Softwr

Backup · head to head

Macrium Reflect vs Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes

Macrium Reflect logo

Macrium Reflect

Backup

Award-winning disk imaging and cloning

From
Free
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

  • 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; 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: Macrium Reflect covers Disk imaging, 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 Macrium Reflect and Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes actually diverge.

Attributes where Macrium Reflect and Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes differ
AttributeMacrium ReflectVeeam Kasten for Kubernetes
Pricing modelfreemiumPer worker node
PlatformsWindowsKubernetes, Linux
Founded2006Unknown

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

Macrium Reflect

  • 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 Macrium Reflect
  • Migrating a stateful application from on-premises OpenShift to a managed cloud Kubernetes servicenot Macrium Reflect
  • Protecting Kubernetes workloads to an immutable object store so ransomware cannot delete the backupsnot Macrium Reflect
  • A team using operators and custom resources that volume-snapshot tools silently fail to capturenot 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

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

Macrium Reflect

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

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 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 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 Macrium Reflect or Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes better?
Neither clearly leads. Macrium Reflect starts at Free 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, Macrium Reflect or Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes?
Macrium Reflect starts at Free and Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes at Free.
Does Macrium Reflect or Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes run on more platforms?
Macrium Reflect runs on Windows. Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes runs on Kubernetes, Linux.
Can I use Macrium Reflect for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
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 Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes is typically brought in for.
What can Macrium Reflect do that Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes cannot?
Macrium Reflect covers Disk imaging, Rapid delta cloning, Rescue Media, Incremental backup. 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.

Share

Related pages

More on Macrium Reflect

More on Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes

Keep looking

Other head to heads