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NAKIVO Backup & Replication vs rustic

NAKIVO Backup & Replication logo

NAKIVO Backup & Replication

Backup

Fast and affordable VM backup solution

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
rustic logo

rustic

Backup

Rust reimplementation of restic that reads and writes the same repository format

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; rustic the project is small with a short list of active maintainers, so bus factor is a genuine consideration for software whose job is to still work in five years.
  • They diverge on capability: NAKIVO Backup & Replication covers Instant VM recovery, rustic covers restic format compatibility.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where NAKIVO Backup & Replication and rustic differ
AttributeNAKIVO Backup & Replicationrustic
Pricing modelUnknownOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsWindows, Linux, Cloud, On-premiseLinux, macOS, Windows
Founded2012Unknown

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 rustic

  • restic format compatibility
  • Configuration profiles
  • Deduplicated encrypted backups
  • Cold and append only storage support
  • Multiple back ends
  • Library crates

What people use each for

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

NAKIVO Backup & Replication

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

rustic

  • An existing restic user who wants configuration files rather than long command lines in cronnot NAKIVO Backup & Replication
  • Backing up a memory constrained machine where the reference implementation is uncomfortably heavynot NAKIVO Backup & Replication
  • Writing to append only or cold object storage where the default tooling assumes rewritable bucketsnot NAKIVO Backup & Replication
  • Keeping a second implementation available so a long lived archive does not depend on one codebasenot 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

rustic

  • The project is small with a short list of active maintainers, so bus factor is a genuine consideration for software whose job is to still work in five years.
  • It inherits the restic repository format, so design limits in that format, including the cost of pruning large repositories, are inherited rather than fixed.
  • Command names, flags and behaviour do not map one to one onto restic, so scripts and runbooks need rewriting rather than a binary swap.
  • Far fewer people have performed a real restore from it under pressure, and backup software is one of the few categories where being second most used is itself a risk.
  • Alternating between rustic and restic against one repository works but doubles the surface for a version incompatibility to corrupt state, so most operators should pick one and stay with it.

Pricing, plan by plan

NAKIVO Backup & Replication

Free

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

rustic

Free
  • rusticFree
    • Full functionality, no data limit
    • All supported storage back ends
    • Community support via GitHub

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 rustic if

  • You need restic format compatibility.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows.
  • You also want configuration profiles.
rustic review

Questions people ask

Is NAKIVO Backup & Replication or rustic better?
Neither clearly leads. NAKIVO Backup & Replication starts at Free and rustic at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, NAKIVO Backup & Replication or rustic?
NAKIVO Backup & Replication starts at Free and rustic at Free.
Does NAKIVO Backup & Replication or rustic run on more platforms?
NAKIVO Backup & Replication runs on Windows, Linux, Cloud, On-premise. rustic runs on Linux, macOS, Windows.
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 rustic is typically brought in for.
What can NAKIVO Backup & Replication do that rustic cannot?
NAKIVO Backup & Replication covers Instant VM recovery, Site recovery, Global deduplication, Network acceleration. rustic covers restic format compatibility, Configuration profiles, Deduplicated encrypted backups, Cold and append only storage 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
rustic: Can it read my existing restic repository?

Yes, that is the point of the project. Take a copy and verify before you rely on it, as with any change to backup tooling.

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
rustic: Should I switch from restic?

Only for a specific reason such as configuration profiles, memory use or cold storage handling. Compatibility means there is no cost to trying and no cost to going back.

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
rustic: Is it production ready?

It is used in production by a small community, but it is younger and less exercised than the implementation it is compatible with. Test restores accordingly.

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
rustic: Does it support the same back ends?

The common ones, including local, SFTP, S3 compatible storage and rclone. Check the current list before committing to an unusual target.

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