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Backup · head to head

Comet Backup vs Velero

Comet Backup logo

Comet Backup

Backup

White-label backup software for service providers

From
$19/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Velero logo

Velero

Backup

Open source backup and migration for Kubernetes cluster resources

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Velero has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Comet Backup per-endpoint costs ($2/month per endpoint) can add up for large deployments with many protected machines; Velero there is no vendor support contract from the project itself, so a failed restore during an outage is resolved by your team reading source code and GitHub issues.
  • They diverge on capability: Comet Backup covers White-label branding, Velero covers Cluster resource backup.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Comet Backup and Velero differ
AttributeComet BackupVelero
Starting price$19/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionOpen source, no licence fee
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWindows, macOS, LinuxLinux
Founded2017Unknown

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 Comet Backup

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

Only in Velero

  • Cluster resource backup
  • Volume snapshots
  • File-level backup
  • Cross-cluster restore
  • Backup hooks
  • Scheduled backups
  • Object storage targets

What people use each for

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

Comet Backup

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

Velero

  • A platform team needing namespace-level restore after an accidental deletion, with no budget for a backup productnot Comet Backup
  • Migrating workloads between Kubernetes clusters or between cloud providers using backup and restorenot Comet Backup
  • Capturing cluster configuration before a risky upgrade so the previous state can be reinstatednot Comet Backup
  • An organisation proving a Kubernetes recovery capability to an auditor before deciding whether to buy a commercial productnot 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

Velero

  • There is no vendor support contract from the project itself, so a failed restore during an outage is resolved by your team reading source code and GitHub issues.
  • Application consistency depends on backup hooks you write and maintain, and a database backed up without a correct hook restores to a state that may not be usable.
  • Restore ordering across dependent resources such as custom resource definitions and operators needs manual attention, and complex applications frequently need a documented runbook rather than a single restore command.
  • Corporate engineering investment became uncertain after Broadcom acquired VMware, which is a real consideration for anyone building a long retention policy on the project.
  • Object storage egress charges apply on restore and are billed by your cloud provider, so a full cluster recovery from another region carries a cost discovered during the incident rather than during planning.

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

Velero

Free
  • VeleroFree
    • Apache 2.0 licensed
    • No cluster or capacity limits
    • Community support via Kubernetes Slack and GitHub

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 Velero if

  • You need cluster resource backup.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux.
  • You also want volume snapshots.
Velero review

Questions people ask

Is Comet Backup or Velero better?
Neither clearly leads. Comet Backup starts at $19/month and Velero at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Comet Backup or Velero?
Velero has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $19/month for Comet Backup and Free for Velero.
Does Comet Backup or Velero run on more platforms?
Comet Backup runs on Windows, macOS, Linux. Velero runs on Linux.
Can I use Velero for free?
Yes. Velero has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Comet Backup starts at $19/month.
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 Velero is typically brought in for.
What can Comet Backup do that Velero cannot?
Comet Backup covers White-label branding, Bring your own storage, End-to-end encryption, Chunking deduplication. Velero covers Cluster resource backup, Volume snapshots, File-level backup, Cross-cluster restore.

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
Velero: Can we buy support for Velero?

Not from the project. Several commercial Kubernetes backup products package or extend it and sell support, which is the practical route to an accountable vendor.

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
Velero: Does it back up persistent volume data?

Yes, through cloud or Container Storage Interface snapshots, or through file-level upload where snapshots are not available.

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
Velero: What does it cost?

Nothing to licence. You pay for object storage capacity and for egress on restore, both billed by your cloud provider.

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