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Backup & Disaster Recovery · head to head

Arcserve UDP vs Arq Backup

Arcserve UDP logo

Arcserve UDP

Backup & Disaster Recovery

Unified data protection for all workloads

From
$25/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Arq Backup logo

Arq Backup

File Storage & Backup

Mac and Windows backup to your own cloud storage

From
$50/year
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Arcserve UDP multiple security vulnerabilities documented in 2025-2026 including authentication bypass and buffer overflow issues; Arq Backup runs on Mac and Windows only
  • They diverge on capability: Arcserve UDP covers Assured recovery testing, Arq Backup covers Client-side encryption.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Arcserve UDP and Arq Backup actually diverge.

Attributes where Arcserve UDP and Arq Backup differ
AttributeArcserve UDPArq Backup
Starting price$25/month$50/year
PlatformsWindows, LinuxWindows, Mac
CategoryBackup & Disaster RecoveryFile Storage & Backup
Founded19832009

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), free tier (No), 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 Arcserve UDP

  • Assured recovery testing
  • Instant VM recovery
  • Deep application support
  • Ransomware protection
  • Tape backup
  • Hardware snapshots
  • VMware
  • Hyper-V

Only in Arq Backup

  • Client-side encryption
  • Hourly backups
  • Network backup
  • Deduplication
  • Immutable backups
  • Budget controls
  • AWS S3
  • Google Cloud

Both cover

  • Windows support

What people use each for

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

Arcserve UDP

  • Data protection
  • Disaster recovery
  • Business continuity
  • Ransomware protection
  • Compliance

Arq Backup

  • Data protection
  • Disaster recovery
  • Business continuity
  • Ransomware protection
  • Compliance

Both are used for data protection, disaster recovery, business continuity, ransomware protection, compliance, on those jobs the choice comes down to price and fit rather than capability.

Where each one falls short

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

Arcserve UDP

  • Multiple security vulnerabilities documented in 2025-2026 including authentication bypass and buffer overflow issues
  • Slow restore speeds for large backup tasks and recovery operations
  • Requires full backup when changing drive sizes, causing extended backup windows

Arq Backup

  • Runs on Mac and Windows only
  • Arq 7 is licensed per computer, and continuing to receive updates after the first year costs $25 per year per computer
  • Arq Premium covers up to 5 computers, so larger households or teams need more than one subscription
  • Arq Premium includes 1TB of storage and charges $0.0059 per GB per month beyond it

Pricing, plan by plan

Arcserve UDP

$25/month
  • UDP Premium$25/month
    • Assured recovery
    • Instant VM
    • Tape support

Arq Backup

$50/year
  • Arq Premium$50/year
    • 5 computers
    • Arq Cloud storage option
    • Email support

Which should you pick?

Choose Arcserve UDP if

  • You need assured recovery testing.
  • You work on Windows, Linux.
  • You also want instant vm recovery.
Arcserve UDP review

Choose Arq Backup if

  • You need client-side encryption.
  • You work on Windows, Mac.
  • You also want hourly backups.
Arq Backup review

Questions people ask

Is Arcserve UDP or Arq Backup better?
Neither clearly leads. Arcserve UDP starts at $25/month and Arq Backup at $50/year, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Arcserve UDP or Arq Backup?
Arcserve UDP starts at $25/month and Arq Backup at $50/year.
Does Arcserve UDP or Arq Backup run on more platforms?
Arcserve UDP runs on Windows, Linux. Arq Backup runs on Windows, Mac.
What is Arcserve UDP best used for?
Arcserve UDP is most often used for data protection, disaster recovery, business continuity, ransomware protection.
What can Arcserve UDP do that Arq Backup cannot?
Arcserve UDP covers Assured recovery testing, Instant VM recovery, Deep application support, Ransomware protection. Arq Backup covers Client-side encryption, Hourly backups, Network backup, Deduplication. Both handle Windows support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Arcserve UDP: What licensing model does Arcserve UDP use?

Arcserve UDP uses a capacity-based subscription model (Managed Capacity Program) where you license based on total front-end terabytes of protected data rather than per-device. Available in Standard, Advanced, and Premium editions.

Source
Arcserve UDP: Does Arcserve UDP support cloud backup?

Yes. Arcserve UDP integrates with multiple cloud providers including AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, and Wasabi for offsite backup and disaster recovery storage.

Source
Arcserve UDP: What hypervisors does Arcserve UDP support?

Arcserve UDP supports multiple hypervisors including VMware vSphere, Microsoft Hyper-V, KVM, and others, allowing granular recovery at the VM level with instant boot capabilities.

Source
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Related pages

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