Backup & Disaster Recovery · head to head
Bacula Enterprise vs Paragon Backup & Recovery
Bacula Enterprise
Backup & Disaster Recovery
Open-source enterprise backup solution
- From
- $500/year
- Rated
- -
Paragon Backup & Recovery
Backup & Disaster Recovery
Professional-grade backup for Windows
- From
- $50/year
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Bacula Enterprise pricing is not published; the vendor asks for a request rather than listing rates; Paragon Backup & Recovery the free Community Edition is licensed for non-commercial use only
- They diverge on capability: Bacula Enterprise covers Modular architecture, Paragon Backup & Recovery covers Full disk backup.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Bacula Enterprise and Paragon Backup & Recovery actually diverge.
| Attribute | Bacula Enterprise | Paragon Backup & Recovery |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $500/year | $50/year |
| Platforms | Windows, Linux, Web | Windows |
| Founded | 2009 | 1994 |
Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), free tier (No), 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 Bacula Enterprise
- Modular architecture
- Plugin framework
- Deduplication
- Encryption
- Automated recovery testing
- VMware
- Hyper-V
- AWS
Only in Paragon Backup & Recovery
- Full disk backup
- File-level backup
- Incremental/differential
- Recovery media
- Virtual disk mount
- UEFI support
- Windows
- Network shares
Both cover
- Cloud storage
- Windows support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Bacula Enterprise
- Enterprise backup across virtual machines, databases and containersnot Paragon Backup & Recovery
- Multi-cloud and hybrid backup from one systemnot Paragon Backup & Recovery
- Backup where licensing by data volume would be prohibitive, since Bacula does not charge by capacitynot Paragon Backup & Recovery
- Long-retention archival for regulated environmentsnot Paragon Backup & Recovery
Paragon Backup & Recovery
- Full disk and partition backup on Windowsnot Bacula Enterprise
- Bare metal recovery from an imagenot Bacula Enterprise
- Scheduled incremental backups for a home machinenot Bacula Enterprise
- Migrating an installation to a new drive on the paid editionsnot Bacula Enterprise
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Bacula Enterprise
- Pricing is not published; the vendor asks for a request rather than listing rates
- The differences between Enterprise and the open source Community edition are not set out on the product pages, so what the licence buys is unclear until you talk to sales
- Aimed at data centre and enterprise environments rather than small deployments
Paragon Backup & Recovery
- The free Community Edition is licensed for non-commercial use only
- Windows only, and specifically Windows 10 x64 from 1809, Windows 11 x64 and Windows 11 Arm64
- Volume and OS copying, partition management and email notifications need the Advanced edition
- Windows Server support requires the Business edition
- Paid edition prices are not shown on the product page
Pricing, plan by plan
Bacula Enterprise
$500/year- Bacula Enterprise$500/year
- Unlimited data
- Plugin support
- Enterprise support
Paragon Backup & Recovery
$50/year- Community Edition$50/year
- Full disk backup
- File-level backup
- Recovery media
Which should you pick?
Choose Bacula Enterprise if
- You need modular architecture.
- You work on Windows, Linux, Web.
- You also want plugin framework.
Choose Paragon Backup & Recovery if
- You need full disk backup.
- You work on Windows.
- You also want file-level backup.
Questions people ask
- Is Bacula Enterprise or Paragon Backup & Recovery better?
- Neither clearly leads. Bacula Enterprise starts at $500/year and Paragon Backup & Recovery at $50/year, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Bacula Enterprise or Paragon Backup & Recovery?
- Bacula Enterprise starts at $500/year and Paragon Backup & Recovery at $50/year.
- Does Bacula Enterprise or Paragon Backup & Recovery run on more platforms?
- Bacula Enterprise runs on Windows, Linux, Web. Paragon Backup & Recovery runs on Windows.
- What is Bacula Enterprise best used for?
- Bacula Enterprise is most often used for enterprise backup across virtual machines, databases and containers, multi-cloud and hybrid backup from one system, backup where licensing by data volume would be prohibitive, since bacula does not charge by capacity, long-retention archival for regulated environments. Of those, enterprise backup across virtual machines, databases and containers and multi-cloud and hybrid backup from one system are not what Paragon Backup & Recovery is typically brought in for.
- What can Bacula Enterprise do that Paragon Backup & Recovery cannot?
- Bacula Enterprise covers Modular architecture, Plugin framework, Deduplication, Encryption. Paragon Backup & Recovery covers Full disk backup, File-level backup, Incremental/differential, Recovery media. Both handle Cloud storage, Windows support.