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Backup · head to head

Comet Backup vs Restic

Comet Backup logo

Comet Backup

Backup

White-label backup software for service providers

From
$19/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Restic logo

Restic

Backup

Fast, secure, and efficient backup program

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Restic has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Comet Backup per-endpoint costs ($2/month per endpoint) can add up for large deployments with many protected machines; 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
  • They diverge on capability: Comet Backup covers White-label branding, Restic covers Content-defined chunking.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Comet Backup and Restic actually diverge.

Attributes where Comet Backup and Restic differ
AttributeComet BackupRestic
Starting price$19/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionfree
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWindows, macOS, LinuxWindows, Mac, Linux
Founded20172014

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 Comet Backup

  • White-label branding
  • Bring your own storage
  • End-to-end encryption
  • Chunking deduplication
  • Delta compression
  • Multi-tenant
  • Wasabi
  • Web support

Only in Restic

  • Content-defined chunking
  • Cryptographic verification
  • Deduplication
  • Encryption
  • Multiple backends
  • Snapshot management
  • REST server

Both cover

  • AWS S3
  • Azure
  • Google Cloud
  • Backblaze B2
  • SFTP
  • Windows support
  • Mac support
  • Linux support

What people use each for

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

Comet Backup

  • MSP backup and disaster recovery solutionsnot Restic
  • Cloud-to-cloud backup automationnot Restic
  • Ransomware protection with immutable storagenot Restic

Restic

  • Encrypted deduplicated backups to S3, B2, SFTP and local disk from the command linenot Comet Backup
  • Scripted server backups with snapshot retention policiesnot Comet Backup

Where each one falls short

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

Comet Backup

  • Per-endpoint costs ($2/month per endpoint) can add up for large deployments with many protected machines
  • Advanced and Enterprise tiers with additional management capabilities are significantly more expensive than base tiers
  • Platform-specific features (SQL, MySQL, MongoDB, Microsoft 365) have separate per-unit pricing

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

Pricing, plan by plan

Comet Backup

$19/month
  • Starter$19/month
    • 1 self-hosted license
    • Endpoint scaling at $2/endpoint/month
  • Growth$49/month
    • 2 self-hosted licenses
    • Primary/replica setups
    • Endpoint scaling at $2/endpoint/month
  • Advanced$99/month
    • 5 management console licenses
    • Audit logging
    • Air-gap management console
  • Professional (Cloud-Hosted)$49/month
    • 1 cloud-hosted console license
    • Endpoint scaling at $2/endpoint/month

Restic

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Content-defined chunking
    • Encryption
    • Multiple backends

Which should you pick?

Choose Comet Backup if

  • You need white-label branding.
  • You work on Windows, macOS, Linux.
  • You also want bring your own storage.
Comet Backup review

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.
Restic review

Questions people ask

Is Comet Backup or Restic better?
Neither clearly leads. Comet Backup starts at $19/month and Restic at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Comet Backup or Restic?
Restic has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $19/month for Comet Backup and Free for Restic.
Does Comet Backup or Restic run on more platforms?
Comet Backup runs on Windows, macOS, Linux. Restic runs on Windows, Mac, Linux.
Can I use Restic for free?
Yes. Restic has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Comet Backup starts at $19/month.
What is Comet Backup best used for?
Comet Backup is most often used for msp backup and disaster recovery solutions, cloud-to-cloud backup automation, ransomware protection with immutable storage. Of those, msp backup and disaster recovery solutions and cloud-to-cloud backup automation are not what Restic is typically brought in for.
What can Comet Backup do that Restic cannot?
Comet Backup covers White-label branding, Bring your own storage, End-to-end encryption, Chunking deduplication. Restic covers Content-defined chunking, Cryptographic verification, Deduplication, Encryption. Both handle AWS S3, Azure, Google Cloud, Backblaze B2.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Comet Backup: How much does Comet Backup cost?

Self-hosted plans start at $19/month (Starter) and go up to $99/month (Advanced), with cloud-hosted plans starting at $49/month (Professional). All plans charge $2 per endpoint per month for additional protected machines beyond the base license count.

Source
Restic: How much does restic cost?

Restic is entirely free to use and completely open source. There are no subscription tiers, paid plans, or licensing costs.

Source
Comet Backup: What is the price difference between self-hosted and cloud-hosted deployments?

Cloud-hosted plans start at $49/month (Professional) versus self-hosted which starts at $19/month (Starter). The main advantage of cloud-hosted is Comet manages the console infrastructure, though both models charge the same per-endpoint fees.

Source
Comet Backup: Does Comet Backup charge for additional protected machines?

Yes, all plans charge $2 per endpoint per month beyond the licensed endpoints. For example, the Growth plan includes 2 self-hosted licenses, but each additional protected machine costs $2/month.

Source
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