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Backup · head to head

Restic vs Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes

Restic logo

Restic

Backup

Fast, secure, and efficient backup program

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes logo

Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes

Backup

Kubernetes-native backup, disaster recovery and application mobility

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • 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; Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes licensing is per worker node, so clusters designed with many small nodes for scheduling flexibility pay considerably more than the same capacity in fewer large nodes.
  • They diverge on capability: Restic covers Content-defined chunking, Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes covers Application-aware capture.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Restic and Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes actually diverge.

Attributes where Restic and Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes differ
AttributeResticVeeam Kasten for Kubernetes
Pricing modelfreePer worker node
PlatformsWindows, Mac, LinuxKubernetes, Linux
Founded2014Unknown

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

  • Content-defined chunking
  • Cryptographic verification
  • Deduplication
  • Encryption
  • Multiple backends
  • Snapshot management
  • AWS S3
  • Azure

Only in Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes

  • Application-aware capture
  • Policy engine
  • Immutable targets
  • Restore transformation
  • Database hooks
  • Ransomware detection

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 Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes
  • Scripted server backups with snapshot retention policiesnot Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes

Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes

  • A platform team that must prove to auditors it can restore a production namespace, not just its disksnot Restic
  • Migrating a stateful application from on-premises OpenShift to a managed cloud Kubernetes servicenot Restic
  • Protecting Kubernetes workloads to an immutable object store so ransomware cannot delete the backupsnot Restic
  • A team using operators and custom resources that volume-snapshot tools silently fail to capturenot 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

Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes

  • Licensing is per worker node, so clusters designed with many small nodes for scheduling flexibility pay considerably more than the same capacity in fewer large nodes.
  • The free Starter edition is scale limited and community supported, so it works for evaluation and small clusters but there is no gentle upgrade path when production grows past the limit.
  • Backup performance depends on the underlying CSI driver snapshot capability, so on storage without proper CSI snapshot support it falls back to slower generic copying.
  • Restores into a different cluster need matching custom resource definitions and operator versions present beforehand, so cross-cluster mobility is less automatic than the marketing suggests.
  • Kasten protects Kubernetes only, so organisations with mixed virtual machine and container estates run it alongside a separate backup product and manage two retention policies and two sets of evidence.

Pricing, plan by plan

Restic

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

Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes

Free
  • StarterFree
    • Functionally the same as Enterprise
    • Limited on scale and support
    • Intended for evaluation and small non-production clusters
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Licensed per worker node, quoted annually
    • Available through AWS, Azure and Google Cloud marketplaces
    • Vendor support with SLAs

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.
Restic review

Choose Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes if

  • You need application-aware capture.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Kubernetes, Linux.
  • You also want policy engine.
Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes review

Questions people ask

Is Restic or Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes better?
Neither clearly leads. Restic starts at Free and Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Restic or Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes?
Restic starts at Free and Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes at Free.
Does Restic or Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes run on more platforms?
Restic runs on Windows, Mac, Linux. Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes runs on Kubernetes, Linux.
Can I use Restic for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
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 Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes is typically brought in for.
What can Restic do that Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes cannot?
Restic covers Content-defined chunking, Cryptographic verification, Deduplication, Encryption. Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes covers Application-aware capture, Policy engine, Immutable targets, Restore transformation.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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
Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes: Is Kasten K10 still a product?

It is now sold as Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes. The kasten.io domain redirects to Veeam and the documentation still lives at docs.kasten.io.

Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes: Is there a free edition?

Yes, the Starter edition is free and functionally complete but limited on scale and support, aimed at evaluation and small non-production clusters.

Veeam Kasten for Kubernetes: How is Enterprise licensed?

Per worker node. Count your nodes, not your capacity, before comparing quotes, because node sizing directly changes the price.

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