Best Continuous Data Protection Software in 2026
Updated
In short: IDrive is ranked #1 of 26 as of 4 October 2026, ahead of Backblaze Computer Backup and VM Backup. The best-ranked option with a free plan is VM Backup. The lowest first paid tier on this page is CrashPlan for Business at $0.27/mo.
Continuous data protection software is intended to keep changing data available for recovery. Compare database protection and VM protection alongside deployment model, immutable storage and retention period to understand the coverage and operating choices shown. Minimum RPO and point-in-time recovery offer additional recovery criteria; free-plan availability and paid-from pricing help frame cost. IDrive, Backblaze Computer Backup and VM Backup are among the options. Consider which workloads you need to protect, how long data should be retained, and what recovery needs you have when weighing the listed features.
26 continuous data protection software ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
26ranked
5free plans on this page
$0.27/molowest paid tier
4 Oct 2026last checked
Input list Continuous Data Protection Software 25 channels on this page · 42 of 200 spec lines stated by the makers
Ch Tool Free planPaid fromMinimum RPORetention periodPoint-in-time recoveryImmutable storageVM protectionDatabase protection Spec sheet Score
01 IDrive Free planYesPaid from$0.25/moMinimum RPOnot statedRetention periodnot statedPoint-in-time recoverynot statedImmutable storagenot statedVM protectionnot statedDatabase protectionnot stated 2/8spec lines stated 8.3
02 Backblaze Computer Backup Free planNoPaid from$7.88/moMinimum RPOnot statedRetention periodnot statedPoint-in-time recoverynot statedImmutable storagenot statedVM protectionnot statedDatabase protectionnot stated 2/8spec lines stated 7.3
03 VM Backup Free planYesPaid fromnot statedMinimum RPOnot statedRetention periodnot statedPoint-in-time recoverynot statedImmutable storagenot statedVM protectionnot statedDatabase protectionnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 7.3
04 Acronis Cyber Disaster Recovery Cloud Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedMinimum RPOnot statedRetention periodnot statedPoint-in-time recoverynot statedImmutable storagenot statedVM protectionnot statedDatabase protectionnot stated 0/8spec lines stated 7.2
05 CrashPlan for Business Free planNoPaid fromnot statedMinimum RPOnot statedRetention periodnot statedPoint-in-time recoveryYesImmutable storageYesVM protectionNoDatabase protectionYes 5/8spec lines stated 7.1
06 Storware Backup & Recovery Free planYesPaid fromnot statedMinimum RPOnot statedRetention periodnot statedPoint-in-time recoverynot statedImmutable storagenot statedVM protectionnot statedDatabase protectionnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 7.1
07 Bacula Enterprise Free planNoPaid fromnot statedMinimum RPOnot statedRetention periodnot statedPoint-in-time recoverynot statedImmutable storagenot statedVM protectionnot statedDatabase protectionnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 7.0
08 Unitrends Backup Free planNoPaid fromnot statedMinimum RPOnot statedRetention periodnot statedPoint-in-time recoverynot statedImmutable storagenot statedVM protectionnot statedDatabase protectionnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 6.9
09 DataCore SANsymphony Free planNoPaid fromnot statedMinimum RPOnot statedRetention periodnot statedPoint-in-time recoveryYesImmutable storageYesVM protectionYesDatabase protectionYes 5/8spec lines stated 6.7
10 Veeam Agent for Mac Free planNoPaid fromnot statedMinimum RPOnot statedRetention periodnot statedPoint-in-time recoverynot statedImmutable storagenot statedVM protectionnot statedDatabase protectionnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 6.7
11 Cohesity SiteContinuity Free planNoPaid fromnot statedMinimum RPOnot statedRetention periodnot statedPoint-in-time recoverynot statedImmutable storagenot statedVM protectionnot statedDatabase protectionnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 6.6
12 CPRemote Free planNoPaid from$5/moMinimum RPOnot statedRetention period7 daysPoint-in-time recoverynot statedImmutable storagenot statedVM protectionnot statedDatabase protectionYes 4/8spec lines stated 6.6
13 UrBackup Free planYesPaid fromnot statedMinimum RPOnot statedRetention periodnot statedPoint-in-time recoverynot statedImmutable storagenot statedVM protectionnot statedDatabase protectionnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 6.6
14 Vinchin Backup & Recovery Free planYesPaid fromnot statedMinimum RPOnot statedRetention periodnot statedPoint-in-time recoverynot statedImmutable storagenot statedVM protectionnot statedDatabase protectionnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 6.6
15 Atempo Lina Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedMinimum RPOnot statedRetention periodnot statedPoint-in-time recoveryYesImmutable storagenot statedVM protectionnot statedDatabase protectionnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 6.5
