The Best Virtual Machine Backup Software in 2026
We researched virtual machine backup software through official websites, including pricing pages, plan tables and product documentation. Rankings focus on the category’s core job, value for money and verified features for protecting and restoring virtual machines across supported hypervisors and virtual infrastructure.
Our top picks
-
Top ranked
Veeam Backup & Replication#1 of 269.4/10Broad VM protection with instant recovery, replication, and a free starting option.
Free plan · 30-day trial
-
Runner-up
Acronis Cyber Protect#2 of 269.2/10Broad hybrid VM protection with strong recovery features, but pricing requires a sales conversation.
Pricing on request · 30-day trial
-
Top-ranked free plan
Storware Backup and Recovery#6 of 268.7/10A broad VM backup platform with free access, recovery controls, and wide ecosystem coverage.
Free plan · 60-day trial
Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.
The full ranking 26 tools, best first
-
Best forBroad VM backup with a free starting option
Broad VM protection with instant recovery, replication, and a free starting option.
- Application-aware backup
Free plan · 30-day trial Our Veeam Backup & Replication verdict → Visit VeeamFor vendors Sponsor this spot · #1 · $149/mo →9.4/10★★★★★Visit Veeam -
Best forEnterprise hybrid protection across many platforms
Broad hybrid VM protection with strong recovery features, but pricing requires a sales conversation.
- Application-aware backup
Pricing on request · 30-day trial Our Acronis Cyber Protect verdict → Visit AcronisFor vendors Sponsor this spot · #2 · $99/mo →9.2/10★★★★★Visit Acronis -
Best forSecurity-focused enterprise VM recovery
A security-focused enterprise choice for VM recovery across hybrid environments.
- Application-aware backup
9.1/10★★★★★Visit Commvault -
Best forCyber-recovery operations around existing backups
A security-focused layer for protecting and recovering enterprise workloads from cyber threats.
8.9/10★★★★☆Visit Rubrik -
Best forFeature-rich VM backup at a transparent entry point
A feature-rich, self-hosted VM backup platform with a transparent CHF 2.70 entry point.
8.8/10★★★★☆Visit NAKIVO -
Best forBroad hypervisor coverage with free entry access
A broad VM backup platform with free access, recovery controls, and wide ecosystem coverage.
- Immutable backup storage
- Instant VM recovery
- Off-site replication
8.7/10★★★★☆Visit Storware -
Best forAffordable multi-hypervisor backup with a free edition
A flexible multi-hypervisor backup platform with a useful free Community Edition.
8.6/10★★★★☆Visit SEP sesam -
Best forLarge enterprises needing deep VM coverage
Broad VM, database, cloud, and immutable backup coverage for enterprise environments.
- Application-aware backup
8.5/10★★★★☆Visit site -
Best forCloud-managed multi-hypervisor backup
A cloud-managed, multi-hypervisor backup platform with broad recovery and resilience controls.
- Immutable backup storage
- Instant VM recovery
- Application-aware backup
8.4/10★★★★☆Visit Druva -
Best forSmall teams wanting free VM backup
A broad VM backup option with a free tier and practical recovery tools.
- Immutable backup storage
- Instant VM recovery
- Off-site replication
8.3/10★★★★☆Visit Hornetsecurity -
Best forContinuous protection and near-real-time recovery
A specialized choice for near-real-time recovery, replication, and failover.
8.2/10★★★★☆Visit Zerto -
Best forManaged hybrid recovery with recovery testing
A broad backup and recovery platform for managed hybrid environments.
8.0/10★★★★☆Visit Unitrends -
Best forHybrid VM backup with agentless recovery
A hybrid VM backup platform with recovery, replication, and broad storage support.
- Instant VM recovery
- Off-site replication
- Application-aware backup
7.9/10★★★★☆Visit Asigra -
Best forSimple instant-recovery and replication workflows
A hybrid platform for instant recovery, replication, and recovery testing.
- Immutable backup storage
- Instant VM recovery
- Off-site replication
7.8/10★★★★☆Visit Quorum -
Best forProxmox users wanting open-source backup
A capable self-hosted backup platform for Proxmox users who value control.
7.7/10★★★★☆Visit Proxmox -
Best forWindows users seeking low-cost VM backup
A broad Windows backup suite with strong VM coverage and one-time pricing.
7.6/10★★★★☆Visit Iperius -
Best forOpenStack and KVM workload protection
A specialized backup and recovery platform for OpenStack, KubeVirt, Red Hat Virtualization, and KVM.
- Immutable backup storage
- Instant VM recovery
- Off-site replication
7.5/10★★★★☆Visit Trilio -
Best forXCP-ng and XenServer administrators
A self-hosted control plane for XCP-ng and XenServer backup, recovery, and operations.
7.4/10★★★★☆Visit Xen Orchestra -
Best forVMware environments needing continuous replication
A focused VMware DR platform for continuous replication, cloud recovery, and automated failover.
- Off-site replication
- Cloud backup target
7.3/10★★★★☆Visit JetStream DR -
Best forLow-cost mixed VM and SaaS backup
A broad backup platform with low-cost entry pricing and no free plan or trial.
