Softwr

Backup · head to head

Altaro VM Backup vs Velero

Altaro VM Backup logo

Altaro VM Backup

Backup

Simple and powerful VM backup for SMBs

From
$595/perpetual
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Velero logo

Velero

Backup

Open source backup and migration for Kubernetes cluster resources

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Velero 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; Velero there is no vendor support contract from the project itself, so a failed restore during an outage is resolved by your team reading source code and GitHub issues.
  • They diverge on capability: Altaro VM Backup covers Augmented inline dedup, Velero covers Cluster resource backup.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Altaro VM Backup and Velero differ
AttributeAltaro VM BackupVelero
Starting price$595/perpetualFree
Pricing modelUnknownOpen source, no licence fee
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWindows ServerLinux
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 Velero

  • Cluster resource backup
  • Volume snapshots
  • File-level backup
  • Cross-cluster restore
  • Backup hooks
  • Scheduled backups
  • Object storage targets

What people use each for

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

Altaro VM Backup

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

Velero

  • A platform team needing namespace-level restore after an accidental deletion, with no budget for a backup productnot Altaro VM Backup
  • Migrating workloads between Kubernetes clusters or between cloud providers using backup and restorenot Altaro VM Backup
  • Capturing cluster configuration before a risky upgrade so the previous state can be reinstatednot Altaro VM Backup
  • An organisation proving a Kubernetes recovery capability to an auditor before deciding whether to buy a commercial productnot 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

Velero

  • There is no vendor support contract from the project itself, so a failed restore during an outage is resolved by your team reading source code and GitHub issues.
  • Application consistency depends on backup hooks you write and maintain, and a database backed up without a correct hook restores to a state that may not be usable.
  • Restore ordering across dependent resources such as custom resource definitions and operators needs manual attention, and complex applications frequently need a documented runbook rather than a single restore command.
  • Corporate engineering investment became uncertain after Broadcom acquired VMware, which is a real consideration for anyone building a long retention policy on the project.
  • Object storage egress charges apply on restore and are billed by your cloud provider, so a full cluster recovery from another region carries a cost discovered during the incident rather than during planning.

Pricing, plan by plan

Altaro VM Backup

$595/perpetual

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

Velero

Free
  • VeleroFree
    • Apache 2.0 licensed
    • No cluster or capacity limits
    • Community support via Kubernetes Slack and GitHub

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 Velero if

  • You need cluster resource backup.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux.
  • You also want volume snapshots.
Velero review

Questions people ask

Is Altaro VM Backup or Velero better?
Neither clearly leads. Altaro VM Backup starts at $595/perpetual and Velero at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Altaro VM Backup or Velero?
Velero has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $595/perpetual for Altaro VM Backup and Free for Velero.
Does Altaro VM Backup or Velero run on more platforms?
Altaro VM Backup runs on Windows Server. Velero runs on Linux.
Can I use Velero for free?
Yes. Velero 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 Velero is typically brought in for.
What can Altaro VM Backup do that Velero cannot?
Altaro VM Backup covers Augmented inline dedup, WAN-optimized replication, Boot from backup, Granular restore. Velero covers Cluster resource backup, Volume snapshots, File-level backup, Cross-cluster restore.

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
Velero: Can we buy support for Velero?

Not from the project. Several commercial Kubernetes backup products package or extend it and sell support, which is the practical route to an accountable vendor.

Velero: Does it back up persistent volume data?

Yes, through cloud or Container Storage Interface snapshots, or through file-level upload where snapshots are not available.

Velero: What does it cost?

Nothing to licence. You pay for object storage capacity and for egress on restore, both billed by your cloud provider.

Share

Related pages

More on Altaro VM Backup

More on Velero

Keep looking

Other head to heads