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Backup · head to head

AvePoint Cloud Backup vs rustic

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
rustic logo

rustic

Backup

Rust reimplementation of restic that reads and writes the same repository format

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only rustic 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.; rustic the project is small with a short list of active maintainers, so bus factor is a genuine consideration for software whose job is to still work in five years.
  • They diverge on capability: AvePoint Cloud Backup covers Microsoft 365 backup, rustic covers restic format compatibility.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where AvePoint Cloud Backup and rustic differ
AttributeAvePoint Cloud Backuprustic
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquoteOpen source, no licence fee
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebLinux, macOS, Windows

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 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 rustic

  • restic format compatibility
  • Configuration profiles
  • Deduplicated encrypted backups
  • Cold and append only storage support
  • Multiple back ends
  • Library crates

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 rustic
  • An organisation that has discovered Microsoft 365 native retention does not restore a deleted SharePoint site after the recycle bin windownot rustic
  • Backing up Entra ID configuration so an accidental conditional access or group change can be reversednot rustic
  • A regulated organisation that must hold backup data in its own storage account under its own encryption keysnot rustic

rustic

  • An existing restic user who wants configuration files rather than long command lines in cronnot AvePoint Cloud Backup
  • Backing up a memory constrained machine where the reference implementation is uncomfortably heavynot AvePoint Cloud Backup
  • Writing to append only or cold object storage where the default tooling assumes rewritable bucketsnot AvePoint Cloud Backup
  • Keeping a second implementation available so a long lived archive does not depend on one codebasenot 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.

rustic

  • The project is small with a short list of active maintainers, so bus factor is a genuine consideration for software whose job is to still work in five years.
  • It inherits the restic repository format, so design limits in that format, including the cost of pruning large repositories, are inherited rather than fixed.
  • Command names, flags and behaviour do not map one to one onto restic, so scripts and runbooks need rewriting rather than a binary swap.
  • Far fewer people have performed a real restore from it under pressure, and backup software is one of the few categories where being second most used is itself a risk.
  • Alternating between rustic and restic against one repository works but doubles the surface for a version incompatibility to corrupt state, so most operators should pick one and stay with it.

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

rustic

Free
  • rusticFree
    • Full functionality, no data limit
    • All supported storage back ends
    • Community support via GitHub

Which should you pick?

Choose AvePoint Cloud Backup if

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

Choose rustic if

  • You need restic format compatibility.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows.
  • You also want configuration profiles.
rustic review

Questions people ask

Is AvePoint Cloud Backup or rustic better?
Neither clearly leads. AvePoint Cloud Backup starts at On request and rustic at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, AvePoint Cloud Backup or rustic?
rustic has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for AvePoint Cloud Backup and Free for rustic.
Does AvePoint Cloud Backup or rustic run on more platforms?
AvePoint Cloud Backup runs on Web. rustic runs on Linux, macOS, Windows.
Can I use rustic for free?
Yes. rustic 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 rustic is typically brought in for.
What can AvePoint Cloud Backup do that rustic cannot?
AvePoint Cloud Backup covers Microsoft 365 backup, Granular restore, Entra ID backup, Salesforce and Dynamics backup. rustic covers restic format compatibility, Configuration profiles, Deduplicated encrypted backups, Cold and append only storage support.

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.

rustic: Can it read my existing restic repository?

Yes, that is the point of the project. Take a copy and verify before you rely on it, as with any change to backup tooling.

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.

rustic: Should I switch from restic?

Only for a specific reason such as configuration profiles, memory use or cold storage handling. Compatibility means there is no cost to trying and no cost to going back.

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.

rustic: Is it production ready?

It is used in production by a small community, but it is younger and less exercised than the implementation it is compatible with. Test restores accordingly.

rustic: Does it support the same back ends?

The common ones, including local, SFTP, S3 compatible storage and rclone. Check the current list before committing to an unusual target.

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