Veeam alternatives: where to go, and how to keep your old backups
Six destinations in detail, Veeam's real pricing, and a seven-step exit plan.
The short answer: Proxmox Backup Server if you moved off VMware to Proxmox, Nakivo if you want something that feels like Veeam on VMware, Hyper-V or Nutanix for less money, Acronis Cyber Protect if you want backup and endpoint security in one console (or one pay-as-you-go bill as an MSP), Datto SIRIS if your IT is run by a managed service provider, Synology Active Backup for Business if you own a Synology NAS and have no license budget, and Rubrik if you run a large estate and can live with a quote. One thing before you cancel: none of these tools imports Veeam backup files. You keep a way to open Veeam until your last restore point expires. We compared all six and checked their pricing in 2026.
Rankings are editorial: a sponsored placement is always labeled on its card, and no affiliate link changes a score.
Why teams leave Veeam, and why it takes a while
Veeam is still one of the most trusted names in VM backup, and plenty of admins have no technical complaint about it. People leave over the license: what the renewal costs, how usage gets counted, and where the tiers stop. On top of that, the Broadcom takeover of VMware has a lot of shops changing hypervisors, and backup comes up in the same meeting. Six reasons, all checked in 2026.
Renewals that jump
A small UK business on perpetual per-socket licenses reported a support renewal up 45% over three years, with a second reseller quoting 49%. Veeam's answer: the average increase is closer to 5% a year, and socket licenses rise faster than per-workload ones. Either way, the number tends to land late, when you have little room to negotiate.
Counting rules nobody guesses right
The Veeam Universal License (VUL) is billed per instance. An instance is any workload with a restore point in the last 31 days: one VM, one physical server, but also three workstations or 500 GB of NAS share. A VM you deleted still counts for a month. Reviewers keep calling the licensing confusing at scale, and moving from the old socket model to instances was painful for many.
An SMB tier that stops at 50 workloads
Veeam Data Platform Essentials is for companies under 250 employees. It covers up to 50 workloads, ships in packs of 5, and lists at $95 per license per year as a suggested price. Past 50 you can't stack two Essentials licenses: you move to Foundation, Advanced or Premium, quoted through a partner. Veeam says it has no sales reps for this segment, so everything goes through resellers.
A Windows server to babysit
The Veeam backup server runs on Windows. That's another Windows license, another patch cycle, another box to harden. People who moved to Nakivo bring this up in reviews: they wanted an appliance, not a server to manage. Veeam does offer a hardened Linux repository for the backup data, but the console stays on Windows.
Your hypervisor is moving
Since Broadcom bought VMware, many teams are heading to Proxmox or Hyper-V and rethinking backup at the same time. Veeam followed with a Proxmox plug-in, but it only protects KVM VMs, not LXC containers, and it won't log in with a Proxmox account that has MFA on. Every major Proxmox release means checking the plug-in version too.
A free edition with no support and a 10-workload cap
Veeam Backup & Replication Community Edition is free and covers Proxmox VE, VMware, Hyper-V, Windows and Linux servers, workstations and NAS. It stops at 10 workloads and comes with no technical support: when something breaks, you're on the forums. Fine for a small lab or branch office. For a company with 30 VMs, it's a stopgap.
You're leaving because… go to…
The right Veeam alternative depends on your hypervisor and on who runs your IT. Usually one line fits. Each card jumps to the full profile below.
Open source, every feature without a subscription, native VM and container backup.
You want Veeam's feature set for lessNakivoVMware, Hyper-V, Nutanix AHV, Proxmox, EC2 and physical, per-workload from 5 workloads.
You want backup and endpoint security togetherAcronis Cyber ProtectBackup, EDR and included cloud storage. Pay-as-you-go for MSPs.
An MSP runs your ITDatto SIRISSold only through managed service providers, on a quote.
You own a Synology NAS and have zero license budgetSynology Active BackupIncluded with the NAS, unlimited machines within your storage.
Your estate fits in 10 machines and Veeam worksStay on Community EditionFree, no support. Also handy to keep reading old backups.
Veeam alternatives, one by one
For each tool: why switch to it, who it fits, where it falls short, how to move from Veeam, and what it costs. Prices are what vendors publish in 2026, in the currency they publish. When a vendor shows no number, we say so: "quote only".
