Backup & Disaster Recovery · head to head
Amanda Enterprise vs Paragon Backup & Recovery
Amanda Enterprise
Backup & Disaster Recovery
Open-source backup trusted by enterprises
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Paragon Backup & Recovery
Backup & Disaster Recovery
Professional-grade backup for Windows
- From
- $50/year
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Amanda Enterprise has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- 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.; Paragon Backup & Recovery the free Community Edition is licensed for non-commercial use only
- They diverge on capability: Amanda Enterprise covers Cross-platform backup, Paragon Backup & Recovery covers Full disk backup.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Amanda Enterprise and Paragon Backup & Recovery actually diverge.
| Attribute | Amanda Enterprise | Paragon Backup & Recovery |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free | $50/year |
| Free tier | Yes | No |
| Platforms | Windows, Linux, Web | Windows |
| Founded | 2005 | 1994 |
Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Backup & Disaster Recovery).
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 Paragon Backup & Recovery
- Full disk backup
- File-level backup
- Incremental/differential
- Recovery media
- Virtual disk mount
- UEFI support
- Windows
- Network shares
Both cover
- Windows support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Amanda Enterprise
- Data protectionnot Paragon Backup & Recovery
- Disaster recoverynot Paragon Backup & Recovery
- Business continuitynot Paragon Backup & Recovery
- Ransomware protectionnot Paragon Backup & Recovery
- Compliancenot Paragon Backup & Recovery
Paragon Backup & Recovery
- Full disk and partition backup on Windowsnot Amanda Enterprise
- Bare metal recovery from an imagenot Amanda Enterprise
- Scheduled incremental backups for a home machinenot Amanda Enterprise
- Migrating an installation to a new drive on the paid editionsnot 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.
Paragon Backup & Recovery
- The free Community Edition is licensed for non-commercial use only
- Windows only, and specifically Windows 10 x64 from 1809, Windows 11 x64 and Windows 11 Arm64
- Volume and OS copying, partition management and email notifications need the Advanced edition
- Windows Server support requires the Business edition
- Paid edition prices are not shown on the product page
Pricing, plan by plan
Amanda Enterprise
Free- Amanda Enterprise$30/month
- Cross-platform
- Cloud backup
- Web console
Paragon Backup & Recovery
$50/year- Community Edition$50/year
- Full disk backup
- File-level backup
- Recovery media
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.
Choose Paragon Backup & Recovery if
- You need full disk backup.
- You work on Windows.
- You also want file-level backup.
Questions people ask
- Is Amanda Enterprise or Paragon Backup & Recovery better?
- Neither clearly leads. Amanda Enterprise starts at Free and Paragon Backup & Recovery at $50/year, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Amanda Enterprise or Paragon Backup & Recovery?
- Amanda Enterprise has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Amanda Enterprise and $50/year for Paragon Backup & Recovery.
- Does Amanda Enterprise or Paragon Backup & Recovery run on more platforms?
- Amanda Enterprise runs on Windows, Linux, Web. Paragon Backup & Recovery runs on Windows.
- Can I use Amanda Enterprise for free?
- Yes. Amanda Enterprise has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Paragon Backup & Recovery starts at $50/year.
- 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 Paragon Backup & Recovery is typically brought in for.
- What can Amanda Enterprise do that Paragon Backup & Recovery cannot?
- Amanda Enterprise covers Cross-platform backup, Cloud integration, Disk staging, Encryption. Paragon Backup & Recovery covers Full disk backup, File-level backup, Incremental/differential, Recovery media. Both handle Windows support.