Best Virtual Machine Backup Software in 2026
Updated
In short: VM Backup is ranked #1 of 29 as of 4 October 2026, ahead of Acronis Cyber Disaster Recovery Cloud and Storware Backup & Recovery. 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.
Protecting virtual machine workloads means considering both how backups are made and how recovery would work. Compare hypervisor coverage and application-aware backup to see which environments and workloads are addressed. Immutable backup storage, instant VM recovery, and off-site replication speak to different recovery considerations, while cloud backup target and deployment model describe additional aspects of a setup. Free plan availability and paid-from pricing offer cost points for comparison. VM Backup, Acronis Cyber Disaster Recovery Cloud, and Storware Backup & Recovery are among the entries to weigh against your infrastructure. Bacula Enterprise is another option; use the listed criteria to consider backup destinations, recovery requirements, and operational fit.
29 virtual machine backup software ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
29ranked
6free plans on this page
$1/molowest paid tier
4 Oct 2026last checked
Input list Virtual Machine Backup Software 25 channels on this page · 73 of 200 spec lines stated by the makers
Ch Tool Free planPaid fromHypervisor coverageDeployment modelApplication-aware backupImmutable backup storageInstant VM recoveryCloud backup target Spec sheet Score
01 VM Backup Free planYesPaid fromnot statedHypervisor coverageMicrosoft Hyper-V, VMware, ProxmoxDeployment modelhybridApplication-aware backupYesImmutable backup storageYesInstant VM recoveryYesCloud backup targetYes 7/8spec lines stated 7.6
02 Acronis Cyber Disaster Recovery Cloud Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedHypervisor coveragenot statedDeployment modelnot statedApplication-aware backupYesImmutable backup storagenot statedInstant VM recoverynot statedCloud backup targetnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 7.4
03 Storware Backup & Recovery Free planYesPaid fromnot statedHypervisor coverageAzure 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-ngDeployment modelhybridApplication-aware backupYesImmutable backup storageYesInstant VM recoveryYesCloud backup targetYes 7/8spec lines stated 7.4
04 Bacula Enterprise Free planNoPaid fromnot statedHypervisor coveragenot statedDeployment modelnot statedApplication-aware backupYesImmutable backup storagenot statedInstant VM recoverynot statedCloud backup targetnot stated 2/8spec lines stated 7.1
05 Druva Endpoint Data Protection Free planNoPaid fromnot statedHypervisor coverageVMware vSphere, Microsoft Hyper-V, Nutanix AHV, Proxmox VE, Azure LocalDeployment modelcloudApplication-aware backupYesImmutable backup storageYesInstant VM recoveryYesCloud backup targetYes 7/8spec lines stated 7.1
06 Unitrends Backup Free planNoPaid fromnot statedHypervisor coveragenot statedDeployment modelnot statedApplication-aware backupnot statedImmutable backup storagenot statedInstant VM recoverynot statedCloud backup targetnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 7.1
07 Asigra Cloud Backup Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedHypervisor coverageMicrosoft Hyper-V Server, VMware vCenter Server, VMware Cloud DirectorDeployment modelhybridApplication-aware backupYesImmutable backup storagenot statedInstant VM recoveryYesCloud backup targetYes 5/8spec lines stated 6.9
08 Veeam Agent for Mac Free planYesPaid fromnot statedHypervisor coveragenot statedDeployment modelnot statedApplication-aware backupYesImmutable backup storagenot statedInstant VM recoverynot statedCloud backup targetnot stated 2/8spec lines stated 6.9
09 Iperius Backup Free planYesPaid fromnot statedHypervisor coveragenot statedDeployment modelnot statedApplication-aware backupnot statedImmutable backup storagenot statedInstant VM recoverynot statedCloud backup targetnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 6.8
10 Vinchin Backup & Recovery Free planYesPaid fromnot statedHypervisor coveragenot statedDeployment modelnot statedApplication-aware backupnot statedImmutable backup storagenot statedInstant VM recoverynot statedCloud backup targetnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 6.8
11 Infrascale Backup and Disaster Recovery Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedHypervisor coverageVMware vSphere ESXi, Microsoft Hyper-V, KVMDeployment modelhybridApplication-aware backupnot statedImmutable backup storageYesInstant VM recoveryYesCloud backup targetYes 5/8spec lines stated 6.7
