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Backup · head to head

AvePoint Cloud Backup vs Velero

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
Velero logo

Velero

Backup

Open source backup and migration for Kubernetes cluster resources

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Velero 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.; Velero there is no vendor support contract from the project itself, so a failed restore during an outage is resolved by your team reading source code and GitHub issues.
  • They diverge on capability: AvePoint Cloud Backup covers Microsoft 365 backup, Velero covers Cluster resource backup.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where AvePoint Cloud Backup and Velero differ
AttributeAvePoint Cloud BackupVelero
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquoteOpen source, no licence fee
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebLinux

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 Velero

  • Cluster resource backup
  • Volume snapshots
  • File-level backup
  • Cross-cluster restore
  • Backup hooks
  • Scheduled backups
  • Object storage targets

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

Velero

  • A platform team needing namespace-level restore after an accidental deletion, with no budget for a backup productnot AvePoint Cloud Backup
  • Migrating workloads between Kubernetes clusters or between cloud providers using backup and restorenot AvePoint Cloud Backup
  • Capturing cluster configuration before a risky upgrade so the previous state can be reinstatednot AvePoint Cloud Backup
  • An organisation proving a Kubernetes recovery capability to an auditor before deciding whether to buy a commercial productnot 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.

Velero

  • There is no vendor support contract from the project itself, so a failed restore during an outage is resolved by your team reading source code and GitHub issues.
  • Application consistency depends on backup hooks you write and maintain, and a database backed up without a correct hook restores to a state that may not be usable.
  • Restore ordering across dependent resources such as custom resource definitions and operators needs manual attention, and complex applications frequently need a documented runbook rather than a single restore command.
  • Corporate engineering investment became uncertain after Broadcom acquired VMware, which is a real consideration for anyone building a long retention policy on the project.
  • Object storage egress charges apply on restore and are billed by your cloud provider, so a full cluster recovery from another region carries a cost discovered during the incident rather than during planning.

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

Velero

Free
  • VeleroFree
    • Apache 2.0 licensed
    • No cluster or capacity limits
    • Community support via Kubernetes Slack and 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 Velero if

  • You need cluster resource backup.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux.
  • You also want volume snapshots.
Velero review

Questions people ask

Is AvePoint Cloud Backup or Velero better?
Neither clearly leads. AvePoint Cloud Backup starts at On request and Velero at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, AvePoint Cloud Backup or Velero?
Velero has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for AvePoint Cloud Backup and Free for Velero.
Does AvePoint Cloud Backup or Velero run on more platforms?
AvePoint Cloud Backup runs on Web. Velero runs on Linux.
Can I use Velero for free?
Yes. Velero 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 Velero is typically brought in for.
What can AvePoint Cloud Backup do that Velero cannot?
AvePoint Cloud Backup covers Microsoft 365 backup, Granular restore, Entra ID backup, Salesforce and Dynamics backup. Velero covers Cluster resource backup, Volume snapshots, File-level backup, Cross-cluster restore.

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.

Velero: Can we buy support for Velero?

Not from the project. Several commercial Kubernetes backup products package or extend it and sell support, which is the practical route to an accountable vendor.

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.

Velero: Does it back up persistent volume data?

Yes, through cloud or Container Storage Interface snapshots, or through file-level upload where snapshots are not available.

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.

Velero: What does it cost?

Nothing to licence. You pay for object storage capacity and for egress on restore, both billed by your cloud provider.

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