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Cloud · head to head

Flux vs Trilio

Flux logo

Flux

Cloud

GitOps continuous delivery for Kubernetes

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: Flux no user interface of its own: observing what Flux is doing means CLI or a third-party dashboard; 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: Flux covers Git as source of truth, Trilio covers OpenStack backup.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Flux and Trilio actually diverge.

Attributes where Flux and Trilio differ
AttributeFluxTrilio
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feePer node per year
PlatformsKubernetes, LinuxLinux, 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 Flux

  • Git as source of truth
  • Pull-based delivery
  • Helm and Kustomize support
  • Automated image updates

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.

Flux

  • Removing cluster credentials from CI systemsnot Trilio
  • Keeping many clusters consistent with a single declared statenot Trilio
  • Automatically correcting configuration drift rather than discovering it laternot Trilio

Trilio

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

Where each one falls short

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

Flux

  • No user interface of its own: observing what Flux is doing means CLI or a third-party dashboard
  • Debugging a stuck reconciliation is harder than reading a pipeline log, because failure is asynchronous
  • Everything must be in Git, which is awkward for secrets and needs a sealed-secrets or external-secrets approach
  • GitOps is a workflow change, not just a tool, and teams used to imperative deploys find the adjustment real

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

Flux

Free
  • FluxFree
    • Full functionality
    • No usage limits
    • Community support

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 Flux if

  • You need git as source of truth.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Kubernetes, Linux.
  • You also want pull-based delivery.
Flux 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 Flux or Trilio better?
Neither clearly leads. Flux 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, Flux or Trilio?
Flux starts at Free and Trilio at Free.
Does Flux or Trilio run on more platforms?
Flux runs on Kubernetes, Linux. Trilio runs on Linux, Web.
Can I use Flux for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Flux best used for?
Flux is most often used for removing cluster credentials from ci systems, keeping many clusters consistent with a single declared state, automatically correcting configuration drift rather than discovering it later. Of those, removing cluster credentials from ci systems and keeping many clusters consistent with a single declared state are not what Trilio is typically brought in for.
What can Flux do that Trilio cannot?
Flux covers Git as source of truth, Pull-based delivery, Helm and Kustomize support, Automated image updates. Trilio covers OpenStack backup, Kubernetes backup, OpenShift Virtualization, Open format backups.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Flux: Is Flux free?

Yes, open source and CNCF-graduated.

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.

Flux: Flux or Argo CD?

Both implement GitOps. Argo CD ships a strong web UI and is often preferred for visibility; Flux is more modular and composes as controllers, which suits platform teams.

Trilio: Does it support OpenShift Virtualization?

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

Flux: Why is pull-based safer?

Because the cluster reaches out to Git rather than CI reaching into the cluster. No external system needs write credentials to production.

Trilio: Where are backups stored?

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

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