Proxmox Backup Server: the obvious exit if you're on Proxmox
Best for ProxmoxWhy switch. Proxmox Backup Server (PBS) is open source under AGPLv3, and every feature works without a subscription. Paying only buys support and the stable enterprise update repository. It deduplicates across the whole datastore, compresses with Zstandard, restores single files, and can boot a VM while it's still restoring (live restore). It backs up both Proxmox VE VMs and LXC containers natively, where Veeam's plug-in only handles VMs.
Who it fits. Teams that left VMware for Proxmox VE, or are on the way. The math changes shape: you stop paying per VM and pay per backup server instead, with unlimited storage and unlimited clients on every tier.
Who it doesn't fit. Shops that stay on VMware or Hyper-V, or that run a lot of physical Windows servers. PBS is built around the Proxmox ecosystem.
The catch. It can't back up a single volume of a VM, and at least one admin stayed on Veeam for exactly that. Some users also find its interface and file-level restore behind Veeam's. Subscriptions are priced in euros only: Community at €560 per server per year gets you forum access and no support tickets, which annoys some users. Tiers with support run €1,120 (Basic, 5 tickets a year), €2,240 (Standard, 15) and €4,480 (Premium, unlimited), before tax.
How to move. Install PBS on dedicated hardware, add it as storage in Proxmox VE, and schedule backups while Veeam is still running. If you're leaving VMware at the same time, use your current Veeam license for the move: Veeam can restore VMware or Hyper-V VMs straight into Proxmox. Then let PBS take over.
- Free
- all features, no support
- Subscription
- €560 to €4,480 per server/yr
- Best for
- Proxmox VE, VMs and containers
- Limit
- no single-volume backup
Nakivo: the closest thing to Veeam, for less
Drop-in replacementWhy switch. Nakivo covers roughly the same ground as Veeam: VMware, Hyper-V, Nutanix AHV, Proxmox VE, AWS EC2 instances and physical servers. Reviewers sum it up the same way again and again: same features, much cheaper. Several small businesses say Veeam's pricing felt out of reach, and Nakivo is where they landed. One user running Nutanix reports far lower licensing costs than Veeam.
Who it fits. SMBs that want a classic backup console across several hypervisors without relearning everything. Licensing looks familiar: a per-workload subscription, where one workload is one VM, one physical server, one EC2 instance or three workstations.
Who it doesn't fit. Anyone who wants a public price before talking to sales. Nakivo's pricing page shows editions and a calculator, but no dollar amounts.
The catch. Some advanced features sit in higher editions, and users mention limited reporting. Pro Essentials caps subscriptions at 50 workloads, much like Veeam Essentials. Above that, Enterprise Essentials and Enterprise Plus go through sales.
How to move. The trial runs 15 days with no credit card: enough time to back up your main VMs next to Veeam and run a real restore. The minimum is 5 workloads, and a three-year term takes 20% off. If you still think in perpetual licenses, Nakivo also sells perpetual per socket, and there's a free edition for very small setups.
- Price
- quote only, online calculator
- Minimum
- 5 workloads, 20% off on 3 years
- Best for
- replacing Veeam without retraining
- Limit
- advanced features in higher tiers
Acronis Cyber Protect: backup and security in one console
Backup plus securityWhy switch. Acronis blends backup with threat protection. The Advanced edition adds endpoint detection and response (EDR), backup scanning and tape support. Backup Advanced covers KVM, Nutanix AHV and Microsoft 365. Cloud storage comes included: 250 GB per server or virtual host, 50 GB per workstation.
Who it fits. Small and midsize businesses that want one agent for backup and endpoint protection, plus an offsite copy without buying a second service. And MSPs: Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud is pay-as-you-go for partners, at about $13 a month per server workload, $5.20 per VM and $1.30 per workstation on the public partner price list.
Who it doesn't fit. Anyone chasing the lowest price on a big cluster. Licensing is per device or per physical host, and every cluster node needs its own license.
The catch. The official purchasing page shows no business prices: you buy through a reseller. The Standard edition only covers environments under five devices.
How to move. Roll the Acronis agent out to a first group of servers, run both tools side by side for a week, then switch group by group. Moving off Acronis's consumer product at the same time? Our guide to switching from Acronis True Image covers that direction.
