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File Storage · head to head

Nasuni vs Trilio

Nasuni logo

Nasuni

File Storage

Cloud file storage that keeps the authoritative copy in object storage and caches it at each site

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Trilio logo

Trilio

Backup

Backup and recovery for OpenStack, Kubernetes and Red Hat Virtualization

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Trilio has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Nasuni subscription is based on managed capacity, so cold data that would cost almost nothing in an archive tier keeps paying the full platform rate, and there is limited incentive structure to delete.; 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: Nasuni covers Edge caching appliances, Trilio covers OpenStack backup.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Nasuni and Trilio actually diverge.

Attributes where Nasuni and Trilio differ
AttributeNasuniTrilio
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquotePer node per year
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Windows, VMware, Hyper-V, AWS, AzureLinux, Web
CategoryFile StorageBackup

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

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 Nasuni

  • Edge caching appliances
  • Object storage back end
  • Continuous versioning
  • Global file lock
  • Rapid site recovery
  • Ransomware detection

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.

Nasuni

  • Consolidating file servers across many branch offices onto one namespace without shipping data between sitesnot Trilio
  • Replacing a NAS plus backup plus offsite replication stack with a single recovery modelnot Trilio
  • Engineering or media teams in different regions who need to work on the same large project filesnot Trilio
  • An organisation that has been hit by ransomware on file shares and needs version level rollback rather than tape restoresnot Trilio

Trilio

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

Where each one falls short

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

Nasuni

  • Subscription is based on managed capacity, so cold data that would cost almost nothing in an archive tier keeps paying the full platform rate, and there is limited incentive structure to delete.
  • Every site needs an appliance, virtual or physical, which is a footprint and a patching obligation at locations that previously had only a file server or nothing.
  • A read that misses the local cache is fetched from object storage, so the first access to a cold large file is at cloud latency and users experience it as the system being slow at random.
  • Global file lock serialises access across regions, so genuinely collaborative editing of the same large files still involves waiting for another site to release the lock rather than merging.
  • The object storage underneath is your contract, so API transaction and egress charges from Azure or AWS land on your cloud bill and are not covered by the Nasuni subscription you were quoted against.

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

Nasuni

On request
  • Nasuni File Data Platform$undefined/year
    • Subscription based on managed capacity
    • Edge appliances at each site
    • Continuous versioning and rapid recovery

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 Nasuni if

  • You need edge caching appliances.
  • You work on Web, Windows, VMware, Hyper-V, AWS, Azure.
  • You also want object storage back end.
Nasuni review

Choose Trilio if

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

Questions people ask

Is Nasuni or Trilio better?
Neither clearly leads. Nasuni starts at On request and Trilio at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Nasuni or Trilio?
Trilio has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Nasuni and Free for Trilio.
Does Nasuni or Trilio run on more platforms?
Nasuni runs on Web, Windows, VMware, Hyper-V, AWS, Azure. Trilio runs on Linux, Web.
Can I use Trilio for free?
Yes. Trilio has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Nasuni starts at On request.
What is Nasuni best used for?
Nasuni is most often used for consolidating file servers across many branch offices onto one namespace without shipping data between sites, replacing a nas plus backup plus offsite replication stack with a single recovery model, engineering or media teams in different regions who need to work on the same large project files, an organisation that has been hit by ransomware on file shares and needs version level rollback rather than tape restores. Of those, consolidating file servers across many branch offices onto one namespace without shipping data between sites and replacing a nas plus backup plus offsite replication stack with a single recovery model are not what Trilio is typically brought in for.
What can Nasuni do that Trilio cannot?
Nasuni covers Edge caching appliances, Object storage back end, Continuous versioning, Global file lock. Trilio covers OpenStack backup, Kubernetes backup, OpenShift Virtualization, Open format backups.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Nasuni: Do I still need a backup product?

That is the pitch: continuous versioning in object storage replaces the backup schedule for file data. Databases and virtual machines still need their own tooling.

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.

Nasuni: Who owns the storage account?

You do. Nasuni writes into object storage you contract for, which also means the cloud provider bills you directly for it.

Trilio: Does it support OpenShift Virtualization?

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

Nasuni: How fast is recovery of a whole site?

An appliance can be serving files within hours because data is pulled on demand, but performance stays degraded while the cache refills.

Trilio: Where are backups stored?

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

Nasuni: Is pricing published?

No. Nasuni sells through quotes based on managed capacity and site count, so comparisons need a real proposal rather than a list price.

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