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Backup · head to head

Arcserve UDP vs Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes

Arcserve UDP logo

Arcserve UDP

Backup

Unified data protection for all workloads

From
$25/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes logo

Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes

Backup

Kubernetes-native backup, disaster recovery and application mobility

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes 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; Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes licensing is per worker node, so clusters designed with many small nodes for scheduling flexibility pay considerably more than the same capacity in fewer large nodes.
  • They diverge on capability: Arcserve UDP covers Assured recovery testing, Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes covers Application-aware capture.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Arcserve UDP and Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes actually diverge.

Attributes where Arcserve UDP and Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes differ
AttributeArcserve UDPVeeam Kasten for Kubernetes
Starting price$25/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionPer worker node
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWindows, LinuxKubernetes, Linux
Founded1983Unknown

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
  • Hyper-V

Only in Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes

  • Application-aware capture
  • Policy engine
  • Immutable targets
  • Restore transformation
  • Database hooks
  • Ransomware detection

What people use each for

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

Arcserve UDP

  • Data protectionnot Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes
  • Disaster recoverynot Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes
  • Business continuitynot Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes
  • Ransomware protectionnot Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes
  • Compliancenot Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes

Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes

  • A platform team that must prove to auditors it can restore a production namespace, not just its disksnot Arcserve UDP
  • Migrating a stateful application from on-premises OpenShift to a managed cloud Kubernetes servicenot Arcserve UDP
  • Protecting Kubernetes workloads to an immutable object store so ransomware cannot delete the backupsnot Arcserve UDP
  • A team using operators and custom resources that volume-snapshot tools silently fail to capturenot Arcserve UDP

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

Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes

  • Licensing is per worker node, so clusters designed with many small nodes for scheduling flexibility pay considerably more than the same capacity in fewer large nodes.
  • The free Starter edition is scale limited and community supported, so it works for evaluation and small clusters but there is no gentle upgrade path when production grows past the limit.
  • Backup performance depends on the underlying CSI driver snapshot capability, so on storage without proper CSI snapshot support it falls back to slower generic copying.
  • Restores into a different cluster need matching custom resource definitions and operator versions present beforehand, so cross-cluster mobility is less automatic than the marketing suggests.
  • Kasten protects Kubernetes only, so organisations with mixed virtual machine and container estates run it alongside a separate backup product and manage two retention policies and two sets of evidence.

Pricing, plan by plan

Arcserve UDP

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

Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes

Free
  • StarterFree
    • Functionally the same as Enterprise
    • Limited on scale and support
    • Intended for evaluation and small non-production clusters
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Licensed per worker node, quoted annually
    • Available through AWS, Azure and Google Cloud marketplaces
    • Vendor support with SLAs

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 Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes if

  • You need application-aware capture.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Kubernetes, Linux.
  • You also want policy engine.
Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes review

Questions people ask

Is Arcserve UDP or Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes better?
Neither clearly leads. Arcserve UDP starts at $25/month and Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Arcserve UDP or Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes?
Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $25/month for Arcserve UDP and Free for Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes.
Does Arcserve UDP or Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes run on more platforms?
Arcserve UDP runs on Windows, Linux. Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes runs on Kubernetes, Linux.
Can I use Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes for free?
Yes. Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes 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. Of those, data protection and disaster recovery are not what Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes is typically brought in for.
What can Arcserve UDP do that Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes cannot?
Arcserve UDP covers Assured recovery testing, Instant VM recovery, Deep application support, Ransomware protection. Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes covers Application-aware capture, Policy engine, Immutable targets, Restore transformation.

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
Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes: Is Kasten K10 still a product?

It is now sold as Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes. The kasten.io domain redirects to Veeam and the documentation still lives at docs.kasten.io.

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
Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes: Is there a free edition?

Yes, the Starter edition is free and functionally complete but limited on scale and support, aimed at evaluation and small non-production clusters.

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
Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes: How is Enterprise licensed?

Per worker node. Count your nodes, not your capacity, before comparing quotes, because node sizing directly changes the price.

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