching custom resource definitions and operator versions present beforehand, so cross-cluster mobility is less automatic than the marketing suggests.
  • Kasten protects Kubernetes only, so organisations with mixed virtual machine and container estates run it alongside a separate backup product and manage two retention policies and two sets of evidence.

Pricing, plan by plan

Altaro VM Backup

$595/perpetual

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

Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes

Free
  • StarterFree
    • Functionally the same as Enterprise
    • Limited on scale and support
    • Intended for evaluation and small non-production clusters
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Licensed per worker node, quoted annually
    • Available through AWS, Azure and Google Cloud marketplaces
    • Vendor support with SLAs

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 Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes if

  • You need application-aware capture.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Kubernetes, Linux.
  • You also want policy engine.
Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes review

Questions people ask

Is Altaro VM Backup or Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes better?
Neither clearly leads. Altaro VM Backup starts at $595/perpetual and Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Altaro VM Backup or Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes?
Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $595/perpetual for Altaro VM Backup and Free for Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes.
Does Altaro VM Backup or Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes run on more platforms?
Altaro VM Backup runs on Windows Server. Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes runs on Kubernetes, Linux.
Can I use Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes for free?
Yes. Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes 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. Of those, data protection and disaster recovery are not what Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes is typically brought in for.
What can Altaro VM Backup do that Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes cannot?
Altaro VM Backup covers Augmented inline dedup, WAN-optimized replication, Boot from backup, Granular restore. Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes covers Application-aware capture, Policy engine, Immutable targets, Restore transformation.

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
Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes: Is Kasten K10 still a product?

It is now sold as Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes. The kasten.io domain redirects to Veeam and the documentation still lives at docs.kasten.io.

Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes: Is there a free edition?

Yes, the Starter edition is free and functionally complete but limited on scale and support, aimed at evaluation and small non-production clusters.

Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes: How is Enterprise licensed?

Per worker node. Count your nodes, not your capacity, before comparing quotes, because node sizing directly changes the price.

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