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Cloud · head to head

OpenEBS vs Trilio

OpenEBS logo

OpenEBS

Cloud

Open source container-attached storage for Kubernetes

From
Free
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

  • Each has a real cost: OpenEBS there is no vendor on the other end of an incident unless you separately contract DataCore, so an outage at three in the morning is resolved by your own team and a public Slack channel.; 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: OpenEBS covers Replicated engine, Trilio covers OpenStack backup.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which OpenEBS and Trilio actually diverge.

Attributes where OpenEBS and Trilio differ
AttributeOpenEBSTrilio
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feePer node per year
PlatformsLinuxLinux, Web
CategoryCloudBackup

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 OpenEBS

  • Replicated engine
  • Local PV engines
  • Kubernetes-native management
  • Snapshots and clones
  • No licence fee
  • Hardware independence

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.

OpenEBS

  • Running Cassandra or Kafka on Kubernetes where the application already replicates and node-local volumes are sufficientnot Trilio
  • A platform team that needs persistent volumes on bare metal Kubernetes without a per node subscriptionnot Trilio
  • An edge or lab deployment where a commercial storage licence cannot be justifiednot Trilio
  • Replacing hostpath volumes with something that has snapshots and a Container Storage Interface drivernot Trilio

Trilio

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

Where each one falls short

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

OpenEBS

  • There is no vendor on the other end of an incident unless you separately contract DataCore, so an outage at three in the morning is resolved by your own team and a public Slack channel.
  • The project has several storage engines with different maturity and different operational characteristics, and choosing the wrong one for your workload produces poor results that look like a product failure.
  • Documentation and upgrade guidance assume real Kubernetes storage knowledge, so teams without that expertise underestimate the operational load they are taking on.
  • Project governance shifted after DataCore acquired MayaData in 2021, which means the direction of a supposedly neutral project is influenced by one commercial sponsor.
  • Disaster recovery, cross-cluster replication and policy-driven data services are thinner than in the commercial alternatives, so organisations with those requirements end up building them or buying a product anyway.

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

OpenEBS

Free
  • OpenEBSFree
    • Apache 2.0 licensed
    • All storage engines included
    • No node or capacity limits

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 OpenEBS if

  • You need replicated engine.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux.
  • You also want local pv engines.
OpenEBS 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 OpenEBS or Trilio better?
Neither clearly leads. OpenEBS starts at Free and Trilio at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, OpenEBS or Trilio?
OpenEBS starts at Free and Trilio at Free.
Does OpenEBS or Trilio run on more platforms?
OpenEBS runs on Linux. Trilio runs on Linux, Web.
Can I use OpenEBS for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is OpenEBS best used for?
OpenEBS is most often used for running cassandra or kafka on kubernetes where the application already replicates and node-local volumes are sufficient, a platform team that needs persistent volumes on bare metal kubernetes without a per node subscription, an edge or lab deployment where a commercial storage licence cannot be justified, replacing hostpath volumes with something that has snapshots and a container storage interface driver. Of those, running cassandra or kafka on kubernetes where the application already replicates and node-local volumes are sufficient and a platform team that needs persistent volumes on bare metal kubernetes without a per node subscription are not what Trilio is typically brought in for.
What can OpenEBS do that Trilio cannot?
OpenEBS covers Replicated engine, Local PV engines, Kubernetes-native management, Snapshots and clones. Trilio covers OpenStack backup, Kubernetes backup, OpenShift Virtualization, Open format backups.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

OpenEBS: Who supports it in production?

The project is community supported. Commercial support is available from DataCore, which acquired the original sponsor MayaData in 2021. Establish that relationship before production, not during an incident.

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.

OpenEBS: Which engine should we use?

If your application replicates its own data, use a Local engine and avoid replicating twice. If it does not, such as with PostgreSQL, use the Replicated engine.

Trilio: Does it support OpenShift Virtualization?

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

OpenEBS: Does it cost anything?

No licence fee. The cost is operational, and a support contract if you want someone accountable.

Trilio: Where are backups stored?

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

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