12 Quorum onQ Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedHypervisor coverageVMware, Microsoft Hyper-V, Citrix XenServer, Oracle VM, and other hypervisorsDeployment modelhybridApplication-aware backupnot statedImmutable backup storageYesInstant VM recoveryYesCloud backup targetYes 5/8spec lines stated 6.7
13 SEP sesam Free planYesPaid fromnot statedHypervisor coveragenot statedDeployment modelnot statedApplication-aware backupnot statedImmutable backup storagenot statedInstant VM recoverynot statedCloud backup targetnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 6.7
14 Uranium Backup Free planYesPaid fromnot statedHypervisor coveragenot statedDeployment modelnot statedApplication-aware backupnot statedImmutable backup storagenot statedInstant VM recoverynot statedCloud backup targetnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 6.7
15 Xen Orchestra Free planYesPaid fromnot statedHypervisor coveragenot statedDeployment modelnot statedApplication-aware backupnot statedImmutable backup storagenot statedInstant VM recoverynot statedCloud backup targetnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 6.7
16 Ahsay Backup Software Free planNoPaid fromnot statedHypervisor coveragenot statedDeployment modelnot statedApplication-aware backupnot statedImmutable backup storagenot statedInstant VM recoverynot statedCloud backup targetnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 6.6
17 Hystax Acura Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedHypervisor coverageVMware, Hyper-V, KVM, Xen, OpenStack, oVirt, OpenNebula, KubeVirt, OpenShift Virtualization, VirtuozzoDeployment modelhybridApplication-aware backupYesImmutable backup storagenot statedInstant VM recoveryYesCloud backup targetYes 5/8spec lines stated 6.6
18 NAKIVO Backup & Replication Free planNoPaid fromnot statedHypervisor coveragenot statedDeployment modelnot statedApplication-aware backupnot statedImmutable backup storagenot statedInstant VM recoverynot statedCloud backup targetnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 6.6
19 Proxmox Backup Server Free planYesPaid fromnot statedHypervisor coveragenot statedDeployment modelnot statedApplication-aware backupnot statedImmutable backup storagenot statedInstant VM recoverynot statedCloud backup targetnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 6.6
20 Commvault Cloud Kubernetes Backup Free planNoPaid fromnot statedHypervisor coveragenot statedDeployment modelnot statedApplication-aware backupYesImmutable backup storagenot statedInstant VM recoverynot statedCloud backup targetnot stated 2/8spec lines stated 6.5
21 Trilio Site Recovery Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedHypervisor coverageOpenStack, KubeVirt, Red Hat Virtualization, KVMDeployment modelhybridApplication-aware backupYesImmutable backup storageYesInstant VM recoveryYesCloud backup targetYes 6/8spec lines stated 6.5
22 Arcserve ShadowProtect Free planNoPaid fromnot statedHypervisor coveragenot statedDeployment modelnot statedApplication-aware backupnot statedImmutable backup storagenot statedInstant VM recoverynot statedCloud backup targetnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 6.4
23 JetStream DR Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedHypervisor coverageVMware vSphere 7 and 8Deployment modelhybridApplication-aware backupnot statedImmutable backup storagenot statedInstant VM recoverynot statedCloud backup targetYes 3/8spec lines stated 5.8
24 Veeam Backup & Replication Free planYesPaid fromnot statedHypervisor coveragenot statedDeployment modelnot statedApplication-aware backupYesImmutable backup storagenot statedInstant VM recoverynot statedCloud backup targetnot stated 2/8spec lines stated 5.8
25 XSIBackup Free planYesPaid fromnot statedHypervisor coverageVMware ESXi 5.5–8.0Deployment modelon-premisesApplication-aware backupnot statedImmutable backup storagenot statedInstant VM recoverynot statedCloud backup targetYes 4/8spec lines stated 5.8
Is your tool on this list?
Numbered spots on this list can be sponsored. They are labelled, and the editorial order and scores never change for payment.
Questions about this list
Which virtual machine backup software is ranked first on Specifiction?
VM Backup is ranked #1 of 29 with a score of 7.6. Acronis Cyber Disaster Recovery Cloud is second and Storware Backup & Recovery 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 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. Paid placements never change a rank.
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