Softwr

Backup · head to head

Comet Backup vs StorageCraft ShadowProtect

Comet Backup logo

Comet Backup

Backup

White-label backup software for service providers

From
$19/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
StorageCraft ShadowProtect logo

StorageCraft ShadowProtect

Backup

Fast and reliable image-based backup

From
$15/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Comet Backup per-endpoint costs ($2/month per endpoint) can add up for large deployments with many protected machines; StorageCraft ShadowProtect host-based backup requires Windows Server 2016 or above on the Hyper-V host, and desktop, client and Pro editions are not supported
  • They diverge on capability: Comet Backup covers White-label branding, StorageCraft ShadowProtect covers Image-based backup.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Comet Backup and StorageCraft ShadowProtect actually diverge.

Attributes where Comet Backup and StorageCraft ShadowProtect differ
AttributeComet BackupStorageCraft ShadowProtect
Starting price$19/month$15/month
PlatformsWindows, macOS, LinuxWindows, Linux, Web
Founded20172003

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), free tier (No), 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 Comet Backup

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

Only in StorageCraft ShadowProtect

  • Image-based backup
  • VirtualBoot
  • Bare metal recovery
  • Hardware-independent restore
  • Incremental imaging
  • ShadowStream replication
  • VMware
  • Hyper-V

Both cover

  • Windows support
  • Linux support
  • Web support

What people use each for

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

Comet Backup

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

StorageCraft ShadowProtect

  • Backup and disaster recovery (legacy)not Comet Backup
  • System image backup and recoverynot Comet Backup

Where each one falls short

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

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

StorageCraft ShadowProtect

  • Host-based backup requires Windows Server 2016 or above on the Hyper-V host, and desktop, client and Pro editions are not supported
  • Host-based and agent-based backup are mutually exclusive installation modes in ShadowProtect 8.0; one machine cannot run both
  • Switching from agent-based to host-based requires a clean reinstall rather than an in-place upgrade
  • Host-based backups are not compatible with VirtualBoot
  • Granular file and folder recovery is not available for host-based backups; the whole backup must be restored to a .vhd or .vhdx first
  • Host-based backup jobs do not report status to ShadowControl
  • Advanced Verification in ImageManager 8.1 is not supported for host-based backups
  • All host-based backups go into a single folder by default, so separating them per VM means creating a separate backup job for each
  • Host-based licence keys are generated only through the Arcserve MSP portal

Pricing, plan by plan

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

StorageCraft ShadowProtect

$15/month
  • ShadowProtect SPX$15/month
    • Image-based backup
    • VirtualBoot
    • Bare metal recovery

Which should you pick?

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

Choose StorageCraft ShadowProtect if

  • You need image-based backup.
  • You work on Windows, Linux, Web.
  • You also want virtualboot.
StorageCraft ShadowProtect review

Questions people ask

Is Comet Backup or StorageCraft ShadowProtect better?
Neither clearly leads. Comet Backup starts at $19/month and StorageCraft ShadowProtect at $15/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Comet Backup or StorageCraft ShadowProtect?
Comet Backup starts at $19/month and StorageCraft ShadowProtect at $15/month.
Does Comet Backup or StorageCraft ShadowProtect run on more platforms?
Comet Backup runs on Windows, macOS, Linux. StorageCraft ShadowProtect runs on Windows, Linux, Web.
What is Comet Backup best used for?
Comet Backup is most often used for msp backup and disaster recovery solutions, cloud-to-cloud backup automation, ransomware protection with immutable storage. Of those, msp backup and disaster recovery solutions and cloud-to-cloud backup automation are not what StorageCraft ShadowProtect is typically brought in for.
What can Comet Backup do that StorageCraft ShadowProtect cannot?
Comet Backup covers White-label branding, Bring your own storage, End-to-end encryption, Chunking deduplication. StorageCraft ShadowProtect covers Image-based backup, VirtualBoot, Bare metal recovery, Hardware-independent restore. Both handle Windows support, Linux support, Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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
StorageCraft ShadowProtect: How much does StorageCraft ShadowProtect cost?

StorageCraft no longer maintains independent product pricing. The domain redirects to ArcServe, and ArcServe does not publish specific pricing on its homepage. Prospective customers must request a trial, demo, or contact sales.

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
StorageCraft ShadowProtect: Where can I find StorageCraft pricing?

StorageCraft's website (storagecraft.com) now redirects to ArcServe.com. ArcServe does not publish pricing publicly. To obtain pricing information, users can start a trial, request a demo, or contact ArcServe's sales team.

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
Share

Related pages

More on Comet Backup

More on StorageCraft ShadowProtect

Keep looking

Other head to heads