File Storage · head to head
Cloudian vs Duplicati
Cloudian
File Storage
S3-compatible on-premises object storage with object lock immutability
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Duplicati has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Cloudian you operate the hardware, so capacity planning, firmware, node failures and a refresh cycle every five years return as costs that a public cloud bill hides.; Duplicati no managed service or commercial support
- They diverge on capability: Cloudian covers S3 API compatibility, Duplicati covers AES-256 encryption.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Cloudian and Duplicati actually diverge.
Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (File Storage).
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 Cloudian
- S3 API compatibility
- Object Lock
- Erasure coding
- Multi-tenancy
- Hybrid tiering
- HyperStore appliances
Only in Duplicati
- AES-256 encryption
- Incremental backup
- Deduplication
- Multiple cloud backends
- Compression
- Web interface
- AWS S3
- Azure
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Cloudian
- A backup team needing an immutable target so a compromised administrator account cannot delete the backupsnot Duplicati
- An organisation restoring hundreds of terabytes regularly where public cloud egress charges make cloud storage untenablenot Duplicati
- A university or government body with data residency rules preventing use of public cloud object storagenot Duplicati
- A media archive holding petabytes of finished content where per-terabyte capital cost beats per-gigabyte monthly cloud feesnot Duplicati
Duplicati
- Data protectionnot Cloudian
- Disaster recoverynot Cloudian
- Business continuitynot Cloudian
- Ransomware protectionnot Cloudian
- Compliancenot Cloudian
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Cloudian
- You operate the hardware, so capacity planning, firmware, node failures and a refresh cycle every five years return as costs that a public cloud bill hides.
- Per-terabyte licensing plus servers means high upfront cost, and the crossover point against public cloud only arrives at meaningful scale, typically hundreds of terabytes and up.
- S3 compatibility is high but not identical to Amazon, so occasional applications depending on newer or less common S3 features need testing rather than assumption.
- Small deployments need a minimum node count for erasure coding to be meaningful, which sets a practical floor on entry cost regardless of how little data you have.
- Performance is object storage performance, so it is not a substitute for block or high-throughput file storage and buyers occasionally deploy it for the wrong workload.
Duplicati
- No managed service or commercial support
- Relies on community support
- No enterprise features
Pricing, plan by plan
Cloudian
On request- Cloudian HyperStore$undefined/year
- Licensed per usable terabyte, subscription or perpetual
- Software-only on your hardware or as Cloudian appliances
- No egress or API request charges
Duplicati
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the Duplicati review.
Which should you pick?
Choose Cloudian if
- You need s3 api compatibility.
- You work on Linux.
- You also want object lock.
Choose Duplicati if
- You need aes-256 encryption.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Windows, macOS, Linux.
- You also want incremental backup.
Questions people ask
- Is Cloudian or Duplicati better?
- Neither clearly leads. Cloudian starts at On request and Duplicati at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Cloudian or Duplicati?
- Duplicati has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Cloudian and Free for Duplicati.
- Does Cloudian or Duplicati run on more platforms?
- Cloudian runs on Linux. Duplicati runs on Windows, macOS, Linux.
- Can I use Duplicati for free?
- Yes. Duplicati has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Cloudian starts at On request.
- What is Cloudian best used for?
- Cloudian is most often used for a backup team needing an immutable target so a compromised administrator account cannot delete the backups, an organisation restoring hundreds of terabytes regularly where public cloud egress charges make cloud storage untenable, a university or government body with data residency rules preventing use of public cloud object storage, a media archive holding petabytes of finished content where per-terabyte capital cost beats per-gigabyte monthly cloud fees. Of those, a backup team needing an immutable target so a compromised administrator account cannot delete the backups and an organisation restoring hundreds of terabytes regularly where public cloud egress charges make cloud storage untenable are not what Duplicati is typically brought in for.
- What can Cloudian do that Duplicati cannot?
- Cloudian covers S3 API compatibility, Object Lock, Erasure coding, Multi-tenancy. Duplicati covers AES-256 encryption, Incremental backup, Deduplication, Multiple cloud backends.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Cloudian: Does object lock really stop ransomware deleting backups?
Within the retention period, yes, provided the lock is set in compliance mode. That is precisely why it is the common answer to backup-targeting ransomware.
Duplicati: Is Duplicati free?
Yes. Duplicati is completely free and open-source under the LGPL license. There are no premium tiers, trials, or limitations.
SourceCloudian: Are there egress charges?
No. That is the central cost argument against public cloud object storage, and it only becomes visible when you have to restore at volume.
Duplicati: What does Duplicati support?
Duplicati supports zero-trust, fully encrypted backups to local storage, network drives, and cloud services. It includes deduplication and incremental backups.
SourceCloudian: Can we use our own servers?
Yes, HyperStore is software-defined and runs on qualified commodity hardware, or you can buy Cloudian appliances if you would rather not certify your own.
Duplicati: What are the platforms?
Duplicati runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux. It can back up data to local storage, network drives, or cloud providers.
SourceRelated pages
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