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Backup & Disaster Recovery · head to head

Arcserve UDP vs NAKIVO Backup & Replication

Arcserve UDP logo

Arcserve UDP

Backup & Disaster Recovery

Unified data protection for all workloads

From
$25/month
Rated
-
NAKIVO Backup & Replication logo

NAKIVO Backup & Replication

Backup & Disaster Recovery

Fast and affordable VM backup solution

From
Free
Rated
-

The short version

  • Only NAKIVO Backup & Replication 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; NAKIVO Backup & Replication no macOS support and limited Linux support due to absence of native Linux agent
  • They diverge on capability: Arcserve UDP covers Assured recovery testing, NAKIVO Backup & Replication covers Site recovery.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Arcserve UDP and NAKIVO Backup & Replication actually diverge.

Attributes where Arcserve UDP and NAKIVO Backup & Replication differ
AttributeArcserve UDPNAKIVO Backup & Replication
Starting price$25/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWindows, LinuxWindows, Linux, Cloud, On-premise
Founded19832012

Identical on both: 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 Arcserve UDP

  • Assured recovery testing
  • Deep application support
  • Ransomware protection
  • Tape backup
  • Hardware snapshots
  • Microsoft Exchange
  • SQL Server
  • SAP

Only in NAKIVO Backup & Replication

  • Site recovery
  • Global deduplication
  • Network acceleration
  • Multi-tenancy
  • Self-service portal
  • Nutanix
  • AWS
  • Microsoft 365

Both cover

  • Instant VM recovery
  • VMware
  • Hyper-V
  • Oracle
  • Windows support
  • Linux support
  • Web 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

NAKIVO Backup & Replication

  • 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

NAKIVO Backup & Replication

  • No macOS support and limited Linux support due to absence of native Linux agent
  • Limited SQL Server transaction log backup options restricting database protection granularity
  • Weak ITSM platform integrations - lacks tight integration with ServiceNow or Jira Service Desk
  • Encrypted VMware VMs only support crash-consistent backups in application-aware mode, limiting granular app-level recovery

Pricing, plan by plan

Arcserve UDP

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

NAKIVO Backup & Replication

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the NAKIVO Backup & Replication review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Arcserve UDP if

  • You need assured recovery testing.
  • You work on Windows, Linux.
  • You also want deep application support.

Choose NAKIVO Backup & Replication if

  • You need site recovery.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, Linux, Cloud, On-premise.
  • You also want global deduplication.

Questions people ask

Is Arcserve UDP or NAKIVO Backup & Replication better?
Neither clearly leads. Arcserve UDP starts at $25/month and NAKIVO Backup & Replication at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Arcserve UDP or NAKIVO Backup & Replication?
NAKIVO Backup & Replication has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $25/month for Arcserve UDP and Free for NAKIVO Backup & Replication.
Does Arcserve UDP or NAKIVO Backup & Replication run on more platforms?
Arcserve UDP runs on Windows, Linux. NAKIVO Backup & Replication runs on Windows, Linux, Cloud, On-premise.
Can I use NAKIVO Backup & Replication for free?
Yes. NAKIVO Backup & Replication 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 NAKIVO Backup & Replication cannot?
Arcserve UDP covers Assured recovery testing, Deep application support, Ransomware protection, Tape backup. NAKIVO Backup & Replication covers Site recovery, Global deduplication, Network acceleration, Multi-tenancy. Both handle Instant VM recovery, VMware, Hyper-V, Oracle.

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
NAKIVO Backup & Replication: What does NAKIVO backup?

NAKIVO backs up virtual machines from VMware vSphere, Hyper-V, Nutanix AHV, and Proxmox VE, plus physical Windows and Linux servers, Amazon EC2 instances, Microsoft 365 data, databases, and NAS file shares.

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
NAKIVO Backup & Replication: What is NAKIVO's pricing structure?

NAKIVO offers subscription pricing starting at $2.45 per workload per month or perpetual licensing starting at $19 per workstation. Additional tiers include $229 per CPU socket for larger deployments. Both on-premise and SaaS deployment options are available.

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
NAKIVO Backup & Replication: Does NAKIVO include ransomware protection?

Yes. NAKIVO includes AES-256 encryption, role-based access control, two-factor authentication, and built-in ransomware protection through immutable storage options.

Source
NAKIVO Backup & Replication: Can NAKIVO replicate virtual machines?

Yes. NAKIVO Backup & Replication includes VM replication capabilities, disaster recovery orchestration, and automated failover for business continuity planning.

Source

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