- Price
- reseller quote; MSP from ~$13/mo per server
- Cloud included
- 250 GB per server
- Best for
- backup and EDR together
- Limit
- every cluster node licensed
Datto SIRIS: when your MSP runs backup for you
MSP channelWhy switch. SIRIS, now part of Kaseya, is a backup and recovery appliance sold only through managed service providers. If you'd rather hand backup to the people who already run your IT, SIRIS is built for that model.
Who it fits. Small and midsize businesses with an MSP on contract. You stop owning the backup server; your provider owns the outcome.
Who it doesn't fit. In-house IT teams that want to buy software directly. Datto doesn't sell to end customers.
The catch. There's no public price. Pricing is shared only between Datto and its channel partners, and contracts often run 36 months. Read the exit terms before you sign: you're trading Veeam's renewal risk for a three-year commitment.
How to move. Ask your MSP for a written plan that keeps your Veeam restore points readable until they expire, with a restore test on the new appliance before any Veeam job is turned off.
- Price
- quote only, through MSPs
- Contract
- often 36 months
- Best for
- businesses with an MSP
- Limit
- no direct purchase
Synology Active Backup for Business: free if you own the NAS
No license feesWhy switch. Active Backup for Business comes with compatible Synology NAS units, with no per-machine license. You back up as many servers, VMs and PCs as your storage holds. It handles Windows and Linux servers, VMware vSphere and Hyper-V, with global deduplication, instant restore to VMware, Hyper-V or Synology's own VM manager, and a self-service portal where users restore their own files.
Who it fits. Single-site small businesses with a modest VMware or Hyper-V footprint that want out of per-instance licensing. Your budget becomes the NAS and the drives.
Who it doesn't fit. Proxmox shops (Synology doesn't list Proxmox among supported hypervisors), and MSPs: there's no real central console across sites.
The catch. A detailed admin review points to weak monitoring (the console mostly tells you whether the service is running), agents that don't auto-update, and thinner Linux support. The NAS isn't free, and your backups live on the same box: plan a second copy elsewhere.
How to move. Install the package, add your vCenter or Hyper-V hosts, push the agent to physical servers, and run a full backup next to Veeam. Test an instant VM restore before you disable a single Veeam job.
- Price
- included with the NAS
- Machines
- unlimited, storage permitting
- Best for
- single-site VMware or Hyper-V
- Limit
- no Proxmox, light monitoring
Rubrik: the enterprise platform
EnterpriseWhy switch. Rubrik targets large organizations that want a data protection platform rather than a backup app to run. Among sysadmins the verdict tends to be short: it's great, it just comes with a price tag.
Who it fits. Organizations with hundreds of workloads, a dedicated team, and a budget negotiated over several years. If NetBackup is also on your shortlist, note that Cohesity now owns that business, so it belongs in the same bake-off.
Who it doesn't fit. A small business leaving Veeam because the bill is too high. Rubrik won't fix that.
The catch. No public pricing, sales contact only, and three-year terms are common. Compare on identical scope: workload count, protected capacity, retention.
How to move. Ask for a pilot on part of your estate, with a written recovery target (how many VMs back up in how long). Keep Veeam for history until retention runs out.
- Price
- quote only
- Term
- often 3 years
- Best for
- large estates, dedicated team
- Limit
- out of SMB budgets
The 6 alternatives compared
Our default pick: Proxmox Backup Server if you're on Proxmox, Nakivo if you're staying on VMware, Hyper-V or Nutanix, Datto if an MSP runs your IT. For a sense of scale, take three hosts and 30 VMs. On Veeam Essentials, 30 licenses at $95 come to $2,850 a year at list price, if you're under 250 employees. On Proxmox, two backup servers on the Community subscription cost €1,120 a year with no support, or €2,240 on Basic with tickets. One row per tool: pricing model on the left, coverage and migration path on the right.
