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Amanda Enterprise vs Borg Backup

Amanda Enterprise logo

Amanda Enterprise

Software

Open-source backup trusted by enterprises

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Borg Backup logo

Borg Backup

Software

Deduplicating archiver with compression and encryption

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: 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.; Borg Backup linux, macOS and BSD only; Windows is not a supported platform
  • They diverge on capability: Amanda Enterprise covers Cross-platform backup, Borg Backup covers Content-defined chunking.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Amanda Enterprise and Borg Backup actually diverge.

Attributes where Amanda Enterprise and Borg Backup differ
AttributeAmanda EnterpriseBorg Backup
Pricing modelsubscriptionfree
PlatformsWindows, Linux, WebLinux, Mac
Founded20052015

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Amanda Enterprise

  • Cross-platform backup
  • Cloud integration
  • Disk staging
  • Encryption
  • Web-based management
  • Bare metal recovery
  • AWS S3
  • Azure

Only in Borg Backup

  • Content-defined chunking
  • Deduplication
  • Compression
  • Authenticated encryption
  • Pruning
  • Mount archives
  • SSH
  • BorgBase

Both cover

  • Linux support

What people use each for

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

Amanda Enterprise

  • Data protectionnot Borg Backup
  • Disaster recoverynot Borg Backup
  • Business continuitynot Borg Backup
  • Ransomware protectionnot Borg Backup
  • Compliancenot Borg Backup

Borg Backup

  • Deduplicated backups where daily full snapshots would otherwise be expensivenot Amanda Enterprise
  • Encrypted backup to a server you do not fully trust, since the server never sees plaintextnot Amanda Enterprise
  • Browsing previous versions by mounting an archive over FUSEnot Amanda Enterprise
  • Scripted server backups with no agent or daemon to runnot Amanda Enterprise

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

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.

Borg Backup

  • Linux, macOS and BSD only; Windows is not a supported platform
  • Command-line only, with no graphical interface in the project itself
  • Version 2.0 is still in beta, so production use means staying on the 1.4 line
  • Restoring requires the Borg tooling, since archives are a deduplicated chunk store rather than plain files

Pricing, plan by plan

Amanda Enterprise

Free
  • Amanda Enterprise$30/month
    • Cross-platform
    • Cloud backup
    • Web console

Borg Backup

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Deduplication
    • Compression
    • Encryption

Which should you pick?

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.
Amanda Enterprise review

Choose Borg Backup if

  • You need content-defined chunking.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Mac.
  • You also want deduplication.
Borg Backup review

Questions people ask

Is Amanda Enterprise or Borg Backup better?
Neither clearly leads. Amanda Enterprise starts at Free and Borg Backup at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Amanda Enterprise or Borg Backup?
Amanda Enterprise starts at Free and Borg Backup at Free.
Does Amanda Enterprise or Borg Backup run on more platforms?
Amanda Enterprise runs on Windows, Linux, Web. Borg Backup runs on Linux, Mac.
Can I use Amanda Enterprise for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Amanda Enterprise best used for?
Amanda Enterprise is most often used for data protection, disaster recovery, business continuity, ransomware protection. Of those, data protection and disaster recovery are not what Borg Backup is typically brought in for.
What can Amanda Enterprise do that Borg Backup cannot?
Amanda Enterprise covers Cross-platform backup, Cloud integration, Disk staging, Encryption. Borg Backup covers Content-defined chunking, Deduplication, Compression, Authenticated encryption. Both handle Linux support.
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