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Backup · head to head

Amanda Enterprise vs Cilium

Amanda Enterprise logo

Amanda Enterprise

Backup

Open-source backup trusted by enterprises

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Cilium logo

Cilium

Cloud

eBPF-based networking, observability and security for Kubernetes

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Amanda Enterprise minimum 10 workloads required for most use cases; Cilium requires a recent Linux kernel, which rules out older distributions and some managed environments
  • They diverge on capability: Amanda Enterprise covers Cross-platform backup, Cilium covers eBPF datapath.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Amanda Enterprise and Cilium actually diverge.

Attributes where Amanda Enterprise and Cilium differ
AttributeAmanda EnterpriseCilium
Pricing modelsubscriptionOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsWindows, Linux, WebKubernetes, Linux
CategoryBackupCloud
Founded2005Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

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 Cilium

  • eBPF datapath
  • Identity-based policy
  • Hubble observability
  • Sidecar-free mesh

What people use each for

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

Amanda Enterprise

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

Cilium

  • Kubernetes networking at a scale where iptables-based CNI performance degradesnot Amanda Enterprise
  • Network policy expressed on workload identity rather than fragile IP rulesnot Amanda Enterprise
  • Seeing which services actually talk to each other, and what policy is droppingnot Amanda Enterprise

Where each one falls short

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

Amanda Enterprise

  • Minimum 10 workloads required for most use cases
  • Per-device pricing may increase costs for large deployments with many servers
  • Enterprise plan requires contacting sales for custom quotes
  • NAS/File share backups charged separately at $4.99-$5.99/TB/month after first 10 TB free

Cilium

  • Requires a recent Linux kernel, which rules out older distributions and some managed environments
  • eBPF is genuinely hard to debug when it misbehaves, and the skill is rare on most teams
  • Broad scope — CNI, policy, mesh, observability — means the learning curve covers several domains at once

Pricing, plan by plan

Amanda Enterprise

Free
  • Business$5.99/monthly
    • Linux/Windows backup
    • Database backup
    • M365 backup
  • Business Plus$6.99/monthly
    • Everything in Business plus: 24/7 premium support
    • 10 hours pro services
    • 8 hours training
  • Enterprise$undefined/quote
    • Everything in Business Plus plus: Integrated data resiliency
    • Expert consultation & design
    • Bulk automation scripts

Cilium

Free
  • CiliumFree
    • Full functionality
    • No usage limits
    • Community support

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 Cilium if

  • You need ebpf datapath.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Kubernetes, Linux.
  • You also want identity-based policy.
Cilium review

Questions people ask

Is Amanda Enterprise or Cilium better?
Neither clearly leads. Amanda Enterprise starts at Free and Cilium at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Amanda Enterprise or Cilium?
Amanda Enterprise starts at Free and Cilium at Free.
Does Amanda Enterprise or Cilium run on more platforms?
Amanda Enterprise runs on Windows, Linux, Web. Cilium runs on Kubernetes, Linux.
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 Cilium is typically brought in for.
What can Amanda Enterprise do that Cilium cannot?
Amanda Enterprise covers Cross-platform backup, Cloud integration, Disk staging, Encryption. Cilium covers eBPF datapath, Identity-based policy, Hubble observability, Sidecar-free mesh.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Amanda Enterprise: How much does Zmanda Pro backup software cost?

Zmanda pricing starts at $5.99/month per device for the Business plan and $6.99/month per device for Business Plus with 24/7 support. Enterprise plans are custom-priced. Pricing estimator available at zmanda.com/pricing to calculate costs based on workload count and storage. Source: https://web.archive.org/web/20241128003646/https://www.zmanda.com/pricing/

Source
Cilium: Is Cilium free?

Yes, open source and CNCF-graduated. Isovalent sells an enterprise distribution and support.

Amanda Enterprise: Is Zmanda's licensing model flexible?

Yes, Zmanda's licensing is flexible, you can change your server or client license midway if your backup environment changes and only pay the difference. Additional professional services cost $200/hour for consulting.

Source
Cilium: What does eBPF change?

It lets Cilium run packet-processing programs inside the kernel instead of relying on iptables rule chains, which behave poorly as the number of services grows.

Amanda Enterprise: What payment options does Zmanda accept?

Zmanda offers multiple payment options including electronic fund transfers (EFTs), wire transfers, and credit card payments with flexible 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year license periods available.

Source
Cilium: Does Cilium replace a service mesh?

It can cover much of what a mesh does without sidecars, though full mesh feature sets still favour Istio or Linkerd.

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