| Pricing model | Coverage and migration | |
|---|---|---|
| VeeamWhere you start | Community free up to 10 workloads; Essentials $95 per license/yr (list), 50 workloads max | VMware, Hyper-V, Proxmox (VMs only), physical, PCs, NAS |
| Proxmox Backup ServerProxmox | Free; subscription €560 to €4,480 per server/yr | Proxmox VE VMs and containers; Veeam handles the VMware-to-Proxmox restore |
| NakivoDrop-in | Per workload, quote; 5 minimum, 20% off on 3 years | VMware, Hyper-V, Nutanix, Proxmox, EC2, physical; 15-day trial |
| Acronis Cyber ProtectSecurity built in | Per device or host via reseller; MSP pay-as-you-go ~$13/mo per server | Physical, VMs, KVM and Nutanix on Backup Advanced; switch group by group |
| Datto SIRISMSP only | Quote through MSP, often 36 months | Appliance run by your provider |
| Synology Active BackupNo license | Included with the NAS (NAS not free) | VMware, Hyper-V, Windows and Linux servers; no Proxmox |
| RubrikEnterprise | Quote only, often 3 years | Pilot on part of the estate |
Entry prices before tax, subject to change. Veeam Essentials is a suggested price: the reseller sets the final one.
Leaving Veeam in seven steps
Backup migrations don't happen over a weekend. Throughout the move you need to be able to restore from both the old tool and the new one. This order keeps that true.
Count what you actually protect
Week 1List every Veeam job: machines, hypervisor, retention, offsite copies, tape or cloud tiers. Then count instances the way Veeam does: anything backed up in the last 31 days, three workstations per instance, 500 GB of NAS per instance.
That number does two jobs. It defines what you have to rebuild, and it gives every vendor the same scope to quote. Write down your license end date too: it sets your timeline.
- Time
- half a day
- Output
- one row per job
Set up the immutable copy first
Week 1Whatever you pick, keep the 3-2-1-1 rule: three copies, two media, one offsite, one immutable (it can't be changed or deleted during retention). In Veeam that's the hardened Linux repository: even an attacker who owns the Veeam server doesn't get the repository credentials. Elsewhere it's object storage with Object Lock.
Why first? Because a migration is when you're most likely to leave a door open. Our ranking of antivirus and EDR for business covers the other half of ransomware defense.
- Rule
- 3-2-1-1
- Risk if skipped
- backups encrypted with everything else
Run the new tool next to Veeam
Week 2Install the destination without touching Veeam. Run full backups of your most important machines, then turn on incrementals. Both tools run together on purpose.
Changing hypervisors too? Do the move with Veeam while your license is live: it restores VMware or Hyper-V VMs straight into Proxmox. Check first that the Proxmox plug-in supports your Proxmox version. A major Proxmox release has already required a plug-in upgrade.
- Time
- one to three days
- Watch out
- two jobs hitting one VM at once
Run a real restore before you cut anything
Week 2Restore a file, a database and a full VM from the new tool, on an isolated network. Time the VM restore: that's your real recovery time, not the one in the brochure.
A backup you've never restored is a guess. If some machine type fails (a container, a single volume, an old physical box), you find out now, while Veeam still covers it.
- Measure
- full VM recovery time
- Where
- isolated network
Disable Veeam jobs one at a time
Weeks 3 to 4Once a machine has two weeks of successful backups in the new tool and a successful restore, disable its Veeam job. Disable, don't delete. Move group by group, never all in one night.
Don't back up the Veeam backup files with the new tool. If you do, restoring an old version means running both products: one to pull the file out, the other to read it.
- Threshold
- two weeks of success per machine
- Action
- disable, don't delete
Keep old backups readable until they expire
Full retentionNo tool imports another vendor's backups. Your Veeam files stay readable by Veeam only, for as long as you keep them. Three options. If the history fits in 10 workloads, drop to Community Edition, which is free, and keep the console. For the odd one-off restore, Veeam ships a free extraction utility that opens its backup files. For long retention on a big estate, keeping a small license may still be the simplest answer.
The good news: roughly 90% of restores come from the last two weeks. Old retention rarely gets touched, but you need to be able to open it the day an auditor asks.
- Free
- Community Edition, 10 workloads
- Reality
- 90% of restores within 2 weeks
Decommission once everything has expired
End of retentionWhen the last useful Veeam restore point has expired, export the configuration for your records, remove Veeam service accounts from hypervisors and storage, then shut the server down. Revoke its access to the hardened repository too.
A forgotten backup server with admin credentials on it is still a target. The migration is done the day it's powered off.
- Remove
- service accounts and repository access
- Keep
- configuration export
Is your tool missing from this page? Email us: hello@hackceleration.com
What makes a Veeam exit go wrong
The same mistakes show up on the Veeam and Proxmox forums. None of them is really technical: they're timelines that slip and quotes that don't compare.
