Best Virtual Machine Backup Software in 2026
Updated
In short: VM Backup is ranked #1 of 29 as of 5 October 2026, ahead of Storware Backup & Recovery and Veeam Agent for Mac. The best-ranked option with a free plan is Storware Backup & Recovery. The lowest first paid tier on this page is Ahsay Backup Software at $1/mo.
Virtual machine backup tools address protecting VM data and preparing for recovery. Compare hypervisor coverage and application-aware backup, along with immutable backup storage and instant VM recovery. Cloud backup targets, off-site replication, and deployment model offer other ways to assess how each option handles backup and recovery needs. The listed comparisons also include free-plan availability and paid-from pricing. VM Backup, Storware Backup & Recovery, and Veeam Agent for Mac are among the entries shown, with Vinchin Backup & Recovery also included. Consider your hypervisors and recovery requirements when weighing the capabilities provided.
29 virtual machine backup software ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
6 of the 25 here have a free tier you can use, 0 have open-source code on record, and 0 have full bars: free, open, on most of your devices and documented.
| # | App | Signal | Free tier | Open code | Devices | From | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | VM BackupWindows · Linux · Self-hosted · API | Two bars | — | 2 of 6 | Free | 6.5 | |
| 2 | Storware Backup & RecoveryWeb · Linux · Self-hosted · API | Two bars | — | 2 of 6 | Free | 6.4 | |
| 3 | Veeam Agent for MacMac | Two bars | — | 1 of 6 | Free | 6.4 | |
| 4 | Vinchin Backup & RecoveryWindows · Linux | Two bars | — | 2 of 6 | Free | 6.4 | |
| 5 | Iperius BackupWindows | Two bars | — | 1 of 6 | Free | 6.3 | |
| 6 | Uranium BackupWindows | Two bars | — | 1 of 6 | €18/mo | 6.3 | |
| 7 | Asigra Cloud BackupWeb · Windows · Mac · Linux · Self-hosted · API | Two bars | — | — | 4 of 6 | — | 5.6 |
| 8 | Infrascale Backup and Disaster RecoveryWeb · Windows · Linux · Self-hosted | Two bars | — | — | 3 of 6 | — | 5.5 |
| 9 | Quorum onQWeb · Windows · Linux · Self-hosted | Two bars | — | — | 3 of 6 | — | 5.5 |
| 10 | SEP sesamWeb · Windows · Mac · Linux | Two bars | — | — | 4 of 6 | — | 5.5 |
| 11 | Hystax AcuraWeb · Self-hosted · API | One bar | — | — | 1 of 6 | — | 5.4 |
| 12 | Proxmox Backup ServerWeb · Linux | One bar | — | — | 2 of 6 | €46.67/mo | 5.4 |
| 13 | Trilio Site RecoveryLinux · Self-hosted · API | One bar | — | — | 1 of 6 | — | 5.4 |
| 14 | Xen OrchestraWeb · Self-hosted · API | One bar | — | — | 1 of 6 | $83.33/mo | 5.4 |
| 15 | Acronis Cyber Disaster Recovery CloudWeb · Windows · Mac · Linux · Android · iPhone · Self-hosted | Two bars | — | — | 6 of 6 | — | 5.3 |
| 16 | Ahsay Backup SoftwareWindows · Mac · Linux · Android · iPhone | Two bars | — | — | 5 of 6 | $1/mo | 5.2 |
| 17 | Bacula EnterpriseWeb · Windows · Mac · Linux · Android · Self-hosted · API | Two bars | — | — | 5 of 6 | — | 5.2 |
| 18 | Druva Endpoint Data ProtectionWeb · Windows · Mac · Linux | Two bars | — | — | 4 of 6 | — | 5.2 |
| 19 | JetStream DRWeb | No signal | — | — | 1 of 6 | — | 5.2 |
| 20 | Rubrik Security CloudWeb · Windows · Mac · Linux · Self-hosted · API | Two bars | — | — | 4 of 6 | — | 5.2 |
| 21 | Unitrends BackupWeb · Windows · Mac · Linux · Self-hosted | Two bars | — | — | 4 of 6 | — | 5.2 |
| 22 | Veeam Backup & ReplicationNo platforms listed | One bar | — | — | 0 of 6 | — | 5.2 |
| 23 | XSIBackupLinux | No signal | — | — | 1 of 6 | — | 5.2 |
| 24 | Asigra Cloud BackupNo platforms listed | No signal | — | — | 0 of 6 | — | 5.1 |