16 Carbonite Safe Free planNoPaid fromnot statedMinimum RPOnot statedRetention periodnot statedPoint-in-time recoverynot statedImmutable storagenot statedVM protectionnot statedDatabase protectionnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 6.4
17 Commvault Cloud Kubernetes Backup Free planNoPaid fromnot statedMinimum RPOnot statedRetention periodnot statedPoint-in-time recoverynot statedImmutable storagenot statedVM protectionnot statedDatabase protectionnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 6.4
18 Arcserve ShadowProtect Free planNoPaid fromnot statedMinimum RPOnot statedRetention periodnot statedPoint-in-time recoverynot statedImmutable storagenot statedVM protectionnot statedDatabase protectionnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 6.2
19 Cove Data Protection Free planNoPaid fromnot statedMinimum RPOnot statedRetention periodnot statedPoint-in-time recoverynot statedImmutable storagenot statedVM protectionnot statedDatabase protectionnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 6.2
20 Veeam Data Platform Free planNoPaid fromnot statedMinimum RPOnot statedRetention periodnot statedPoint-in-time recoverynot statedImmutable storagenot statedVM protectionnot statedDatabase protectionnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 5.7
21 Live File Backup Free planNoPaid fromnot statedMinimum RPO60 secondsRetention period9,999 daysPoint-in-time recoveryYesImmutable storagenot statedVM protectionnot statedDatabase protectionnot stated 4/8spec lines stated 5.6
22 Rubrik Security Cloud Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedMinimum RPOnot statedRetention periodnot statedPoint-in-time recoverynot statedImmutable storagenot statedVM protectionnot statedDatabase protectionnot stated 0/8spec lines stated 5.6
23 System Center Data Protection Manager Free planNoPaid fromnot statedMinimum RPO900 secondsRetention periodnot statedPoint-in-time recoveryYesImmutable storagenot statedVM protectionYesDatabase protectionYes 5/8spec lines stated 5.5
24 Zerto Free planNoPaid fromnot statedMinimum RPOnot statedRetention periodnot statedPoint-in-time recoverynot statedImmutable storagenot statedVM protectionnot statedDatabase protectionnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 5.4
25 JetStream DR Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedMinimum RPOnot statedRetention periodnot statedPoint-in-time recoverynot statedImmutable storagenot statedVM protectionnot statedDatabase protectionnot stated 0/8spec lines stated 5.3
Compare all 25 in a table
| # | Tool | Score | Free plan | From | Free plan | Paid from | Minimum RPO | Retention period |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | IDrive | 8.3 | Free plan | — | Yes | 0.25 /mo | — | — |
| 2 | Backblaze Computer Backup | 7.3 | No | $0.66/mo | No | 7.88 /mo | — | — |
| 3 | VM Backup | 7.3 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 4 | Acronis Cyber Disaster Recovery Cloud | 7.2 | No | — | — | — | — | — |
| 5 | CrashPlan for Business | 7.1 | No | $0.27/mo | No | — | — | — |
| 6 | Storware Backup & Recovery | 7.1 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 7 | Bacula Enterprise | 7.0 | No | — | No | — | — | — |
| 8 | Unitrends Backup | 6.9 | No | — | No | — | — | — |
| 9 | DataCore SANsymphony | 6.7 | No | — | No | — | — | — |
| 10 | Veeam Agent for Mac | 6.7 | Free plan | Free | No | — | — | — |
| 11 | Cohesity SiteContinuity | 6.6 | No | — | No | — | — | — |
| 12 | CPRemote | 6.6 | No | $5/mo | No | 5 /mo | — | 7 days |
| 13 | UrBackup | 6.6 | No | — | Yes | — | — | — |
| 14 | Vinchin Backup & Recovery | 6.6 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 15 | Atempo Lina | 6.5 | No | — | — | — | — | — |
| 16 | Carbonite Safe | 6.4 | No | $8/mo | No | — | — | — |
| 17 | Commvault Cloud Kubernetes Backup | 6.4 | No | $90/mo | No | — | — | — |
| 18 | Arcserve ShadowProtect | 6.2 | No | — | No | — | — | — |
| 19 | Cove Data Protection | 6.2 | No | — | No | — | — | — |
| 20 | Veeam Data Platform | 5.7 | No | — | No | — | — | — |
| 21 | Live File Backup | 5.6 | No | — | No | — | 60 seconds | 9,999 days |
| 22 | Rubrik Security Cloud | 5.6 | No | — | — | — | — | — |
| 23 | System Center Data Protection Manager | 5.5 | No | — | No | — | 900 seconds | — |
| 24 | Zerto | 5.4 | No | — | No | — | — | — |
| 25 | JetStream DR | 5.3 | No | — | — | — | — | — |
Is your tool on this list?
Numbered spots on this list can be sponsored, and a sponsored row is labelled as paid.
Questions about this list
Which continuous data protection software is ranked first on Specifiction?
IDrive is ranked #1 of 26 with a score of 8.3. Backblaze Computer Backup is second and VM Backup third.
How many of these have a free plan?
5 of the 25 on this page publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
Which is the cheapest paid option?
On this page, CrashPlan for Business has the lowest first paid tier we found: $0.27/mo.
How is this list ranked?
Ranked on what each maker publishes, the fullest spec sheet first: how deeply the product is documented, the platforms it runs on, a free tier or trial to test it, and its standing.
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