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Backup · head to head

Rewind vs Velero

Rewind logo

Rewind

Backup

SaaS backup for cloud business applications

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Velero logo

Velero

Backup

Open source backup and migration for Kubernetes cluster resources

From
Free
Rated
-

The short version

  • Only Velero has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Rewind cannot back up all QuickBooks Online data due to API limitations, excluding company info, exchange rates, and payroll data; 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: Rewind covers Automated 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 Rewind and Velero actually diverge.

Attributes where Rewind and Velero differ
AttributeRewindVelero
Starting price$29/monthFree
Pricing modelUnknownOpen source, no licence fee
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebLinux
Founded2015Unknown

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 Rewind

  • Automated backup
  • One-click restore
  • Version comparison
  • Continuous protection
  • Bulk restore
  • Activity monitoring
  • Shopify
  • BigCommerce

Only in Velero

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

What people use each for

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

Rewind

  • Data protectionnot Velero
  • Disaster recoverynot Velero
  • Business continuitynot Velero
  • Ransomware protectionnot Velero
  • Compliancenot Velero

Velero

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

Where each one falls short

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

Rewind

  • Cannot back up all QuickBooks Online data due to API limitations, excluding company info, exchange rates, and payroll data
  • Backup restore speed is slow for large datasets, causing significant delays during critical recovery situations
  • Cannot back up Shopify inventory tracking quantities, weight, measurement, or cost per item

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

Rewind

$29/month

No published plan breakdown. See the Rewind review.

Velero

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

Which should you pick?

Choose Rewind if

  • You need automated backup.
  • You also want one-click restore.

Choose Velero if

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

Questions people ask

Is Rewind or Velero better?
Neither clearly leads. Rewind starts at $29/month and Velero at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Rewind or Velero?
Velero has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $29/month for Rewind and Free for Velero.
Does Rewind or Velero run on more platforms?
Rewind runs on Web. Velero runs on Linux.
Can I use Velero for free?
Yes. Velero has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Rewind starts at $29/month.
What is Rewind best used for?
Rewind is most often used for data protection, disaster recovery, business continuity, ransomware protection. Of those, data protection and disaster recovery are not what Velero is typically brought in for.
What can Rewind do that Velero cannot?
Rewind covers Automated backup, One-click restore, Version comparison, Continuous protection. Velero covers Cluster resource backup, Volume snapshots, File-level backup, Cross-cluster restore.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Rewind: How long does Rewind keep backup snapshots?

Rewind keeps backup snapshots for 365 days, making them easily accessible for on-demand restores. This provides over a year of recovery options.

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.

Rewind: What SaaS applications does Rewind back up?

Rewind backs up Shopify, BigCommerce, GitHub, Jira, Confluence, QuickBooks Online, Trello, monday.com, Klaviyo, Mailchimp, and Zendesk Suite, among others.

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.

Rewind: Is Rewind compliant with data protection regulations?

Rewind is SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, DORA, HIPAA, and CCPA compliant with AES-256 encryption and role-based access control.

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.

Rewind: Can you restore individual items or only full backups?

Rewind supports granular, item-level recovery understanding parent-child dependencies, allowing you to restore specific files, orders, or customer information without full dataset rollback.

Source
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