Softwr

Cloud · head to head

Crossplane vs Trilio

Crossplane logo

Crossplane

Cloud

The Cloud-Native Framework for Platform Engineering

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Trilio logo

Trilio

Backup

Backup and recovery for OpenStack, Kubernetes and Red Hat Virtualization

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Crossplane requires Kubernetes expertise and infrastructure; Trilio coverage is deliberately narrow, so a mixed estate with VMware and physical servers needs a second backup product and two sets of restore procedures.
  • They diverge on capability: Crossplane covers Kubernetes extension, Trilio covers OpenStack backup.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Crossplane and Trilio actually diverge.

Attributes where Crossplane and Trilio differ
AttributeCrossplaneTrilio
Pricing modelUnknownPer node per year
PlatformsKubernetes, AWS, Azure, GCPLinux, Web
CategoryCloudBackup

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Crossplane

  • Kubernetes extension
  • Custom API building
  • Resource management anywhere
  • Declarative interfaces
  • Component library
  • Provider ecosystem

Only in Trilio

  • OpenStack backup
  • Kubernetes backup
  • OpenShift Virtualization
  • Open format backups
  • Incremental forever
  • Self-service restore
  • Free basic edition

What people use each for

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

Crossplane

  • Building platform-as-a-service offerings for internal teamsnot Trilio
  • Creating unified control layers for multi-cloud infrastructurenot Trilio
  • Designing declarative APIs for infrastructure provisioningnot Trilio

Trilio

  • A telco running an OpenStack cloud whose incumbent backup vendor supports it only through generic agentsnot Crossplane
  • An organisation migrating virtual machines from VMware to OpenShift Virtualization and needing protection on the new platform from day onenot Crossplane
  • A research institution protecting tenant workloads where each tenant should restore its own data without a ticketnot Crossplane
  • A platform team wanting to evaluate Kubernetes backup properly on ten nodes before committing budgetnot Crossplane

Where each one falls short

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

Crossplane

  • Requires Kubernetes expertise and infrastructure
  • Steep learning curve for teams new to Kubernetes patterns
  • Provider ecosystem smaller than Terraform

Trilio

  • Coverage is deliberately narrow, so a mixed estate with VMware and physical servers needs a second backup product and two sets of restore procedures.
  • Trilio is a small vendor next to the backup incumbents, and buyers with ten year retention obligations should assess the risk of the company being acquired or wound down.
  • Enterprise pricing is per node or per virtual machine and is not published, which makes it hard to compare against per-terabyte competitors without going through sales.
  • The free basic edition stops at ten nodes with community support only, so the step from evaluation to production is a full commercial negotiation rather than a tier upgrade.
  • Restore performance depends on the object storage or NFS target you supply, and egress charges from a cloud object store during a large recovery sit outside the vendor quote entirely.

Pricing, plan by plan

Crossplane

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Crossplane review.

Trilio

Free
  • Basic EditionFree
    • Up to ten nodes
    • No time limit
    • Community support only
  • Enterprise Edition$undefined/year
    • Priced per node or per virtual machine annually
    • No scale limits
    • OpenStack, Kubernetes, OpenShift and Red Hat Virtualization

Which should you pick?

Choose Crossplane if

  • You need kubernetes extension.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Kubernetes, AWS, Azure, GCP.
  • You also want custom api building.
Crossplane review

Choose Trilio if

  • You need openstack backup.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Web.
  • You also want kubernetes backup.
Trilio review

Questions people ask

Is Crossplane or Trilio better?
Neither clearly leads. Crossplane starts at Free and Trilio at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Crossplane or Trilio?
Crossplane starts at Free and Trilio at Free.
Does Crossplane or Trilio run on more platforms?
Crossplane runs on Kubernetes, AWS, Azure, GCP. Trilio runs on Linux, Web.
Can I use Crossplane for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Crossplane best used for?
Crossplane is most often used for building platform-as-a-service offerings for internal teams, creating unified control layers for multi-cloud infrastructure, designing declarative apis for infrastructure provisioning. Of those, building platform-as-a-service offerings for internal teams and creating unified control layers for multi-cloud infrastructure are not what Trilio is typically brought in for.
What can Crossplane do that Trilio cannot?
Crossplane covers Kubernetes extension, Custom API building, Resource management anywhere, Declarative interfaces. Trilio covers OpenStack backup, Kubernetes backup, OpenShift Virtualization, Open format backups.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Crossplane: Is Crossplane free?

Yes, Crossplane is open source and free to use. It requires a Kubernetes cluster but has no licensing costs.

Source
Trilio: Is the free edition production usable?

It is functionally complete up to ten nodes with community support only. Use it to evaluate, but understand that production incidents have no vendor behind them at that tier.

Crossplane: What is Crossplane used for?

Crossplane is used to build control planes and platforms for infrastructure management, enabling platform teams to expose safe APIs to other teams.

Source
Trilio: Does it support OpenShift Virtualization?

Yes, which is the main reason it appears on shortlists for organisations moving virtual machines off VMware.

Trilio: Where are backups stored?

On NFS or S3-compatible object storage you provide, in an open format rather than a proprietary vendor container.

Share

Related pages

More on Crossplane

More on Trilio

Keep looking

Other head to heads