Canceling before retention runs out
An expired license means history you can't open cleanly anymore. Before you cancel, check the date of your oldest restore point you still need and how long your business must keep it (accounting, contracts, compliance). Keep Community Edition or the extraction utility installed until then.
Dropping immutability mid-move
During a cutover you disable repositories, create accounts and open firewall rules. That's prime time for ransomware. Keep the Veeam immutable copy live until the new tool's immutable copy is in place and verified.
Comparing prices that count different things
Veeam counts active instances over 31 days, Nakivo counts workloads, Proxmox counts backup servers, Acronis counts devices or physical hosts, Datto quotes through your MSP, Synology counts nothing. Bring everything back to your real estate, over three years, support included. A cheap price with no support gets expensive the day something breaks.
Renewing without playing resellers off each other
Veeam sells through partners, and two resellers can quote different increases for the same license. If you stay, get three quotes from three resellers. If you leave, those quotes become an honest baseline.
Forgetting containers and edge cases
Veeam's Proxmox plug-in skips LXC containers, PBS can't back up a single volume, Synology doesn't support Proxmox. List your edge cases during inventory and check each one during the restore test.
Losing monitoring along the way
Veeam Essentials bundles Veeam ONE for monitoring. Elsewhere, monitoring is often lighter: limited reports on some tools, a console that only says whether the service is up on others. Set up an email alert for every failed job on day one, or you'll find the gap the day you need a restore.
- Inventory of jobs, machines, retention and offsite copies
- Instance count over the last 31 days
- Veeam license end date written down
- Immutable copy in place before cutover
- New tool running next to Veeam
- Full VM restore timed
- Veeam jobs disabled one by one, never deleted
- Access to old backups planned until they expire
- Failure alerts active in the new tool
- Veeam server and service accounts removed at end of retention
Veeam alternatives: common questions
What is the best free alternative to Veeam?
Proxmox Backup Server if you run Proxmox: every feature is free and only support costs money. Synology Active Backup for Business if you own a Synology NAS and run VMware or Hyper-V: no per-machine license. The option people forget: for a small estate, Veeam's own Community Edition stays free up to 10 workloads.
How much does Veeam cost per VM?
On Essentials, $95 per license per year at list price, and one license covers one instance (a VM, a server, three workstations or 500 GB of NAS). It's sold in packs of 5, so the floor is $475 a year, for companies under 250 employees and up to 50 workloads. Foundation, Advanced and Premium are quoted through partners. Get more than one quote: the reseller sets the final price.
Is Veeam still free?
Yes, within limits. Veeam Backup & Replication Community Edition is free up to 10 workloads, with no technical support. Count carefully: three workstations make one instance, and so does 500 GB of NAS share, which stretches the free tier further than most people think.
Can Proxmox Backup Server replace Veeam?
Yes, if your whole environment is Proxmox VE. PBS backs up VMs and containers, deduplicates and restores single files. It won't replace Veeam for a fleet of physical Windows servers, a VMware estate, or single-volume backups. Plenty of teams keep Veeam long enough to move their VMs to Proxmox, then switch to PBS.
Can I import Veeam backups into another product?
No. No backup tool reads another vendor's files. Restore the few things you need from Veeam, or keep Veeam readable until retention expires. Veeam's free extraction utility opens its backup files for one-off restores.
Nakivo vs Veeam: which one?
Nakivo if price is your main reason and you want a console that feels like Veeam. Veeam if you need its full stack: Veeam ONE monitoring or Recovery Orchestrator on Premium. Compare on your exact workload count: both sell per workload, both cap their SMB edition at 50.
Does Veeam support Proxmox?
Yes, through a plug-in that ships with recent versions of Veeam Backup & Replication. It backs up KVM VMs, not LXC containers, and won't use a Proxmox account with MFA, so create a dedicated service account. Before a major Proxmox upgrade, confirm the plug-in supports it.
What's the best Veeam alternative for an MSP?
Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud if you want pay-as-you-go billing per workload (about $13 a month per server on the partner list), Datto SIRIS if you want an offer sold only through the channel, on a quote. Skip Synology for multi-client work: its console doesn't manage several sites from one place.
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