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Backup · head to head

Macrium Reflect vs Redstor

Macrium Reflect logo

Macrium Reflect

Backup

Award-winning disk imaging and cloning

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Redstor logo

Redstor

Backup

Cloud backup for managed service providers with instant streamed recovery

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Macrium Reflect has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Macrium Reflect business editions (Workstation, Site Backup) publish named tiers but no self-serve figure on their own product pages; only a free trial of the management console is offered directly; Redstor it is sold through the channel, so you cannot buy it direct and your price and support quality depend entirely on the partner you engage.
  • They diverge on capability: Macrium Reflect covers Disk imaging, Redstor covers InstantData.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Macrium Reflect and Redstor actually diverge.

Attributes where Macrium Reflect and Redstor differ
AttributeMacrium ReflectRedstor
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelfreemiumquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWindowsWindows, macOS, Linux, Web
Founded2006Unknown

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 Macrium Reflect

  • Disk imaging
  • Rapid delta cloning
  • Rescue Media
  • Incremental backup
  • Scheduling
  • Email notifications
  • Windows PE
  • Hyper-V

Only in Redstor

  • InstantData
  • Multi-tenant console
  • SaaS application backup
  • Regional data centres
  • Malware detection
  • White labelling

What people use each for

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

Macrium Reflect

  • Data protectionnot Redstor
  • Disaster recoverynot Redstor
  • Business continuitynot Redstor
  • Ransomware protectionnot Redstor
  • Compliancenot Redstor

Redstor

  • A UK managed service provider needing client data to stay in UK data centres for public sector contractsnot Macrium Reflect
  • An MSP that wants to promise a recovery time measured in minutes rather than hours for file serversnot Macrium Reflect
  • A business needing Microsoft 365 and accounting SaaS backup managed by its IT provider in one consolenot Macrium Reflect
  • An MSP consolidating several backup products across its client base onto one multi-tenant platformnot Macrium Reflect

Where each one falls short

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

Macrium Reflect

  • Business editions (Workstation, Site Backup) publish named tiers but no self-serve figure on their own product pages; only a free trial of the management console is offered directly

Redstor

  • It is sold through the channel, so you cannot buy it direct and your price and support quality depend entirely on the partner you engage.
  • Pricing is not published at all, and because partners resell it with their own margin, comparing quotes across MSPs is comparing partner markups rather than product cost.
  • The InstantData streaming advantage depends on network bandwidth to the data centre, so sites with poor connectivity see much less benefit than the demonstrations suggest.
  • Its footprint is concentrated in the UK, Europe and South Africa, so multinational organisations needing consistent coverage in North America or Asia will find the regional story uneven.
  • Feature depth for large enterprise virtual machine estates trails Veeam and Rubrik, so it fits small and medium client workloads rather than complex data centre recovery.

Pricing, plan by plan

Macrium Reflect

Free
  • Home$70/year
    • Disk imaging
    • Rescue Media
    • Rapid delta

Redstor

On request
  • Redstor Platform$undefined/year
    • Sold through managed service providers, priced per protected device or per user
    • Storage included in the per-unit price rather than billed separately
    • No egress or restore charges

Which should you pick?

Choose Macrium Reflect if

  • You need disk imaging.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows.
  • You also want rapid delta cloning.
Macrium Reflect review

Choose Redstor if

  • You need instantdata.
  • You work on Windows, macOS, Linux, Web.
  • You also want multi-tenant console.
Redstor review

Questions people ask

Is Macrium Reflect or Redstor better?
Neither clearly leads. Macrium Reflect starts at Free and Redstor at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Macrium Reflect or Redstor?
Macrium Reflect has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Macrium Reflect and On request for Redstor.
Does Macrium Reflect or Redstor run on more platforms?
Macrium Reflect runs on Windows. Redstor runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, Web.
Can I use Macrium Reflect for free?
Yes. Macrium Reflect has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Redstor starts at On request.
What is Macrium Reflect best used for?
Macrium Reflect is most often used for data protection, disaster recovery, business continuity, ransomware protection. Of those, data protection and disaster recovery are not what Redstor is typically brought in for.
What can Macrium Reflect do that Redstor cannot?
Macrium Reflect covers Disk imaging, Rapid delta cloning, Rescue Media, Incremental backup. Redstor covers InstantData, Multi-tenant console, SaaS application backup, Regional data centres.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Redstor: Can we buy Redstor directly?

Generally no. It is a channel product sold through managed service providers, so partner selection is part of the buying decision.

Redstor: Are there restore or egress charges?

Redstor includes storage and recovery in the per-unit price rather than charging separately for egress, which is the opposite of the cloud-native backup vendors.

Redstor: Where is data stored?

UK and regional data centres, selectable by tenant, which is the reason UK public sector and legal clients tend to shortlist it.

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