Softwr

Backup · head to head

Bacula Enterprise vs Trilio

Bacula Enterprise logo

Bacula Enterprise

Backup

Open-source enterprise backup solution

From
$500/year
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Trilio logo

Trilio

Backup

Backup and recovery for OpenStack, Kubernetes and Red Hat Virtualization

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Trilio has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Bacula Enterprise pricing is not published; the vendor asks for a request rather than listing rates; Trilio coverage is deliberately narrow, so a mixed estate with VMware and physical servers needs a second backup product and two sets of restore procedures.
  • They diverge on capability: Bacula Enterprise covers Modular architecture, Trilio covers OpenStack backup.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Bacula Enterprise and Trilio actually diverge.

Attributes where Bacula Enterprise and Trilio differ
AttributeBacula EnterpriseTrilio
Starting price$500/yearFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionPer node per year
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWindows, Linux, WebLinux, Web
Founded2009Unknown

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 Bacula Enterprise

  • Modular architecture
  • Plugin framework
  • Deduplication
  • Cloud storage
  • Encryption
  • Automated recovery testing
  • VMware
  • Hyper-V

Only in Trilio

  • OpenStack backup
  • Kubernetes backup
  • OpenShift Virtualization
  • Open format backups
  • Incremental forever
  • Self-service restore
  • Free basic edition

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 Trilio
  • Multi-cloud and hybrid backup from one systemnot Trilio
  • Backup where licensing by data volume would be prohibitive, since Bacula does not charge by capacitynot Trilio
  • Long-retention archival for regulated environmentsnot Trilio

Trilio

  • A telco running an OpenStack cloud whose incumbent backup vendor supports it only through generic agentsnot Bacula Enterprise
  • An organisation migrating virtual machines from VMware to OpenShift Virtualization and needing protection on the new platform from day onenot Bacula Enterprise
  • A research institution protecting tenant workloads where each tenant should restore its own data without a ticketnot Bacula Enterprise
  • A platform team wanting to evaluate Kubernetes backup properly on ten nodes before committing budgetnot 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

Trilio

  • Coverage is deliberately narrow, so a mixed estate with VMware and physical servers needs a second backup product and two sets of restore procedures.
  • Trilio is a small vendor next to the backup incumbents, and buyers with ten year retention obligations should assess the risk of the company being acquired or wound down.
  • Enterprise pricing is per node or per virtual machine and is not published, which makes it hard to compare against per-terabyte competitors without going through sales.
  • The free basic edition stops at ten nodes with community support only, so the step from evaluation to production is a full commercial negotiation rather than a tier upgrade.
  • Restore performance depends on the object storage or NFS target you supply, and egress charges from a cloud object store during a large recovery sit outside the vendor quote entirely.

Pricing, plan by plan

Bacula Enterprise

$500/year
  • Bacula Enterprise$500/year
    • Unlimited data
    • Plugin support
    • Enterprise support

Trilio

Free
  • Basic EditionFree
    • Up to ten nodes
    • No time limit
    • Community support only
  • Enterprise Edition$undefined/year
    • Priced per node or per virtual machine annually
    • No scale limits
    • OpenStack, Kubernetes, OpenShift and Red Hat Virtualization

Which should you pick?

Choose Bacula Enterprise if

  • You need modular architecture.
  • You work on Windows, Linux, Web.
  • You also want plugin framework.
Bacula Enterprise review

Choose Trilio if

  • You need openstack backup.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Web.
  • You also want kubernetes backup.
Trilio review

Questions people ask

Is Bacula Enterprise or Trilio better?
Neither clearly leads. Bacula Enterprise starts at $500/year and Trilio at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Bacula Enterprise or Trilio?
Trilio has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $500/year for Bacula Enterprise and Free for Trilio.
Does Bacula Enterprise or Trilio run on more platforms?
Bacula Enterprise runs on Windows, Linux, Web. Trilio runs on Linux, Web.
Can I use Trilio for free?
Yes. Trilio has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Bacula Enterprise starts at $500/year.
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 Trilio is typically brought in for.
What can Bacula Enterprise do that Trilio cannot?
Bacula Enterprise covers Modular architecture, Plugin framework, Deduplication, Cloud storage. Trilio covers OpenStack backup, Kubernetes backup, OpenShift Virtualization, Open format backups.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Bacula Enterprise: Does Bacula Enterprise offer a trial?

Yes. Bacula offers a trial that provides 'a streamlined version of Bacula Enterprise' with 'rapid access to an online, hosted environment'. However, no specific trial period duration is stated on the page.

Source
Trilio: Is the free edition production usable?

It is functionally complete up to ten nodes with community support only. Use it to evaluate, but understand that production incidents have no vendor behind them at that tier.

Bacula Enterprise: Is there a free trial available, or does it require contacting sales?

The trial is available directly online without needing to contact sales first. The page provides streamlined access to test the service with Global Endpoint Deduplication and cloud storage capabilities.

Source
Trilio: Does it support OpenShift Virtualization?

Yes, which is the main reason it appears on shortlists for organisations moving virtual machines off VMware.

Bacula Enterprise: Does Bacula charge by data volume?

No. One customer testimonial states 'we are not charged by data volume or hardware', indicating that Bacula does not use capacity-based pricing like some competitors.

Source
Trilio: Where are backups stored?

On NFS or S3-compatible object storage you provide, in an open format rather than a proprietary vendor container.

Bacula Enterprise: How can I get Bacula pricing information?

Bacula directs interested parties to Request Pricing through their contact page rather than displaying rates publicly.

Source
Share

Related pages

More on Bacula Enterprise

More on Trilio

Keep looking

Other head to heads