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Backup · head to head

NAKIVO Backup & Replication vs Restic

NAKIVO Backup & Replication logo

NAKIVO Backup & Replication

Backup

Fast and affordable VM backup solution

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Restic logo

Restic

Backup

Fast, secure, and efficient backup program

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: NAKIVO Backup & Replication no macOS support and limited Linux support due to absence of native Linux agent; Restic cold storage is not natively supported; restoring from S3 Glacier and S3 Glacier Deep Archive is only available as an experimental feature behind a feature flag
  • They diverge on capability: NAKIVO Backup & Replication covers Instant VM recovery, Restic covers Content-defined chunking.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which NAKIVO Backup & Replication and Restic actually diverge.

Attributes where NAKIVO Backup & Replication and Restic differ
AttributeNAKIVO Backup & ReplicationRestic
Pricing modelUnknownfree
PlatformsWindows, Linux, Cloud, On-premiseWindows, Mac, Linux
Founded20122014

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 NAKIVO Backup & Replication

  • Instant VM recovery
  • Site recovery
  • Global deduplication
  • Network acceleration
  • Multi-tenancy
  • Self-service portal
  • VMware
  • Hyper-V

Only in Restic

  • Content-defined chunking
  • Cryptographic verification
  • Deduplication
  • Encryption
  • Multiple backends
  • Snapshot management
  • AWS S3
  • Azure

Both cover

  • Windows support
  • Linux support

What people use each for

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

NAKIVO Backup & Replication

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

Restic

  • Encrypted deduplicated backups to S3, B2, SFTP and local disk from the command linenot NAKIVO Backup & Replication
  • Scripted server backups with snapshot retention policiesnot NAKIVO Backup & Replication

Where each one falls short

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

NAKIVO Backup & Replication

  • No macOS support and limited Linux support due to absence of native Linux agent
  • Limited SQL Server transaction log backup options restricting database protection granularity
  • Weak ITSM platform integrations - lacks tight integration with ServiceNow or Jira Service Desk
  • Encrypted VMware VMs only support crash-consistent backups in application-aware mode, limiting granular app-level recovery

Restic

  • Cold storage is not natively supported; restoring from S3 Glacier and S3 Glacier Deep Archive is only available as an experimental feature behind a feature flag
  • A Windows file whose name contains a character Windows treats as invalid cannot be read by restic and has to be renamed
  • Antivirus real-time protection degrades performance on Windows unless the restic binary is added to an exclusions list
  • On large repositories the built-in five minute stuck-request timeout fires during file listing and has to be raised manually with --stuck-request-timeout

Pricing, plan by plan

NAKIVO Backup & Replication

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the NAKIVO Backup & Replication review.

Restic

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Content-defined chunking
    • Encryption
    • Multiple backends

Which should you pick?

Choose NAKIVO Backup & Replication if

  • You need instant vm recovery.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, Linux, Cloud, On-premise.
  • You also want site recovery.
NAKIVO Backup & Replication review

Choose Restic if

  • You need content-defined chunking.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, Mac, Linux.
  • You also want cryptographic verification.
Restic review

Questions people ask

Is NAKIVO Backup & Replication or Restic better?
Neither clearly leads. NAKIVO Backup & Replication starts at Free and Restic at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, NAKIVO Backup & Replication or Restic?
NAKIVO Backup & Replication starts at Free and Restic at Free.
Does NAKIVO Backup & Replication or Restic run on more platforms?
NAKIVO Backup & Replication runs on Windows, Linux, Cloud, On-premise. Restic runs on Windows, Mac, Linux.
Can I use NAKIVO Backup & Replication for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is NAKIVO Backup & Replication best used for?
NAKIVO Backup & Replication is most often used for data protection, disaster recovery, business continuity, ransomware protection. Of those, data protection and disaster recovery are not what Restic is typically brought in for.
What can NAKIVO Backup & Replication do that Restic cannot?
NAKIVO Backup & Replication covers Instant VM recovery, Site recovery, Global deduplication, Network acceleration. Restic covers Content-defined chunking, Cryptographic verification, Deduplication, Encryption. Both handle Windows support, Linux support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

NAKIVO Backup & Replication: What does NAKIVO backup?

NAKIVO backs up virtual machines from VMware vSphere, Hyper-V, Nutanix AHV, and Proxmox VE, plus physical Windows and Linux servers, Amazon EC2 instances, Microsoft 365 data, databases, and NAS file shares.

Source
Restic: How much does restic cost?

Restic is entirely free to use and completely open source. There are no subscription tiers, paid plans, or licensing costs.

Source
NAKIVO Backup & Replication: What is NAKIVO's pricing structure?

NAKIVO offers subscription pricing starting at $2.45 per workload per month or perpetual licensing starting at $19 per workstation. Additional tiers include $229 per CPU socket for larger deployments. Both on-premise and SaaS deployment options are available.

Source
NAKIVO Backup & Replication: Does NAKIVO include ransomware protection?

Yes. NAKIVO includes AES-256 encryption, role-based access control, two-factor authentication, and built-in ransomware protection through immutable storage options.

Source
NAKIVO Backup & Replication: Can NAKIVO replicate virtual machines?

Yes. NAKIVO Backup & Replication includes VM replication capabilities, disaster recovery orchestration, and automated failover for business continuity planning.

Source
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