Is OpenEBS or UrBackup better?

Neither clearly leads. OpenEBS starts at Free and UrBackup at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, OpenEBS or UrBackup?

OpenEBS starts at Free and UrBackup at Free.

Does OpenEBS or UrBackup run on more platforms?

OpenEBS runs on Linux. UrBackup runs on Linux, Windows, macOS, FreeBSD.

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 UrBackup is typically brought in for.

What can OpenEBS do that UrBackup cannot?

OpenEBS covers Replicated engine, Local PV engines, Kubernetes-native management, Snapshots and clones. UrBackup covers Windows image backups, File backups, Web interface, Client discovery.

Cloud · head to head

OpenEBS vs UrBackup

OpenEBS

Cloud

Open source container-attached storage for Kubernetes

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

UrBackup

Backup

Open source client server backup doing both file and whole disk image backups of Windows machines

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

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.; UrBackup backups are stored on the server without encryption at rest by default, so the backup server holds a readable copy of every machine it protects and becomes the highest value target on the network.
They diverge on capability: OpenEBS covers Replicated engine, UrBackup covers Windows image backups.
Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which OpenEBS and UrBackup actually diverge.

Attributes where OpenEBS and UrBackup differ
Attribute	OpenEBS	UrBackup
Platforms	Linux	Linux, Windows, macOS, FreeBSD
Category	Cloud	Backup

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (Open source, no licence fee), 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 UrBackup

Windows image backups
File backups
Web interface
Client discovery
Internet mode
Filesystem deduplication

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 UrBackup
A platform team that needs persistent volumes on bare metal Kubernetes without a per node subscriptionnot UrBackup
An edge or lab deployment where a commercial storage licence cannot be justifiednot UrBackup
Replacing hostpath volumes with something that has snapshots and a Container Storage Interface drivernot UrBackup

UrBackup

A small office with Windows workstations that needs bare metal restore without per seat licensingnot OpenEBS
Schools and labs where machines are re-imaged often and a known good image must be recoverablenot OpenEBS
Backing up a mixed fleet to one server on premises with a web interface non specialists can usenot OpenEBS
Replacing an expiring commercial endpoint backup licence where the budget is the constraintnot 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.

UrBackup

Backups are stored on the server without encryption at rest by default, so the backup server holds a readable copy of every machine it protects and becomes the highest value target on the network.
Deduplication relies on filesystem features such as hard links, btrfs or ZFS, so a server built on the wrong filesystem silently consumes far more space and the fix is a rebuild rather than a setting.
There is no native object storage target, so offsite copies mean replicating the server storage with another tool rather than backing up to a bucket directly.
Restoring a full Windows image requires booting a restore environment, which is a manual, on site procedure that needs to be rehearsed before the day it is needed.
A single server holds everything and there is no built in clustering, so its own failure removes every recovery point at once unless you have separately solved replication.

Pricing, plan by plan

OpenEBS

Free

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

UrBackup

Free

UrBackupFree
- Full functionality, unlimited clients
- File and image backups
- Web administration interface

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 UrBackup if

You need windows image backups.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Linux, Windows, macOS, FreeBSD.
You also want file backups.

UrBackup review

Questions people ask

Is OpenEBS or UrBackup better?: Neither clearly leads. OpenEBS starts at Free and UrBackup at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, OpenEBS or UrBackup?: OpenEBS starts at Free and UrBackup at Free.
Does OpenEBS or UrBackup run on more platforms?: OpenEBS runs on Linux. UrBackup runs on Linux, Windows, macOS, FreeBSD.
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 UrBackup is typically brought in for.
What can OpenEBS do that UrBackup cannot?: OpenEBS covers Replicated engine, Local PV engines, Kubernetes-native management, Snapshots and clones. UrBackup covers Windows image backups, File backups, Web interface, Client discovery.

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.

UrBackup: Does it back up Linux servers as well?

File backups yes, image backups no. The image path is Windows only through volume shadow copy.

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.

UrBackup: Is the data encrypted?

Transport can be encrypted, and there is optional client side file encryption, but the default server storage is not encrypted at rest. Use full disk encryption on the server.

OpenEBS: Does it cost anything?

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

UrBackup: Can I back up to Amazon S3?

Not directly. The server writes to local or mounted storage, so cloud copies are made by replicating that storage separately.

UrBackup: How many clients can one server handle?

Dozens is routine on decent hardware. The limit is usually storage input and output during overlapping backup windows rather than client count.

OpenEBS vs UrBackup

OpenEBS

UrBackup

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in OpenEBS

Only in UrBackup

What people use each for

OpenEBS

UrBackup

Where each one falls short

OpenEBS

UrBackup

Pricing, plan by plan

OpenEBS

UrBackup

Which should you pick?

Choose OpenEBS if

Choose UrBackup if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on OpenEBS

More on UrBackup

Keep looking

Other head to heads