Softwr

Backup · head to head

Amanda Enterprise vs Rook

Amanda Enterprise logo

Amanda Enterprise

Backup

Open-source backup trusted by enterprises

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Rook logo

Rook

Cloud

Kubernetes operator that deploys and manages Ceph storage clusters

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Amanda Enterprise minimum 10 workloads required for most use cases; Rook rook automates Ceph but does not abstract it, so an incident still demands Ceph expertise, and organisations without it end up hiring consultants at exactly the wrong moment.
  • They diverge on capability: Amanda Enterprise covers Cross-platform backup, Rook covers Ceph operator.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Amanda Enterprise and Rook differ
AttributeAmanda EnterpriseRook
Pricing modelsubscriptionOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsWindows, Linux, WebLinux, Kubernetes
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 Rook

  • Ceph operator
  • Block, file and object
  • Erasure coding
  • CSI driver
  • Automated upgrades
  • Multi-cluster mirroring

What people use each for

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

Amanda Enterprise

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

Rook

  • An on-premises Kubernetes platform needing block, shared filesystem and S3 storage without buying three productsnot Amanda Enterprise
  • A team that already runs Ceph and wants its lifecycle managed declaratively inside Kubernetesnot Amanda Enterprise
  • A large cluster where three-way replication overhead is unaffordable and erasure coding is requirednot Amanda Enterprise
  • An organisation building a private cloud that cannot use managed cloud storage services for residency reasonsnot 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

Rook

  • Rook automates Ceph but does not abstract it, so an incident still demands Ceph expertise, and organisations without it end up hiring consultants at exactly the wrong moment.
  • There is no vendor and no SLA; the realistic commercial support routes are IBM Red Hat OpenShift Data Foundation or an independent Ceph consultancy, both of which change the cost picture entirely.
  • Ceph is resource hungry, needing substantial memory and dedicated disks per OSD, so the hardware cost of a properly sized cluster is often underestimated.
  • Recovery and rebalancing after a disk or node failure generates heavy background input and output that can degrade application performance for hours, which surprises teams sizing for steady state.
  • Minimum viable clusters require several nodes with several disks each, so it is impractical at small scale and the entry hardware cost exceeds simpler alternatives.

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

Rook

Free
  • RookFree
    • Apache 2.0 licensed, no licence fee
    • Graduated CNCF project
    • Community support via GitHub and Slack only

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 Rook if

  • You need ceph operator.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Kubernetes.
  • You also want block, file and object.
Rook review

Questions people ask

Is Amanda Enterprise or Rook better?
Neither clearly leads. Amanda Enterprise starts at Free and Rook at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Amanda Enterprise or Rook?
Amanda Enterprise starts at Free and Rook at Free.
Does Amanda Enterprise or Rook run on more platforms?
Amanda Enterprise runs on Windows, Linux, Web. Rook runs on Linux, Kubernetes.
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 Rook is typically brought in for.
What can Amanda Enterprise do that Rook cannot?
Amanda Enterprise covers Cross-platform backup, Cloud integration, Disk staging, Encryption. Rook covers Ceph operator, Block, file and object, Erasure coding, CSI driver.

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
Rook: Who supports it in production?

Nobody by default. IBM sells Red Hat OpenShift Data Foundation, which is supported Rook and Ceph, and independent consultancies sell Ceph support. Decide this before deployment.

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
Rook: Does it need Ceph knowledge?

Yes. Rook handles deployment and routine operations, but troubleshooting a degraded cluster is a Ceph skill and there is no way around it.

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
Rook: Can it replace an object storage appliance?

Functionally yes, through the RADOS gateway, but you take on the operations that an appliance vendor would otherwise carry.

Share

Related pages

More on Amanda Enterprise

More on Rook

Keep looking

Other head to heads