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Backup · head to head

Arcserve UDP vs Macrium Reflect

Arcserve UDP logo

Arcserve UDP

Backup

Unified data protection for all workloads

From
$25/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Macrium Reflect logo

Macrium Reflect

Backup

Award-winning disk imaging and cloning

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Macrium Reflect has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Arcserve UDP multiple security vulnerabilities documented in 2025-2026 including authentication bypass and buffer overflow issues; Macrium Reflect business editions (Workstation, Site Backup) publish named tiers but no self-serve figure on their own product pages; only a free trial of the management console is offered directly
  • They diverge on capability: Arcserve UDP covers Assured recovery testing, Macrium Reflect covers Disk imaging.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Arcserve UDP and Macrium Reflect actually diverge.

Attributes where Arcserve UDP and Macrium Reflect differ
AttributeArcserve UDPMacrium Reflect
Starting price$25/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionfreemium
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWindows, LinuxWindows
Founded19832006

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Backup).

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
  • Microsoft Exchange

Only in Macrium Reflect

  • Disk imaging
  • Rapid delta cloning
  • Rescue Media
  • Incremental backup
  • Scheduling
  • Email notifications
  • Windows PE
  • Network shares

Both cover

  • Hyper-V
  • 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

Macrium Reflect

  • 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

Macrium Reflect

  • Business editions (Workstation, Site Backup) publish named tiers but no self-serve figure on their own product pages; only a free trial of the management console is offered directly

Pricing, plan by plan

Arcserve UDP

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

Macrium Reflect

Free
  • Home$70/year
    • Disk imaging
    • Rescue Media
    • Rapid delta

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 Macrium Reflect if

  • You need disk imaging.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows.
  • You also want rapid delta cloning.
Macrium Reflect review

Questions people ask

Is Arcserve UDP or Macrium Reflect better?
Neither clearly leads. Arcserve UDP starts at $25/month and Macrium Reflect at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Arcserve UDP or Macrium Reflect?
Macrium Reflect has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $25/month for Arcserve UDP and Free for Macrium Reflect.
Does Arcserve UDP or Macrium Reflect run on more platforms?
Arcserve UDP runs on Windows, Linux. Macrium Reflect runs on Windows.
Can I use Macrium Reflect for free?
Yes. Macrium Reflect has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Arcserve UDP starts at $25/month.
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 Macrium Reflect cannot?
Arcserve UDP covers Assured recovery testing, Instant VM recovery, Deep application support, Ransomware protection. Macrium Reflect covers Disk imaging, Rapid delta cloning, Rescue Media, Incremental backup. Both handle Hyper-V, 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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