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Backup · head to head

Bacula vs Comet Backup

Bacula logo

Bacula

Backup

The best open source backup software for Linux

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Comet Backup logo

Comet Backup

Backup

White-label backup software for service providers

From
$19/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Bacula has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Bacula the community edition has no vendor support contract; bacula.org directs support and paid deployments toward the separate commercial Bacula Enterprise product instead.; Comet Backup per-endpoint costs ($2/month per endpoint) can add up for large deployments with many protected machines
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Bacula and Comet Backup actually diverge.

Attributes where Bacula and Comet Backup differ
AttributeBaculaComet Backup
Starting priceFree$19/month
Pricing modelopen-sourcesubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWebWindows, macOS, Linux
FoundedUnknown2017

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

Nothing recorded that Comet Backup does not also cover.

Only in Comet Backup

  • White-label branding
  • Bring your own storage
  • End-to-end encryption
  • Chunking deduplication
  • Delta compression
  • Multi-tenant
  • AWS S3
  • Azure

What people use each for

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

Bacula

  • Linux, Windows, and macOS network backup at scalenot Comet Backup
  • VMware, KVM, Hyper-V virtual machine backupnot Comet Backup
  • MySQL, Oracle, PostgreSQL database backupnot Comet Backup
  • Microsoft Exchange Server backupnot Comet Backup
  • Tape backup and enterprise data retentionnot Comet Backup

Comet Backup

  • MSP backup and disaster recovery solutionsnot Bacula
  • Cloud-to-cloud backup automationnot Bacula
  • Ransomware protection with immutable storagenot Bacula

Where each one falls short

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

Bacula

  • The community edition has no vendor support contract; bacula.org directs support and paid deployments toward the separate commercial Bacula Enterprise product instead.

Comet Backup

  • Per-endpoint costs ($2/month per endpoint) can add up for large deployments with many protected machines
  • Advanced and Enterprise tiers with additional management capabilities are significantly more expensive than base tiers
  • Platform-specific features (SQL, MySQL, MongoDB, Microsoft 365) have separate per-unit pricing

Pricing, plan by plan

Bacula

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Bacula review.

Comet Backup

$19/month
  • Starter$19/month
    • 1 self-hosted license
    • Endpoint scaling at $2/endpoint/month
  • Growth$49/month
    • 2 self-hosted licenses
    • Primary/replica setups
    • Endpoint scaling at $2/endpoint/month
  • Advanced$99/month
    • 5 management console licenses
    • Audit logging
    • Air-gap management console
  • Professional (Cloud-Hosted)$49/month
    • 1 cloud-hosted console license
    • Endpoint scaling at $2/endpoint/month

Which should you pick?

Choose Bacula if

  • You want to start without paying.
Bacula review

Choose Comet Backup if

  • You need white-label branding.
  • You work on Windows, macOS, Linux.
  • You also want bring your own storage.
Comet Backup review

Questions people ask

Is Bacula or Comet Backup better?
Neither clearly leads. Bacula starts at Free and Comet Backup at $19/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Bacula or Comet Backup?
Bacula has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Bacula and $19/month for Comet Backup.
Does Bacula or Comet Backup run on more platforms?
Bacula runs on Web. Comet Backup runs on Windows, macOS, Linux.
Can I use Bacula for free?
Yes. Bacula has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Comet Backup starts at $19/month.
What is Bacula best used for?
Bacula is most often used for linux, windows, and macos network backup at scale, vmware, kvm, hyper-v virtual machine backup, mysql, oracle, postgresql database backup, microsoft exchange server backup. Of those, linux, windows, and macos network backup at scale and vmware, kvm, hyper-v virtual machine backup are not what Comet Backup is typically brought in for.
What can Bacula do that Comet Backup cannot?
Comet Backup covers White-label branding, Bring your own storage, End-to-end encryption, Chunking deduplication.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Bacula: How much does Bacula cost?

Bacula Community Edition is free and open source. Bacula Enterprise is a commercial offering with a free trial available, but specific pricing is not listed on the main website.

Source
Comet Backup: How much does Comet Backup cost?

Self-hosted plans start at $19/month (Starter) and go up to $99/month (Advanced), with cloud-hosted plans starting at $49/month (Professional). All plans charge $2 per endpoint per month for additional protected machines beyond the base license count.

Source
Bacula: Is Bacula free?

Bacula Community Edition is fully free and open source. Enterprise Edition is commercial but offers a free trial to evaluate features before purchasing.

Source
Comet Backup: What is the price difference between self-hosted and cloud-hosted deployments?

Cloud-hosted plans start at $49/month (Professional) versus self-hosted which starts at $19/month (Starter). The main advantage of cloud-hosted is Comet manages the console infrastructure, though both models charge the same per-endpoint fees.

Source
Comet Backup: Does Comet Backup charge for additional protected machines?

Yes, all plans charge $2 per endpoint per month beyond the licensed endpoints. For example, the Growth plan includes 2 self-hosted licenses, but each additional protected machine costs $2/month.

Source
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