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Backup · head to head

Amanda Enterprise vs K3s

Amanda Enterprise logo

Amanda Enterprise

Backup

Open-source backup trusted by enterprises

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
K3s logo

K3s

Cloud

Lightweight certified Kubernetes distribution in a single binary

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Amanda Enterprise minimum 10 workloads required for most use cases; K3s the SQLite default is single-server only; highly available control planes need etcd or an external datastore, which removes much of the simplicity
  • They diverge on capability: Amanda Enterprise covers Cross-platform backup, K3s covers Single binary.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Amanda Enterprise and K3s actually diverge.

Attributes where Amanda Enterprise and K3s differ
AttributeAmanda EnterpriseK3s
Pricing modelsubscriptionOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsWindows, Linux, WebLinux, ARM, Self-hosted
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 K3s

  • Single binary
  • SQLite by default
  • Certified conformant
  • Batteries included
  • Low resource footprint
  • Simple install

What people use each for

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

Amanda Enterprise

  • Data protectionnot K3s
  • Disaster recoverynot K3s
  • Business continuitynot K3s
  • Ransomware protectionnot K3s
  • Compliancenot K3s

K3s

  • Kubernetes on edge sites and IoT hardware where full clusters will not fitnot Amanda Enterprise
  • Development and CI clusters that must start fast and cost nothingnot Amanda Enterprise
  • Small production clusters where full Kubernetes is more operations than the workload justifiesnot Amanda Enterprise
  • Teaching and learning Kubernetes without cloud spendnot 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

K3s

  • The SQLite default is single-server only; highly available control planes need etcd or an external datastore, which removes much of the simplicity
  • Bundled components such as Traefik are opinionated defaults that larger teams often strip out and replace
  • Removed in-tree cloud provider integrations mean cloud-specific features need external controllers
  • Aimed at small and edge clusters, so very large deployments are better served by a standard distribution

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

K3s

Free
  • K3sFree
    • 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 K3s if

  • You need single binary.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, ARM, Self-hosted.
  • You also want sqlite by default.
K3s review

Questions people ask

Is Amanda Enterprise or K3s better?
Neither clearly leads. Amanda Enterprise starts at Free and K3s at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Amanda Enterprise or K3s?
Amanda Enterprise starts at Free and K3s at Free.
Does Amanda Enterprise or K3s run on more platforms?
Amanda Enterprise runs on Windows, Linux, Web. K3s runs on Linux, ARM, Self-hosted.
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 K3s is typically brought in for.
What can Amanda Enterprise do that K3s cannot?
Amanda Enterprise covers Cross-platform backup, Cloud integration, Disk staging, Encryption. K3s covers Single binary, SQLite by default, Certified conformant, Batteries included.

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
K3s: Is K3s free?

Yes. K3s is open source with no licence fee. SUSE sells commercial support around Rancher separately.

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
K3s: Is K3s real Kubernetes?

Yes. It is CNCF-certified conformant, so standard manifests, kubectl and Helm charts work without modification.

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
K3s: Why is K3s smaller than Kubernetes?

It strips legacy, alpha and in-tree cloud provider code, packages everything as one binary, and defaults to SQLite instead of etcd.

K3s: Can K3s run in production?

Yes, and it does, particularly at the edge and for small clusters. For a highly available control plane you need to move off the SQLite default to etcd or an external datastore.

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