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Backup · head to head

BDRShield vs Restic

BDRShield logo

BDRShield

Backup

Low-cost backup for virtual machines, servers, endpoints and SaaS from Vembu

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Restic logo

Restic

Backup

Fast, secure, and efficient backup program

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Restic has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: BDRShield published per-workload pricing has been replaced by a custom quote form, so the cost transparency that was a main reason to shortlist it no longer exists and you must go through sales.; Restic cold storage is not natively supported; restoring from S3 Glacier and S3 Glacier Deep Archive is only available as an experimental feature behind a feature flag
  • They diverge on capability: BDRShield covers Agentless VM backup, Restic covers Content-defined chunking.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which BDRShield and Restic actually diverge.

Attributes where BDRShield and Restic differ
AttributeBDRShieldRestic
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquotefree
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWindows, Linux, WebWindows, Mac, Linux
FoundedUnknown2014

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 BDRShield

  • Agentless VM backup
  • Proxmox support
  • SaaS backup
  • Hybrid storage
  • Cloud or on-premises console
  • MSP multi-tenancy

Only in Restic

  • Content-defined chunking
  • Cryptographic verification
  • Deduplication
  • Encryption
  • Multiple backends
  • Snapshot management
  • AWS S3
  • Azure

What people use each for

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

BDRShield

  • A managed service provider whose margins do not survive Datto or Veeam per-endpoint pricingnot Restic
  • An organisation running Proxmox VE that finds the major backup vendors do not support it properlynot Restic
  • A small business needing virtual machine, server, endpoint and Microsoft 365 backup from one consolenot Restic
  • A company wanting backup data in its own cloud bucket rather than a vendor-controlled repositorynot Restic

Restic

  • Encrypted deduplicated backups to S3, B2, SFTP and local disk from the command linenot BDRShield
  • Scripted server backups with snapshot retention policiesnot BDRShield

Where each one falls short

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

BDRShield

  • Published per-workload pricing has been replaced by a custom quote form, so the cost transparency that was a main reason to shortlist it no longer exists and you must go through sales.
  • The product was renamed from BDRSuite to BDRShield, so documentation, forum answers and third-party reviews are split across two names and searching for help is harder than it should be.
  • Recovery orchestration and instant recovery performance trail Veeam and Rubrik, which is invisible in an evaluation and expensive during an actual outage.
  • Support is priced to match the low licence cost, and complex escalations move more slowly than customers used to premium vendors expect.
  • The integration ecosystem is thin compared with the incumbents, so monitoring, ticketing and professional services automation tool connections are limited for MSPs running mature stacks.

Restic

  • Cold storage is not natively supported; restoring from S3 Glacier and S3 Glacier Deep Archive is only available as an experimental feature behind a feature flag
  • A Windows file whose name contains a character Windows treats as invalid cannot be read by restic and has to be renamed
  • Antivirus real-time protection degrades performance on Windows unless the restic binary is added to an exclusions list
  • On large repositories the built-in five minute stuck-request timeout fires during file listing and has to be raised manually with --stuck-request-timeout

Pricing, plan by plan

BDRShield

On request
  • BDRShield$undefined/year
    • Per-workload licensing quoted through a custom quote form
    • Separate licensing tracks for MSPs and for end-user organisations
    • Free 30-day trial with full feature access

Restic

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Content-defined chunking
    • Encryption
    • Multiple backends

Which should you pick?

Choose BDRShield if

  • You need agentless vm backup.
  • You work on Windows, Linux, Web.
  • You also want proxmox support.
BDRShield review

Choose Restic if

  • You need content-defined chunking.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, Mac, Linux.
  • You also want cryptographic verification.
Restic review

Questions people ask

Is BDRShield or Restic better?
Neither clearly leads. BDRShield starts at On request and Restic at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, BDRShield or Restic?
Restic has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for BDRShield and Free for Restic.
Does BDRShield or Restic run on more platforms?
BDRShield runs on Windows, Linux, Web. Restic runs on Windows, Mac, Linux.
Can I use Restic for free?
Yes. Restic has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. BDRShield starts at On request.
What is BDRShield best used for?
BDRShield is most often used for a managed service provider whose margins do not survive datto or veeam per-endpoint pricing, an organisation running proxmox ve that finds the major backup vendors do not support it properly, a small business needing virtual machine, server, endpoint and microsoft 365 backup from one console, a company wanting backup data in its own cloud bucket rather than a vendor-controlled repository. Of those, a managed service provider whose margins do not survive datto or veeam per-endpoint pricing and an organisation running proxmox ve that finds the major backup vendors do not support it properly are not what Restic is typically brought in for.
What can BDRShield do that Restic cannot?
BDRShield covers Agentless VM backup, Proxmox support, SaaS backup, Hybrid storage. Restic covers Content-defined chunking, Cryptographic verification, Deduplication, Encryption.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

BDRShield: Is BDRSuite the same product?

Yes. BDRSuite was renamed BDRShield, and bdrsuite.com now redirects to bdrshield.com. Same company, Vembu Technologies.

Restic: How much does restic cost?

Restic is entirely free to use and completely open source. There are no subscription tiers, paid plans, or licensing costs.

Source
BDRShield: Is pricing published?

Not any more. The pricing page now routes to a custom quote form for both MSPs and end-user organisations, despite marketing that emphasises a few dollars per workload.

BDRShield: Does it back up Proxmox?

Yes, agentlessly, which is a genuine reason to shortlist it since several larger vendors support Proxmox poorly or not at all.

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