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Backup · head to head

Clumio vs UrBackup

Clumio logo

Clumio

Backup

Serverless AWS backup with published per-gigabyte rates and explicit restore charges

From
$0.01/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
UrBackup logo

UrBackup

Backup

Open source client server backup doing both file and whole disk image backups of Windows machines

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only UrBackup has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Clumio restore is charged at $0.040 per GiB plus data transfer out, so recovering a hundred terabytes in an incident costs thousands of dollars on top of the storage fee, a bill nobody budgets for.; UrBackup backups are stored on the server without encryption at rest by default, so the backup server holds a readable copy of every machine it protects and becomes the highest value target on the network.
  • They diverge on capability: Clumio covers Air-gapped backups, UrBackup covers Windows image backups.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Clumio and UrBackup actually diverge.

Attributes where Clumio and UrBackup differ
AttributeClumioUrBackup
Starting price$0.01/monthFree
Pricing modelPer GiB-month protectedOpen source, no licence fee
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, APILinux, Windows, macOS, FreeBSD

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 Clumio

  • Air-gapped backups
  • Fifteen-minute recovery points
  • S3 SecureVault
  • Backtrack
  • Terraform provider
  • Compliance attestations

Only in UrBackup

  • Windows image backups
  • File backups
  • Web interface
  • Client discovery
  • Internet mode
  • Filesystem deduplication

What people use each for

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

Clumio

  • An AWS-native company needing backups outside its own account so a compromised root credential cannot delete themnot UrBackup
  • A team that has to model recovery cost before an incident rather than discover it during onenot UrBackup
  • An organisation protecting billions of S3 objects where per-object charges dominate per-gigabyte chargesnot UrBackup
  • A regulated business needing SOC 2, HIPAA and PCI-DSS attested backup without running backup serversnot UrBackup

UrBackup

  • A small office with Windows workstations that needs bare metal restore without per seat licensingnot Clumio
  • Schools and labs where machines are re-imaged often and a known good image must be recoverablenot Clumio
  • Backing up a mixed fleet to one server on premises with a web interface non specialists can usenot Clumio
  • Replacing an expiring commercial endpoint backup licence where the budget is the constraintnot Clumio

Where each one falls short

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

Clumio

  • Restore is charged at $0.040 per GiB plus data transfer out, so recovering a hundred terabytes in an incident costs thousands of dollars on top of the storage fee, a bill nobody budgets for.
  • Per-object charges of $1.50 per million managed objects per month mean estates with billions of small objects pay far more than a per-gigabyte estimate suggests.
  • The archive tier is cheaper to store but restores begin only after 24 to 48 hours, which is incompatible with most recovery time objectives, and early deletion inside six months incurs a fee.
  • It is an AWS product; Azure workloads are on the roadmap rather than shipping, so multi-cloud organisations still need a second backup platform.
  • The Commvault acquisition means Clumio now overlaps with Commvault own cloud protection, and buyers should ask directly how the two portfolios converge before signing multi-year terms.

UrBackup

  • Backups are stored on the server without encryption at rest by default, so the backup server holds a readable copy of every machine it protects and becomes the highest value target on the network.
  • Deduplication relies on filesystem features such as hard links, btrfs or ZFS, so a server built on the wrong filesystem silently consumes far more space and the fix is a rebuild rather than a setting.
  • There is no native object storage target, so offsite copies mean replicating the server storage with another tool rather than backing up to a bucket directly.
  • Restoring a full Windows image requires booting a restore environment, which is a manual, on site procedure that needs to be rehearsed before the day it is needed.
  • A single server holds everything and there is no built in clustering, so its own failure removes every recovery point at once unless you have separately solved replication.

Pricing, plan by plan

Clumio

$0.01/month
  • S3 SecureVault Standard$0.025/month
    • $0.025 per GiB-month plus $1.50 per million managed objects per month
    • Restores $0.040 per GiB instant access and $0.09 per GiB retrieved
    • $0.025 per 1,000 API requests, data transfer out charged separately
  • S3 SecureVault Archive$0.01/month
    • $0.010 per GiB-month plus $1.50 per million managed objects per month
    • Restores begin after 24 to 48 hours
    • $0.040 per GiB restored plus data transfer out
  • Backtrack$undefined/month
    • $1.50 per million managed objects-month, included free with SecureVault
    • $0.50 per million objects processed on restore
    • Metadata change tracking rather than full backup

UrBackup

Free
  • UrBackupFree
    • Full functionality, unlimited clients
    • File and image backups
    • Web administration interface

Which should you pick?

Choose Clumio if

  • You need air-gapped backups.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want fifteen-minute recovery points.
Clumio review

Choose UrBackup if

  • You need windows image backups.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, macOS, FreeBSD.
  • You also want file backups.
UrBackup review

Questions people ask

Is Clumio or UrBackup better?
Neither clearly leads. Clumio starts at $0.01/month and UrBackup at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Clumio or UrBackup?
UrBackup has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $0.01/month for Clumio and Free for UrBackup.
Does Clumio or UrBackup run on more platforms?
Clumio runs on Web, API. UrBackup runs on Linux, Windows, macOS, FreeBSD.
Can I use UrBackup for free?
Yes. UrBackup has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Clumio starts at $0.01/month.
What is Clumio best used for?
Clumio is most often used for an aws-native company needing backups outside its own account so a compromised root credential cannot delete them, a team that has to model recovery cost before an incident rather than discover it during one, an organisation protecting billions of s3 objects where per-object charges dominate per-gigabyte charges, a regulated business needing soc 2, hipaa and pci-dss attested backup without running backup servers. Of those, an aws-native company needing backups outside its own account so a compromised root credential cannot delete them and a team that has to model recovery cost before an incident rather than discover it during one are not what UrBackup is typically brought in for.
What can Clumio do that UrBackup cannot?
Clumio covers Air-gapped backups, Fifteen-minute recovery points, S3 SecureVault, Backtrack. UrBackup covers Windows image backups, File backups, Web interface, Client discovery.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Clumio: What does a restore cost?

$0.040 per GiB for instant access, $0.09 per GiB retrieved from archive, $0.025 per 1,000 API requests, plus AWS data transfer out. Model this before an incident.

UrBackup: Does it back up Linux servers as well?

File backups yes, image backups no. The image path is Windows only through volume shadow copy.

Clumio: Does it support Azure?

Not yet. Azure workloads are listed as on the roadmap. Today it is AWS, with some Google Cloud Storage coverage.

UrBackup: Is the data encrypted?

Transport can be encrypted, and there is optional client side file encryption, but the default server storage is not encrypted at rest. Use full disk encryption on the server.

Clumio: Is it still Clumio after the Commvault acquisition?

Yes, sold as Clumio by Commvault with its own pricing page and product line, but ask about portfolio convergence on a multi-year deal.

UrBackup: Can I back up to Amazon S3?

Not directly. The server writes to local or mounted storage, so cloud copies are made by replicating that storage separately.

UrBackup: How many clients can one server handle?

Dozens is routine on decent hardware. The limit is usually storage input and output during overlapping backup windows rather than client count.

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