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Backup · head to head

Macrium Reflect vs Velero

Macrium Reflect logo

Macrium Reflect

Backup

Award-winning disk imaging and cloning

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Velero logo

Velero

Backup

Open source backup and migration for Kubernetes cluster resources

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; Velero there is no vendor support contract from the project itself, so a failed restore during an outage is resolved by your team reading source code and GitHub issues.
  • They diverge on capability: Macrium Reflect covers Disk imaging, Velero covers Cluster resource backup.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Macrium Reflect and Velero differ
AttributeMacrium ReflectVelero
Pricing modelfreemiumOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsWindowsLinux
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 Velero

  • Cluster resource backup
  • Volume snapshots
  • File-level backup
  • Cross-cluster restore
  • Backup hooks
  • Scheduled backups
  • Object storage targets

What people use each for

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

Macrium Reflect

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

Velero

  • A platform team needing namespace-level restore after an accidental deletion, with no budget for a backup productnot Macrium Reflect
  • Migrating workloads between Kubernetes clusters or between cloud providers using backup and restorenot Macrium Reflect
  • Capturing cluster configuration before a risky upgrade so the previous state can be reinstatednot Macrium Reflect
  • An organisation proving a Kubernetes recovery capability to an auditor before deciding whether to buy a commercial productnot 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

Velero

  • There is no vendor support contract from the project itself, so a failed restore during an outage is resolved by your team reading source code and GitHub issues.
  • Application consistency depends on backup hooks you write and maintain, and a database backed up without a correct hook restores to a state that may not be usable.
  • Restore ordering across dependent resources such as custom resource definitions and operators needs manual attention, and complex applications frequently need a documented runbook rather than a single restore command.
  • Corporate engineering investment became uncertain after Broadcom acquired VMware, which is a real consideration for anyone building a long retention policy on the project.
  • Object storage egress charges apply on restore and are billed by your cloud provider, so a full cluster recovery from another region carries a cost discovered during the incident rather than during planning.

Pricing, plan by plan

Macrium Reflect

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

Velero

Free
  • VeleroFree
    • Apache 2.0 licensed
    • No cluster or capacity limits
    • Community support via Kubernetes Slack and GitHub

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 Velero if

  • You need cluster resource backup.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux.
  • You also want volume snapshots.
Velero review

Questions people ask

Is Macrium Reflect or Velero better?
Neither clearly leads. Macrium Reflect starts at Free and Velero at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Macrium Reflect or Velero?
Macrium Reflect starts at Free and Velero at Free.
Does Macrium Reflect or Velero run on more platforms?
Macrium Reflect runs on Windows. Velero runs on 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 Velero is typically brought in for.
What can Macrium Reflect do that Velero cannot?
Macrium Reflect covers Disk imaging, Rapid delta cloning, Rescue Media, Incremental backup. Velero covers Cluster resource backup, Volume snapshots, File-level backup, Cross-cluster restore.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Velero: Can we buy support for Velero?

Not from the project. Several commercial Kubernetes backup products package or extend it and sell support, which is the practical route to an accountable vendor.

Velero: Does it back up persistent volume data?

Yes, through cloud or Container Storage Interface snapshots, or through file-level upload where snapshots are not available.

Velero: What does it cost?

Nothing to licence. You pay for object storage capacity and for egress on restore, both billed by your cloud provider.

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