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Backup · head to head

N-able Backup vs Trilio

N-able Backup logo

N-able Backup

Backup

Cloud-first backup built for MSPs

From
$20/month
Rated
-
Trilio logo

Trilio

Backup

Backup and recovery for OpenStack, Kubernetes and Red Hat Virtualization

From
Free
Rated
-

The short version

  • Only Trilio has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: N-able Backup limited availability for non-Windows environments compared to competitors; 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: N-able Backup covers Direct-to-cloud backup, Trilio covers OpenStack backup.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which N-able Backup and Trilio actually diverge.

Attributes where N-able Backup and Trilio differ
AttributeN-able BackupTrilio
Starting price$20/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionPer node per year
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWindows, WebLinux, Web
Founded2021Unknown

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 N-able Backup

  • Direct-to-cloud backup
  • Standby image
  • Bare metal recovery
  • LocalSpeedVault
  • TrueDelta incremental
  • Documents protection
  • Microsoft 365
  • VMware

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.

N-able Backup

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

Trilio

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

Where each one falls short

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

N-able Backup

  • Limited availability for non-Windows environments compared to competitors
  • MSP-focused product may include features unnecessary for smaller organizations

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

N-able Backup

$20/month
  • Backup$20/month
    • Direct-to-cloud
    • Standby image
    • Multi-tenant

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 N-able Backup if

  • You need direct-to-cloud backup.
  • You work on Windows, Web.
  • You also want standby image.

Choose Trilio if

  • You need openstack backup.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Web.
  • You also want kubernetes backup.

Questions people ask

Is N-able Backup or Trilio better?
Neither clearly leads. N-able Backup starts at $20/month and Trilio at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, N-able Backup or Trilio?
Trilio has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $20/month for N-able Backup and Free for Trilio.
Does N-able Backup or Trilio run on more platforms?
N-able Backup runs on Windows, Web. Trilio runs on Linux, Web.
Can I use Trilio for free?
Yes. Trilio has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. N-able Backup starts at $20/month.
What is N-able Backup best used for?
N-able Backup is most often used for data protection, disaster recovery, business continuity, ransomware protection. Of those, data protection and disaster recovery are not what Trilio is typically brought in for.
What can N-able Backup do that Trilio cannot?
N-able Backup covers Direct-to-cloud backup, Standby image, Bare metal recovery, LocalSpeedVault. Trilio covers OpenStack backup, Kubernetes backup, OpenShift Virtualization, Open format backups.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

N-able Backup: What does Cove Data Protection cover?

Cove Data Protection provides unified backup, security, and disaster recovery for servers, workstations, and Microsoft 365, with cloud-native architecture and automatic updates.

Source
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.

N-able Backup: Is hardware required for N-able Backup?

No, Cove Data Protection is fully SaaS-based with no appliances or hardware required. It offers a cloud management console accessible from anywhere with no upfront hardware investment.

Source
Trilio: Does it support OpenShift Virtualization?

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

N-able Backup: How often can backups be scheduled with Cove?

Cove's TrueDelta technology enables backups as frequently as every 15 minutes, eliminating redundancies and ensuring minimal data loss windows.

Source
Trilio: Where are backups stored?

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

N-able Backup: Does Cove offer ransomware protection?

Yes, Cove includes ransomware resilience through immutable backup copies and isolated backups kept separate by default, providing protection against encryption attacks.

Source
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