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Backup · head to head

AvePoint Cloud Backup vs Bacula

AvePoint Cloud Backup logo

AvePoint Cloud Backup

Backup

Microsoft 365, Dynamics and Salesforce backup from a long-standing Microsoft partner

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Bacula logo

Bacula

Backup

The best open source backup software for Linux

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Bacula has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: AvePoint Cloud Backup no pricing is published, so the per-user cost has to be established through sales, and it varies with data volume rather than being a flat seat rate.; Bacula the community edition has no vendor support contract; bacula.org directs support and paid deployments toward the separate commercial Bacula Enterprise product instead.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which AvePoint Cloud Backup and Bacula actually diverge.

Attributes where AvePoint Cloud Backup and Bacula differ
AttributeAvePoint Cloud BackupBacula
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquoteopen-source
Free tierNoYes

Identical on both: platforms (Web), 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 AvePoint Cloud Backup

  • Microsoft 365 backup
  • Granular restore
  • Entra ID backup
  • Salesforce and Dynamics backup
  • Bring your own storage
  • Multiple daily backups
  • Governance portfolio

Only in Bacula

Nothing recorded that AvePoint Cloud Backup does not also cover.

What people use each for

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

AvePoint Cloud Backup

  • A tenant consolidation after an acquisition where backup, migration and governance are needed against the same Microsoft 365 estatenot Bacula
  • An organisation that has discovered Microsoft 365 native retention does not restore a deleted SharePoint site after the recycle bin windownot Bacula
  • Backing up Entra ID configuration so an accidental conditional access or group change can be reversednot Bacula
  • A regulated organisation that must hold backup data in its own storage account under its own encryption keysnot Bacula

Bacula

  • Linux, Windows, and macOS network backup at scalenot AvePoint Cloud Backup
  • VMware, KVM, Hyper-V virtual machine backupnot AvePoint Cloud Backup
  • MySQL, Oracle, PostgreSQL database backupnot AvePoint Cloud Backup
  • Microsoft Exchange Server backupnot AvePoint Cloud Backup
  • Tape backup and enterprise data retentionnot AvePoint Cloud Backup

Where each one falls short

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

AvePoint Cloud Backup

  • No pricing is published, so the per-user cost has to be established through sales, and it varies with data volume rather than being a flat seat rate.
  • Whether AvePoint or your organisation holds the storage account and encryption keys is a configuration decision that is expensive to reverse later, and buyers often accept the vendor-managed default without considering it.
  • Per-user pricing means organisations with many low-activity accounts, such as education institutions with dormant student mailboxes, pay for seats with almost no data.
  • Restore of very large SharePoint sites and Teams structures is slow and API-throttled by Microsoft rather than by the product, so recovery time objectives set on paper often cannot be met in practice.
  • The breadth of the AvePoint portfolio means sales conversations quickly widen into governance and migration products, and buyers who wanted only backup should expect to defend that scope.

Bacula

  • The community edition has no vendor support contract; bacula.org directs support and paid deployments toward the separate commercial Bacula Enterprise product instead.

Pricing, plan by plan

AvePoint Cloud Backup

On request
  • AvePoint Cloud Backup$undefined/year
    • Priced per user, with variation by protected data volume
    • AvePoint-managed or bring your own storage
    • Microsoft 365, Entra ID, Dynamics, Salesforce and Google Workspace

Bacula

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Bacula review.

Which should you pick?

Choose AvePoint Cloud Backup if

  • You need microsoft 365 backup.
  • You also want granular restore.
AvePoint Cloud Backup review

Choose Bacula if

  • You want to start without paying.
Bacula review

Questions people ask

Is AvePoint Cloud Backup or Bacula better?
Neither clearly leads. AvePoint Cloud Backup starts at On request and Bacula at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, AvePoint Cloud Backup or Bacula?
Bacula has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for AvePoint Cloud Backup and Free for Bacula.
Does AvePoint Cloud Backup or Bacula run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Bacula for free?
Yes. Bacula has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. AvePoint Cloud Backup starts at On request.
What is AvePoint Cloud Backup best used for?
AvePoint Cloud Backup is most often used for a tenant consolidation after an acquisition where backup, migration and governance are needed against the same microsoft 365 estate, an organisation that has discovered microsoft 365 native retention does not restore a deleted sharepoint site after the recycle bin window, backing up entra id configuration so an accidental conditional access or group change can be reversed, a regulated organisation that must hold backup data in its own storage account under its own encryption keys. Of those, a tenant consolidation after an acquisition where backup, migration and governance are needed against the same microsoft 365 estate and an organisation that has discovered microsoft 365 native retention does not restore a deleted sharepoint site after the recycle bin window are not what Bacula is typically brought in for.
What can AvePoint Cloud Backup do that Bacula cannot?
AvePoint Cloud Backup covers Microsoft 365 backup, Granular restore, Entra ID backup, Salesforce and Dynamics backup.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

AvePoint Cloud Backup: Can we keep backups in our own storage?

Yes, bring your own Azure or Amazon S3 storage is supported. Decide this before rollout, because moving to it afterwards is a migration.

Bacula: How much does Bacula cost?

Bacula Community Edition is free and open source. Bacula Enterprise is a commercial offering with a free trial available, but specific pricing is not listed on the main website.

Source
AvePoint Cloud Backup: Is Microsoft 365 native retention not enough?

No. Native retention covers deletion within limited windows and does not provide point-in-time restore of arbitrary items after those windows expire.

Bacula: Is Bacula free?

Bacula Community Edition is fully free and open source. Enterprise Edition is commercial but offers a free trial to evaluate features before purchasing.

Source
AvePoint Cloud Backup: How is it priced?

Per user, varying by protected data volume, quoted rather than published. Ask for the volume assumption behind the per-user figure.

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