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Backup · head to head

CloudCasa vs Portworx

CloudCasa logo

CloudCasa

Backup

SaaS Kubernetes backup and migration with published per-node pricing

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Portworx logo

Portworx

Cloud

Kubernetes-native storage and data services, priced by the node hour

From
$0.33/node hour
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only CloudCasa has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: CloudCasa at $69 per node per month, a fifty-node estate costs over forty thousand dollars a year at list, which is more than many teams expect from a product marketed on its free tier.; Portworx bare metal nodes are charged at 1.11 USD per node hour against 0.33 for virtual nodes, so a bare metal cluster costs more than three times a virtualised one for identical capability.
  • They diverge on capability: CloudCasa covers SaaS control plane, Portworx covers Container-native volumes.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which CloudCasa and Portworx actually diverge.

Attributes where CloudCasa and Portworx differ
AttributeCloudCasaPortworx
Starting priceFree$0.33/node hour
Pricing modelPer node per monthPer node hour
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsKubernetes, WebLinux
CategoryBackupCloud

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

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 CloudCasa

  • SaaS control plane
  • Free tier
  • Cross-cluster restore
  • Managed service support
  • Bring your own storage
  • Velero compatibility

Only in Portworx

  • Container-native volumes
  • Failure domain placement
  • Volume encryption
  • Database automation
  • Disaster recovery
  • Autopilot capacity management
  • Hardware independence

What people use each for

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

CloudCasa

  • A team wanting Kubernetes backup running this afternoon without deploying and maintaining a backup servernot Portworx
  • A small cluster of five nodes or fewer that needs real backup at no licence costnot Portworx
  • An organisation running Velero already and wanting a managed control plane and catalogue over the topnot Portworx
  • Migrating workloads between EKS and AKS where the tool must restore into a different distributionnot Portworx

Portworx

  • Running a production PostgreSQL or Cassandra cluster on Kubernetes and needing the data to survive node lossnot CloudCasa
  • A platform team offering self-service databases to developers on an internal Kubernetes platformnot CloudCasa
  • Failing over stateful applications between clusters in different regions as a disaster recovery positionnot CloudCasa
  • An OpenShift estate where the built-in storage option does not meet the availability requirement for stateful setsnot CloudCasa

Where each one falls short

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

CloudCasa

  • At $69 per node per month, a fifty-node estate costs over forty thousand dollars a year at list, which is more than many teams expect from a product marketed on its free tier.
  • The control plane is SaaS, so cluster metadata and backup catalogues sit with the vendor, which rules it out where policy prohibits external services holding infrastructure detail.
  • Per-node pricing punishes clusters built from many small nodes, so the licensing metric can push architecture decisions in directions the platform team would not otherwise choose.
  • The free tier stops at five nodes with no intermediate step, so growth from five to six nodes moves you from nothing to a full commercial rate.
  • Catalogic is a much smaller vendor than Veeam or Commvault, which matters for procurement risk assessments and for long-term support commitments on a system you may depend on for years.

Portworx

  • Bare metal nodes are charged at 1.11 USD per node hour against 0.33 for virtual nodes, so a bare metal cluster costs more than three times a virtualised one for identical capability.
  • A 1,000 node hour monthly minimum applies, which means small or intermittent clusters pay for capacity they do not consume.
  • Replicating volumes across nodes consumes real capacity and network bandwidth, so the underlying infrastructure cost rises alongside the licence in a way the node hour rate does not show.
  • Pure Storage ownership means roadmap priorities are set by an array vendor, and buyers should confirm that hardware independence remains contractual rather than assumed.
  • Operating it well requires Kubernetes storage expertise, and teams that adopted Kubernetes to simplify operations often find they have added a distributed storage system to run.

Pricing, plan by plan

CloudCasa

Free
  • BasicFree
    • Up to 5 nodes at no cost
    • Daily backup schedules for clusters and namespaces
    • Basic and advanced restore options
  • CloudCasa Pro$69/month
    • Per node per month
    • Advanced backup policies
    • Application-aware backups
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Volume pricing negotiated
    • Dedicated support and SLAs
    • Custom retention and residency arrangements

Portworx

$0.33/node hour
  • Portworx Enterprise on virtual machine nodes$0.33/node hour
    • Minimum 1,000 node hours per month
    • Replicated persistent volumes
    • Encryption and disaster recovery
  • Portworx Enterprise on bare metal nodes$1.11/node hour
    • Minimum 1,000 node hours per month
    • Same capabilities on bare metal clusters
    • Higher rate reflects node density

Which should you pick?

Choose CloudCasa if

  • You need saas control plane.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Kubernetes, Web.
  • You also want free tier.
CloudCasa review

Choose Portworx if

  • You need container-native volumes.
  • You work on Linux.
  • You also want failure domain placement.
Portworx review

Questions people ask

Is CloudCasa or Portworx better?
Neither clearly leads. CloudCasa starts at Free and Portworx at $0.33/node hour, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, CloudCasa or Portworx?
CloudCasa has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for CloudCasa and $0.33/node hour for Portworx.
Does CloudCasa or Portworx run on more platforms?
CloudCasa runs on Kubernetes, Web. Portworx runs on Linux.
Can I use CloudCasa for free?
Yes. CloudCasa has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Portworx starts at $0.33/node hour.
What is CloudCasa best used for?
CloudCasa is most often used for a team wanting kubernetes backup running this afternoon without deploying and maintaining a backup server, a small cluster of five nodes or fewer that needs real backup at no licence cost, an organisation running velero already and wanting a managed control plane and catalogue over the top, migrating workloads between eks and aks where the tool must restore into a different distribution. Of those, a team wanting kubernetes backup running this afternoon without deploying and maintaining a backup server and a small cluster of five nodes or fewer that needs real backup at no licence cost are not what Portworx is typically brought in for.
What can CloudCasa do that Portworx cannot?
CloudCasa covers SaaS control plane, Free tier, Cross-cluster restore, Managed service support. Portworx covers Container-native volumes, Failure domain placement, Volume encryption, Database automation.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

CloudCasa: What does it cost?

Free for up to five nodes. CloudCasa Pro is $69 per node per month. Enterprise arrangements are negotiated.

Portworx: Is Portworx tied to Pure Storage hardware?

No. It runs on any Kubernetes distribution over any underlying storage, though Pure has owned it since 2020 and sets the roadmap.

CloudCasa: Where does the backup data go?

Typically to your own S3-compatible bucket. The vendor hosts the control plane and catalogue, not necessarily your data.

Portworx: What does a real cluster cost?

At 0.33 USD per virtual node hour, twenty nodes running continuously is roughly 4,800 USD a month. Bare metal at 1.11 USD per node hour is around 16,000 USD for the same node count.

CloudCasa: Does it work with Velero?

Yes. It can manage existing Velero installations, which makes it a lower-friction upgrade than a rip and replace.

Portworx: Is backup included?

No. Portworx Backup is a separately priced product covering Kubernetes application backup.

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