Bareos
Bareos: A broad self-hosted backup platform with strong storage, recovery and virtualization coverage. Ranked #26 of 150 in Backup Software by our editors (6.5/10); pricing: Free plan; best for open-source, self-hosted infrastructure backup.
At a glance
- Editor score6.5 / 10
- PricingFree plan
- Best forOpen-source, self-hosted infrastructure backup
- Free planYes
- Server backupYes
- Founded2012 · Cologne, Germany
- Facts checked20 Sep 2026
Where it wins
- Centralized management across servers, endpoints, VMs and databases
- Supports disk, tape, S3-compatible storage and air-gapped workflows
- Plugins cover VMware, Proxmox, Hyper-V and several databases
Where it doesn't
- Self-hosted setup requires infrastructure and operational administration
- Professional support and maintained packages require the paid subscription
- Its broad feature set may exceed the needs of simple endpoint backups
Our verdict on Bareos
Bareos is open-source backup, recovery and archiving software for organizations protecting physical servers, endpoints, virtual machines, databases and application data. It provides centralized administration across Linux, Windows, macOS and FreeBSD environments, with file and full-system recovery, scheduling, retention policies and catalog-based restore operations. The product is best suited to infrastructure teams that want control over deployment, storage targets and backup workflows rather than a fully managed service.
Pricing is split between the Community Edition and Subscription. Community Edition costs €0 one-time and includes the current major release from the community repository, AGPLv3 source code and community support. The Subscription starts at €480 per year for 10 units and adds maintained binary packages, a subscription repository, selected plugins and professional support options. The published plans show an annual subscription rather than fixed monthly tiers, making the paid option more relevant to teams that need maintained packages or vendor-backed support.
Bareos stands out for its breadth of backup targets and recovery controls. Full, differential, incremental and Always Incremental modes work with disk, tape and S3-compatible object storage. Encryption, TLS-secured component communication, WORM, offline and air-gapped workflows address environments with stricter recovery and ransomware-resilience requirements. The WebUI supports monitoring, catalog browsing and restores, while integrations include VMware, Proxmox VE, Hyper-V, PostgreSQL, MariaDB, MSSQL, Ansible, Puppet and Chef. Choose Bareos when self-hosting and open-source control are priorities; organizations seeking a simpler managed endpoint backup service should consider a narrower alternative.
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Bareos pricing
All 2 Bareos plans and prices →
Bareos fact sheet
| Free plan | Yes |
|---|---|
| Paid from | Not verified |
| Computer backup | Yes |
| Mobile backup | Not verified |
| Server backup | Yes |
| Backup scope | Mixed |
| Restore modes | Mixed |
| Ransomware protection | Yes |
| Supported platforms | web, windows, macos, linux, self_hosted |
| Deployment | Self-hosted, Browser extension |
| Platforms | Web, Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Compliance & security | GDPR |
| Support | Email, Phone, Tickets, Docs, Community · 24/7 |
| Built for | Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise (editorial estimate) |
| Integrations | 10 integrations: VMware vSphere, Proxmox, Hyper-V, PostgreSQL, MariaDB, MSSQL … See all → |
| Pricing | Free plan (source) |
| Website | bareos.com |
| Facts checked | 20 Sep 2026 |
Bareos integrations
Bareos lists 10 integrations on its own site.
- VMware vSphere
- Proxmox
- Hyper-V
- PostgreSQL
- MariaDB
- MSSQL
- Apache Libcloud
- Ansible
- Puppet
- Chef
Alternatives to Bareos
- Veeam Backup & ReplicationA wide-ranging backup platform for enterprise virtual and hybrid environments.9.4
- Rubrik Security CloudA cyber-recovery platform built around immutable backup, threat investigation, and clean-state recovery.9.2
- NAKIVO Backup & ReplicationA broad VM backup platform with recovery, replication, and disaster-recovery workflows.8.8
Also Ranked In
Bareos is ranked in 6 of our directories.
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Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
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