Software · head to head
Restic vs Arcserve UDP
The short version
- Only Restic has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Restic cold storage is not natively supported; restoring from S3 Glacier and S3 Glacier Deep Archive is only available as an experimental feature behind a feature flag; Arcserve UDP multiple security vulnerabilities documented in 2025-2026 including authentication bypass and buffer overflow issues
- They diverge on capability: Restic covers Content-defined chunking, Arcserve UDP covers Assured recovery testing.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Restic and Arcserve UDP actually diverge.
| Attribute | Restic | Arcserve UDP |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free | $25/month |
| Pricing model | free | subscription |
| Free tier | Yes | No |
| Platforms | Windows, Mac, Linux | Windows, Linux |
| Founded | 2014 | 1983 |
Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).
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 Restic
- Content-defined chunking
- Cryptographic verification
- Deduplication
- Encryption
- Multiple backends
- Snapshot management
- AWS S3
- Azure
Only in Arcserve UDP
- Assured recovery testing
- Instant VM recovery
- Deep application support
- Ransomware protection
- Tape backup
- Hardware snapshots
- VMware
- Hyper-V
Both cover
- Windows support
- Linux support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Restic
- Encrypted deduplicated backups to S3, B2, SFTP and local disk from the command linenot Arcserve UDP
- Scripted server backups with snapshot retention policiesnot Arcserve UDP
Arcserve UDP
- Data protectionnot Restic
- Disaster recoverynot Restic
- Business continuitynot Restic
- Ransomware protectionnot Restic
- Compliancenot Restic
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Restic
- Cold storage is not natively supported; restoring from S3 Glacier and S3 Glacier Deep Archive is only available as an experimental feature behind a feature flag
- A Windows file whose name contains a character Windows treats as invalid cannot be read by restic and has to be renamed
- Antivirus real-time protection degrades performance on Windows unless the restic binary is added to an exclusions list
- On large repositories the built-in five minute stuck-request timeout fires during file listing and has to be raised manually with --stuck-request-timeout
Arcserve UDP
- Multiple security vulnerabilities documented in 2025-2026 including authentication bypass and buffer overflow issues
- Slow restore speeds for large backup tasks and recovery operations
- Requires full backup when changing drive sizes, causing extended backup windows
Pricing, plan by plan
Restic
Free- FreeFree
- Content-defined chunking
- Encryption
- Multiple backends
Arcserve UDP
$25/month- UDP Premium$25/month
- Assured recovery
- Instant VM
- Tape support
Which should you pick?
Choose Restic if
- You need content-defined chunking.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Windows, Mac, Linux.
- You also want cryptographic verification.
Choose Arcserve UDP if
- You need assured recovery testing.
- You work on Windows, Linux.
- You also want instant vm recovery.
Questions people ask
- Is Restic or Arcserve UDP better?
- Neither clearly leads. Restic starts at Free and Arcserve UDP at $25/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Restic or Arcserve UDP?
- Restic has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Restic and $25/month for Arcserve UDP.
- Does Restic or Arcserve UDP run on more platforms?
- Restic runs on Windows, Mac, Linux. Arcserve UDP runs on Windows, Linux.
- Can I use Restic for free?
- Yes. Restic has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Arcserve UDP starts at $25/month.
- What is Restic best used for?
- Restic is most often used for encrypted deduplicated backups to s3, b2, sftp and local disk from the command line, scripted server backups with snapshot retention policies. Of those, encrypted deduplicated backups to s3, b2, sftp and local disk from the command line and scripted server backups with snapshot retention policies are not what Arcserve UDP is typically brought in for.
- What can Restic do that Arcserve UDP cannot?
- Restic covers Content-defined chunking, Cryptographic verification, Deduplication, Encryption. Arcserve UDP covers Assured recovery testing, Instant VM recovery, Deep application support, Ransomware protection. Both handle Windows support, Linux support.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Arcserve UDP: What licensing model does Arcserve UDP use?
Arcserve UDP uses a capacity-based subscription model (Managed Capacity Program) where you license based on total front-end terabytes of protected data rather than per-device. Available in Standard, Advanced, and Premium editions.
SourceArcserve UDP: Does Arcserve UDP support cloud backup?
Yes. Arcserve UDP integrates with multiple cloud providers including AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, and Wasabi for offsite backup and disaster recovery storage.
SourceArcserve UDP: What hypervisors does Arcserve UDP support?
Arcserve UDP supports multiple hypervisors including VMware vSphere, Microsoft Hyper-V, KVM, and others, allowing granular recovery at the VM level with instant boot capabilities.
Source