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Backup · head to head

Paragon Backup & Recovery vs Velero

Paragon Backup & Recovery logo

Paragon Backup & Recovery

Backup

Professional-grade backup for Windows

From
$50/year
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Velero logo

Velero

Backup

Open source backup and migration for Kubernetes cluster resources

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Velero has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Paragon Backup & Recovery the free Community Edition is licensed for non-commercial use only; Velero there is no vendor support contract from the project itself, so a failed restore during an outage is resolved by your team reading source code and GitHub issues.
  • They diverge on capability: Paragon Backup & Recovery covers Full disk backup, Velero covers Cluster resource backup.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Paragon Backup & Recovery and Velero actually diverge.

Attributes where Paragon Backup & Recovery and Velero differ
AttributeParagon Backup & RecoveryVelero
Starting price$50/yearFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionOpen source, no licence fee
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWindowsLinux
Founded1994Unknown

Identical on both: 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 Paragon Backup & Recovery

  • Full disk backup
  • Incremental/differential
  • Recovery media
  • Virtual disk mount
  • UEFI support
  • Windows
  • Network shares
  • FTP

Only in Velero

  • Cluster resource backup
  • Volume snapshots
  • Cross-cluster restore
  • Backup hooks
  • Scheduled backups
  • Object storage targets

Both cover

  • File-level backup

What people use each for

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

Paragon Backup & Recovery

  • Full disk and partition backup on Windowsnot Velero
  • Bare metal recovery from an imagenot Velero
  • Scheduled incremental backups for a home machinenot Velero
  • Migrating an installation to a new drive on the paid editionsnot Velero

Velero

  • A platform team needing namespace-level restore after an accidental deletion, with no budget for a backup productnot Paragon Backup & Recovery
  • Migrating workloads between Kubernetes clusters or between cloud providers using backup and restorenot Paragon Backup & Recovery
  • Capturing cluster configuration before a risky upgrade so the previous state can be reinstatednot Paragon Backup & Recovery
  • An organisation proving a Kubernetes recovery capability to an auditor before deciding whether to buy a commercial productnot Paragon Backup & Recovery

Where each one falls short

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

Paragon Backup & Recovery

  • The free Community Edition is licensed for non-commercial use only
  • Windows only, and specifically Windows 10 x64 from 1809, Windows 11 x64 and Windows 11 Arm64
  • Volume and OS copying, partition management and email notifications need the Advanced edition
  • Windows Server support requires the Business edition
  • Paid edition prices are not shown on the product page

Velero

  • There is no vendor support contract from the project itself, so a failed restore during an outage is resolved by your team reading source code and GitHub issues.
  • Application consistency depends on backup hooks you write and maintain, and a database backed up without a correct hook restores to a state that may not be usable.
  • Restore ordering across dependent resources such as custom resource definitions and operators needs manual attention, and complex applications frequently need a documented runbook rather than a single restore command.
  • Corporate engineering investment became uncertain after Broadcom acquired VMware, which is a real consideration for anyone building a long retention policy on the project.
  • Object storage egress charges apply on restore and are billed by your cloud provider, so a full cluster recovery from another region carries a cost discovered during the incident rather than during planning.

Pricing, plan by plan

Paragon Backup & Recovery

$50/year
  • Community Edition$50/year
    • Full disk backup
    • File-level backup
    • Recovery media

Velero

Free
  • VeleroFree
    • Apache 2.0 licensed
    • No cluster or capacity limits
    • Community support via Kubernetes Slack and GitHub

Which should you pick?

Choose Paragon Backup & Recovery if

  • You need full disk backup.
  • You work on Windows.
  • You also want incremental/differential.
Paragon Backup & Recovery review

Choose Velero if

  • You need cluster resource backup.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux.
  • You also want volume snapshots.
Velero review

Questions people ask

Is Paragon Backup & Recovery or Velero better?
Neither clearly leads. Paragon Backup & Recovery starts at $50/year and Velero at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Paragon Backup & Recovery or Velero?
Velero has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $50/year for Paragon Backup & Recovery and Free for Velero.
Does Paragon Backup & Recovery or Velero run on more platforms?
Paragon Backup & Recovery runs on Windows. Velero runs on Linux.
Can I use Velero for free?
Yes. Velero has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Paragon Backup & Recovery starts at $50/year.
What is Paragon Backup & Recovery best used for?
Paragon Backup & Recovery is most often used for full disk and partition backup on windows, bare metal recovery from an image, scheduled incremental backups for a home machine, migrating an installation to a new drive on the paid editions. Of those, full disk and partition backup on windows and bare metal recovery from an image are not what Velero is typically brought in for.
What can Paragon Backup & Recovery do that Velero cannot?
Paragon Backup & Recovery covers Full disk backup, Incremental/differential, Recovery media, Virtual disk mount. Velero covers Cluster resource backup, Volume snapshots, Cross-cluster restore, Backup hooks. Both handle File-level backup.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Paragon Backup & Recovery: Is Paragon Backup & Recovery still available?

No, Paragon Backup & Recovery has been unavailable since October 8, 2025, and is marked as a legacy product. Business customers are directed to explore alternative products for business use.

Source
Velero: Can we buy support for Velero?

Not from the project. Several commercial Kubernetes backup products package or extend it and sell support, which is the practical route to an accountable vendor.

Paragon Backup & Recovery: How much does Paragon Backup & Recovery cost?

No pricing information is published. The product is restricted to home use only and customers must contact Paragon's sales team directly for any inquiries.

Source
Velero: Does it back up persistent volume data?

Yes, through cloud or Container Storage Interface snapshots, or through file-level upload where snapshots are not available.

Paragon Backup & Recovery: What should business users do if they used Paragon Backup & Recovery?

Business customers are recommended to explore the company's other products designed for business use and contact the sales team for alternative solutions.

Source
Velero: What does it cost?

Nothing to licence. You pay for object storage capacity and for egress on restore, both billed by your cloud provider.

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