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Backup · head to head

Amanda Enterprise vs Lambda

Amanda Enterprise logo

Amanda Enterprise

Backup

Open-source backup trusted by enterprises

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Lambda logo

Lambda

Cloud

GPU supercomputers for AI training and inference at enterprise scale

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Amanda Enterprise has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Amanda Enterprise minimum 10 workloads required for most use cases; Lambda no free tier or trial, requiring immediate commitment for testing
  • They diverge on capability: Amanda Enterprise covers Cross-platform backup, Lambda covers Superclusters.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Amanda Enterprise and Lambda differ
AttributeAmanda EnterpriseLambda
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionPay-as-you-go hourly pricing with volume discounts for reserved capacity
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWindows, Linux, WebCloud
CategoryBackupCloud
Founded20052012

Identical on both: 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 Lambda

  • Superclusters
  • 1-Click Clusters
  • On-demand instances
  • Liquid cooling
  • InfiniBand networking
  • Managed orchestration
  • Co-engineering support

What people use each for

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

Amanda Enterprise

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

Lambda

  • Training foundation models at scale with dedicated GPU infrastructurenot Amanda Enterprise
  • Large-scale inference serving on enterprise-grade hardwarenot Amanda Enterprise
  • Multi-GPU distributed training with InfiniBand networkingnot Amanda Enterprise
  • Single-tenant secure compute for regulated industriesnot Amanda Enterprise
  • AI lab infrastructure for frontier model developmentnot 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

Lambda

  • No free tier or trial, requiring immediate commitment for testing
  • Single-tenant Superclusters require custom pricing discussions
  • Pricing complexity across multiple GPU types and cluster sizes
  • Less suitable for experimentation or small teams with tight budgets

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

Lambda

On request
  • 1-Click Clusters B200$undefined/hourly
    • 16 GPUs: $9.86/GPU/hour
    • 256+ GPUs: $8.87/GPU/hour
    • 1-year+ reserved discounts available
  • 1-Click Clusters H100$undefined/hourly
    • 16 GPUs: $6.16/GPU/hour
    • 256+ GPUs: $5.54/GPU/hour
  • On-Demand Instances B200$undefined/hourly
    • SXM6: $6.69/GPU/hour
  • On-Demand Instances H100$undefined/hourly
    • SXM: $3.99/GPU/hour

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 Lambda if

  • You need superclusters.
  • You work on Cloud.
  • You also want 1-click clusters.
Lambda review

Questions people ask

Is Amanda Enterprise or Lambda better?
Neither clearly leads. Amanda Enterprise starts at Free and Lambda at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Amanda Enterprise or Lambda?
Amanda Enterprise has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Amanda Enterprise and On request for Lambda.
Does Amanda Enterprise or Lambda run on more platforms?
Amanda Enterprise runs on Windows, Linux, Web. Lambda runs on Cloud.
Can I use Amanda Enterprise for free?
Yes. Amanda Enterprise has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Lambda starts at On request.
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 Lambda is typically brought in for.
What can Amanda Enterprise do that Lambda cannot?
Amanda Enterprise covers Cross-platform backup, Cloud integration, Disk staging, Encryption. Lambda covers Superclusters, 1-Click Clusters, On-demand instances, Liquid cooling.

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
Lambda: What makes Lambda's infrastructure different?

Lambda offers single-tenant Superclusters with exclusive GPU access, liquid cooling, and NVIDIA Quantum-2 InfiniBand networking. The company is 100% focused on AI infrastructure with co-engineering support from teams who built infrastructure for major AI labs.

Source
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
Lambda: How does pricing work for large clusters?

1-Click Clusters pricing ranges from $5.54-$9.86 per GPU/hour depending on GPU type and cluster size, with volume discounts for 256+ GPUs. Reserved capacity is available at custom pricing for 1-year+ commitments.

Source
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
Lambda: Which GPU types are available?

Lambda offers NVIDIA B200, H100, A100, and Tesla V100 GPUs. Individual instances range from V100 at $0.79/hour to B200 SXM6 at $6.69/hour. Newer models like Vera Rubin are available in Superclusters.

Source
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