| 25 | NAKIVO Backup & ReplicationWeb · Windows · Linux | Two bars | — | — | 3 of 6 | — | 5.1 |
Compare all 25 in a table
| # | App | Score | Free plan | From | Free plan | Paid from | Hypervisor coverage | Deployment model |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | VM Backup | 6.5 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | Microsoft Hyper-V, VMware, Proxmox | hybrid |
| 2 | Storware Backup & Recovery | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | Azure Stack HCI, Citrix Hypervisor/XenServer, Microsoft Hyper-V, Nutanix AHV, OpenStack, OpenShift Virtualization, Oracle Linux Virtualization Manager, oVirt, Proxmox VE, Red Hat Virtualization, SC//Platform, Virtuozzo, VergeOS, VMware vSphere, XCP-ng | hybrid |
| 3 | Veeam Agent for Mac | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 4 | Vinchin Backup & Recovery | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 5 | Iperius Backup | 6.3 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 6 | Uranium Backup | 6.3 | Free plan | €18/mo | Yes | — | — | — |
| 7 | Asigra Cloud Backup | 5.6 | No | — | — | — | Microsoft Hyper-V Server, VMware vCenter Server, VMware Cloud Director | hybrid |
| 8 | Infrascale Backup and Disaster Recovery | 5.5 | No | — | — | — | VMware vSphere ESXi, Microsoft Hyper-V, KVM | hybrid |
| 9 | Quorum onQ | 5.5 | No | — | — | — | VMware, Microsoft Hyper-V, Citrix XenServer, Oracle VM, and other hypervisors | hybrid |
| 10 | SEP sesam | 5.5 | No | — | Yes | — | — | — |
| 11 | Hystax Acura | 5.4 | No | — | — | — | VMware, Hyper-V, KVM, Xen, OpenStack, oVirt, OpenNebula, KubeVirt, OpenShift Virtualization, Virtuozzo | hybrid |
| 12 | Proxmox Backup Server | 5.4 | No | €46.67/mo | Yes | — | — | — |
| 13 | Trilio Site Recovery | 5.4 | No | — | — | — | OpenStack, KubeVirt, Red Hat Virtualization, KVM | hybrid |
| 14 | Xen Orchestra | 5.4 | No | $83.33/mo | Yes | — | — | — |
| 15 | Acronis Cyber Disaster Recovery Cloud | 5.3 | No | — | — | — | — | — |
| 16 | Ahsay Backup Software | 5.2 | No | $1/mo | No | — | — | — |
| 17 | Bacula Enterprise | 5.2 | No | — | No | — | — | — |
| 18 | Druva Endpoint Data Protection | 5.2 | No | — | No | — | VMware vSphere, Microsoft Hyper-V, Nutanix AHV, Proxmox VE, Azure Local | cloud |
| 19 | JetStream DR | 5.2 | No | — | — | — | VMware vSphere 7 and 8 | hybrid |
| 20 | Rubrik Security Cloud | 5.2 | No | — | — | — | — | — |
| 21 | Unitrends Backup | 5.2 | No | — | No | — | — | — |
| 22 | Veeam Backup & Replication | 5.2 | No | — | Yes | — | — | — |
| 23 | XSIBackup | 5.2 | No | — | Yes | — | VMware ESXi 5.5–8.0 | on-premises |
| 24 | Asigra Cloud Backup | 5.1 | No | — | — | — | Microsoft Hyper-V Server, VMware vCenter Server, VMware Cloud Director | hybrid |
| 25 | NAKIVO Backup & Replication | 5.1 | No | — | No | — | — | — |
Is your app on this list?
Numbered spots on this list can be sponsored, and a sponsored row is labelled as paid.
Questions about this list
Which virtual machine backup software is ranked first on Freedom251?
VM Backup is ranked #1 of 29 with a score of 6.5. Storware Backup & Recovery is second and Veeam Agent for Mac third.
How many of these have a free plan?
6 of the 25 on this page publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
Which is the cheapest paid option?
On this page, Ahsay Backup Software has the lowest first paid tier we found: $1/mo.
How is this list ranked?
Ranked free-and-open first: a usable free tier and open-source code, then the platforms it runs on and its documentation.