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Backup · head to head

IBM Storage Protect vs Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes

IBM Storage Protect logo

IBM Storage Protect

Backup

Enterprise-scale data protection platform

From
$100/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes logo

Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes

Backup

Kubernetes-native backup, disaster recovery and application mobility

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: IBM Storage Protect iBM United Kingdom Limited lists IBM Storage Protect for Cloud (Microsoft 365 edition) on G-Cloud 14 at £50.64 per user per year; Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes licensing is per worker node, so clusters designed with many small nodes for scheduling flexibility pay considerably more than the same capacity in fewer large nodes.
  • They diverge on capability: IBM Storage Protect covers Progressive incremental backup, Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes covers Application-aware capture.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which IBM Storage Protect and Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes actually diverge.

Attributes where IBM Storage Protect and Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes differ
AttributeIBM Storage ProtectVeeam Kasten for Kubernetes
Starting price$100/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionPer worker node
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWindows, Linux, WebKubernetes, Linux
Founded1911Unknown

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 IBM Storage Protect

  • Progressive incremental backup
  • Policy-based management
  • Container protection
  • Kubernetes support
  • Data deduplication
  • Instant restore
  • VMware
  • Hyper-V

Only in Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes

  • Application-aware capture
  • Policy engine
  • Immutable targets
  • Restore transformation
  • Database hooks
  • Ransomware detection

What people use each for

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

IBM Storage Protect

  • Data protectionnot Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes
  • Disaster recoverynot Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes
  • Business continuitynot Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes
  • Ransomware protectionnot Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes
  • Compliancenot Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes

Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes

  • A platform team that must prove to auditors it can restore a production namespace, not just its disksnot IBM Storage Protect
  • Migrating a stateful application from on-premises OpenShift to a managed cloud Kubernetes servicenot IBM Storage Protect
  • Protecting Kubernetes workloads to an immutable object store so ransomware cannot delete the backupsnot IBM Storage Protect
  • A team using operators and custom resources that volume-snapshot tools silently fail to capturenot IBM Storage Protect

Where each one falls short

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

IBM Storage Protect

  • IBM United Kingdom Limited lists IBM Storage Protect for Cloud (Microsoft 365 edition) on G-Cloud 14 at £50.64 per user per year

Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes

  • Licensing is per worker node, so clusters designed with many small nodes for scheduling flexibility pay considerably more than the same capacity in fewer large nodes.
  • The free Starter edition is scale limited and community supported, so it works for evaluation and small clusters but there is no gentle upgrade path when production grows past the limit.
  • Backup performance depends on the underlying CSI driver snapshot capability, so on storage without proper CSI snapshot support it falls back to slower generic copying.
  • Restores into a different cluster need matching custom resource definitions and operator versions present beforehand, so cross-cluster mobility is less automatic than the marketing suggests.
  • Kasten protects Kubernetes only, so organisations with mixed virtual machine and container estates run it alongside a separate backup product and manage two retention policies and two sets of evidence.

Pricing, plan by plan

IBM Storage Protect

$100/month
  • Storage Protect$100/month
    • Progressive incremental
    • Container support
    • Policy automation

Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes

Free
  • StarterFree
    • Functionally the same as Enterprise
    • Limited on scale and support
    • Intended for evaluation and small non-production clusters
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Licensed per worker node, quoted annually
    • Available through AWS, Azure and Google Cloud marketplaces
    • Vendor support with SLAs

Which should you pick?

Choose IBM Storage Protect if

  • You need progressive incremental backup.
  • You work on Windows, Linux, Web.
  • You also want policy-based management.
IBM Storage Protect review

Choose Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes if

  • You need application-aware capture.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Kubernetes, Linux.
  • You also want policy engine.
Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes review

Questions people ask

Is IBM Storage Protect or Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes better?
Neither clearly leads. IBM Storage Protect starts at $100/month and Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, IBM Storage Protect or Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes?
Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $100/month for IBM Storage Protect and Free for Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes.
Does IBM Storage Protect or Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes run on more platforms?
IBM Storage Protect runs on Windows, Linux, Web. Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes runs on Kubernetes, Linux.
Can I use Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes for free?
Yes. Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. IBM Storage Protect starts at $100/month.
What is IBM Storage Protect best used for?
IBM Storage Protect is most often used for data protection, disaster recovery, business continuity, ransomware protection. Of those, data protection and disaster recovery are not what Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes is typically brought in for.
What can IBM Storage Protect do that Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes cannot?
IBM Storage Protect covers Progressive incremental backup, Policy-based management, Container protection, Kubernetes support. Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes covers Application-aware capture, Policy engine, Immutable targets, Restore transformation.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes: Is Kasten K10 still a product?

It is now sold as Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes. The kasten.io domain redirects to Veeam and the documentation still lives at docs.kasten.io.

Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes: Is there a free edition?

Yes, the Starter edition is free and functionally complete but limited on scale and support, aimed at evaluation and small non-production clusters.

Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes: How is Enterprise licensed?

Per worker node. Count your nodes, not your capacity, before comparing quotes, because node sizing directly changes the price.

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