7.2/10★★★★☆Visit Ahsay -
Best forLow-cost VMware ESXi backup
A focused, low-cost choice for self-hosted VMware ESXi backup and replication.
- Off-site replication
- Cloud backup target
7.1/10★★★★☆Visit XSIBackup -
Best forHybrid VM backup with frequent recovery testing
A hybrid VM backup platform with failover, failback, and repeatable recovery testing.
- Immutable backup storage
- Instant VM recovery
- Off-site replication
7.0/10★★★★☆Visit Infrascale -
Best forBroad virtualization disaster recovery and migration
Broad hypervisor and cloud coverage for replication-led recovery and migration.
- Instant VM recovery
- Off-site replication
- Application-aware backup
6.9/10★★★☆☆Visit Hystax -
Best forBudget Windows backup with basic VM support
Good value for Windows environments needing broad backup coverage and basic VM support.
6.8/10★★★☆☆Visit Uranium Backup -
Best forMature hybrid VM backup and disaster recovery
A mature choice for agentless VM protection, disaster recovery, and hybrid workloads.
6.1/10★★★☆☆Visit Arcserve -
Best forFree multi-hypervisor backup for Windows and Linux
A capable free starting point for multi-hypervisor VM backup across Windows and Linux.
5.8/10★★★☆☆Visit Vinchin
No tools match those filters.
Compare at a glance
| # | Tool | Free plan | Paid from | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Veeam Backup & Replication | Yes | 9.4 | |
| 2 | Acronis Cyber Protect | 9.2 | ||
| 3 | Commvault Cloud Backup & Recovery | No | 9.1 | |
| 4 | Rubrik Security Cloud | 8.9 | ||
| 5 | NAKIVO Backup & Replication | No | 8.8 | |
| 6 | Storware Backup and Recovery | Yes | 8.7 | |
| 7 | SEP sesam | 8.6 | ||
| 8 | Bacula Enterprise | No | 8.5 | |
| 9 | Druva Data Resiliency Cloud | No | 8.4 | |
| 10 | Hornetsecurity VM Backup | Yes | 8.3 | |
| 11 | Zerto | No | 8.2 | |
| 12 | Unitrends Backup | No | 8.0 | |
| 13 | Asigra Cloud Backup | 7.9 | ||
| 14 | Quorum onQ | 7.8 | ||
| 15 | Proxmox Backup Server | Yes | €560/device/yr | 7.7 |
| 16 | Iperius Backup | Yes | 7.6 | |
| 17 | TrilioVault | 7.5 | ||
| 18 | Xen Orchestra | Yes | Free | 7.4 |
| 19 | JetStream DR | 7.3 | ||
| 20 | Ahsay Backup Software | Yes | 7.2 | |
| 21 | XSIBackup | Yes | 7.1 | |
| 22 | Infrascale Backup and Disaster Recovery | 7.0 | ||
| 23 | Hystax Acura | 6.9 | ||
| 24 | Uranium Backup | Yes | €18/mo | 6.8 |
| 25 | Arcserve Unified Data Protection | No | 6.1 | |
| 26 | Vinchin Backup & Recovery | Yes | 5.8 |
Head-to-head All 13 comparisons →
- Veeam Backup & Replication vs Bacula Enterprise
- Acronis Cyber Protect vs SEP sesam
- Acronis Cyber Protect vs Bacula Enterprise
- Commvault Cloud Backup & Recovery vs Storware Backup and Recovery
- Commvault Cloud Backup & Recovery vs SEP sesam
- Commvault Cloud Backup & Recovery vs Bacula Enterprise
- Rubrik Security Cloud vs Storware Backup and Recovery
- Rubrik Security Cloud vs Bacula Enterprise
- NAKIVO Backup & Replication vs Storware Backup and Recovery
Explore other topics All topics →
- AI Tools 303 directories · 8,270 tools ranked AI Writing Tools · AI Video Generators · Text-to-Speech Software
- Web Hosting & Domains 275 directories · 6,107 tools ranked Shared Web Hosting · Managed Cloud Hosting · Dedicated Server Hosting
- Productivity 157 directories · 4,948 tools ranked Note-Taking Apps · Calendar Apps · Project Management Software
- Marketing 135 directories · 3,977 tools ranked SEO Tools · Influencer Marketing Platforms · Email Marketing Software
- Sales & CRM 152 directories · 4,161 tools ranked Real Estate CRM Software · CRM Software · Proposal Software
- Customer Service 55 directories · 1,547 tools ranked Chatbot Builders · Knowledge Base Software · Call Center Software
How we rank virtual machine backup software
Every tool on this page was researched by iTechGuides Editors from its official website — pricing pages, plan tables and product documentation. We rank on how well each one does this category's core job, what the free or entry plan includes, and where it falls short. Where we have enough verified facts, the score out of 10 is a rubric — job fit, value and how much we could verify — shown with its breakdown on every tool's page; a tool we have not verified enough to score yet shows its rank without a number. Scores are re-checked when a product changes its plans. Read the full editorial policy, or submit a tool we missed.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
Last updated · How we research and update