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Bareos

bareos.com

From €40/mo Free plan Open source WebWindowsmacOSLinuxAPISelf-hosted
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Spec score 9.4 #1 of 47 in Cloud Backup Services

What it is

Bareos is backup software for computers and servers, with mixed backup scope and restore modes. It includes ransomware protection and supports Linux, macOS, Windows, web, and self-hosted environments. The Community plan is open source, requires no subscription, and provides access to the public repository and complete source code at free. The paid Subscription plan starts at €480 a year and has a minimum of 10 units. Bareos is made by Bareos, founded in 2012 and headquartered in Cologne, Germany. The combination of computer and server backup can suit environments where both kinds of systems need protection. Its listed platform range includes desktop operating systems and web access, while self-hosted use is also supported. Buyers can choose the free Community edition or a paid annual subscription, whose stated minimum is 10 units.

Spec sheet

What it does
Bareos is a networked client-server system for backing up, recovering and verifying data, including deployments running on one computer.Read 21 Oct 2026 · docs.bareos.org
Supported platforms
web,windows,macos,linux,self_hostedRead 20 Sep 2026 · bareos.com
Free plan
YesRead 20 Sep 2026 · bareos.com
API
The developer documentation describes scripting the Director and building GUI interfaces, including API modes, BVFS and a REST API.Read 21 Oct 2026 · docs.bareos.org
Headquarters
Cologne, GermanyRead 28 Sep 2026 · bareos.com
Founded
2012Read 28 Sep 2026 · bareos.com
Architecture
The product is organized around Director, Console, File Daemon, Storage Daemon and catalog services.Read 21 Oct 2026 · docs.bareos.org
Backup modes
The home page lists full, differential, incremental and Always Incremental backup strategies.Read 21 Oct 2026 · bareos.com
Backup scope
mixedRead 20 Sep 2026 · bareos.com
Catalog database
Bareos uses PostgreSQL to store metadata about jobs, files, clients, volumes and storage locations.Read 21 Oct 2026 · bareos.com
Cloud integration
The official FAQ says Linux and Windows workloads in AWS, Azure and OpenStack can be protected and that S3-compatible storage can be used as a target.Read 21 Oct 2026 · bareos.com
Company founded
LinkedIn lists the company as founded in 2013, while Bareos describes the software project as starting in 2010.Read 21 Oct 2026 · de.linkedin.com
Company headquarters
The registered address is Zollstockgürtel 65, 50969 Cologne, Germany.Read 21 Oct 2026 · openregister.de
Company legal name
The maker is Bareos GmbH & Co. KG.Read 21 Oct 2026 · openregister.de
Company size
LinkedIn lists Bareos at 11–50 employees.Read 21 Oct 2026 · de.linkedin.com
Computer backup
YesRead 20 Sep 2026 · bareos.com
Database integrations
Included subscription plugins cover MariaDB, MySQL, Microsoft SQL Server and PostgreSQL.Read 21 Oct 2026 · bareos.com
Documentation depth
The documentation covers installation, upgrades, WebUI, plugins, network protocols, encryption, security issues, APIs and release notes.Read 21 Oct 2026 · docs.bareos.org
Download policy
The community repository publishes current stable builds publicly, while subscription repositories retain binaries for the last three major releases.Read 21 Oct 2026 · download.bareos.org
Extensibility
Bareos documents C-style File Daemon plugin entry points and a Python plugin API for extending backup behavior.Read 21 Oct 2026 · docs.bareos.org
Feature limitation
The FAQ states Bareos has no native deduplication engine; its dedupable backend instead prepares data for deduplication by storage systems such as ZFS, Btrfs or VDO.Read 21 Oct 2026 · bareos.com
Free software economics
The price list says there are no licence fees, while maintained packages, support and services are sold separately.Read 21 Oct 2026 · bareos.com
Licence
The software is released under the GNU AGPLv3 and its source code is public.Read 21 Oct 2026 · bareos.com
Limit: G2 reviewer themes
The G2 reviewer cited missing WebUI SSO, incomplete Veeam parity, limited VMware support and missing Oracle/DB2, XCP-ng and KVM capabilities.Read 21 Oct 2026 · g2.com
Limit: PeerSpot
PeerSpot reviewers request a stronger graphical administration tool and improvements to virtual-machine backup.Read 21 Oct 2026 · peerspot.ai
Operating systems
Supported server and client platforms listed by the price list include Debian, Fedora, RHEL derivatives, SLES, openSUSE, Ubuntu LTS, FreeBSD, Windows, AIX, Solaris and macOS clients.Read 21 Oct 2026 · bareos.com
Praise: G2 reviewer themes
The single G2 reviewer praised easy installation, documentation, PostgreSQL/MySQL support, the integrated WebUI and automation integration.Read 21 Oct 2026 · g2.com
Praise: PeerSpot
PeerSpot reviewers highlight encryption and compression during backup, stable configuration and easy installation.Read 21 Oct 2026 · peerspot.ai
Pricing model
Subscription units are calculated from the larger of source terabytes or clients plus plugin jobs, rounded up to a multiple of ten with a ten-unit minimum.Read 21 Oct 2026 · bareos.com
Public-sector adoption
An EU Open Source Observatory report says about half of Bareos support customers in 2020 were European public services and that the company employed about 20 people.Read 21 Oct 2026 · interoperable-europe.ec.europa.eu
Ransomware protection
YesRead 20 Sep 2026 · bareos.com
Ransomware resilience
WORM media, offline tape and separated backup systems are presented as ways to make backup data harder to alter during ransomware incidents.Read 21 Oct 2026 · bareos.com
Rating on Capterra
0.0 out of 5 from 0 reviewsRead 21 Oct 2026 · capterra.com
Rating on G2
4.0 out of 5 from 1 reviewRead 21 Oct 2026 · g2.com
Rating on GetApp
0.0 out of 5 from 0 reviewsRead 21 Oct 2026 · getapp.com
Rating on PeerSpot
4.5 out of 5 from 2 reviewsRead 21 Oct 2026 · peerspot.ai
Rating on Software Advice
No rating out of 5 from 0 reviewsRead 21 Oct 2026 · softwareadvice.com
Recent release
Bareos 25.0.4, published July 3, 2026, added Fedora 44 and Ubuntu 26.04 support and fixed several WebUI, Windows console and plugin issues.Read 21 Oct 2026 · bareos.com
Restore modes
mixedRead 20 Sep 2026 · bareos.com
Scale
Its modular design is documented as scaling from one computer to hundreds of computers across a network.Read 21 Oct 2026 · docs.bareos.org
Security controls
The security page describes authentication, ACLs, console profiles, separate retention settings, checksums and verification jobs.Read 21 Oct 2026 · bareos.com
Security encryption
Bareos documents TLS transport encryption plus client-side encryption and signing before data is sent to storage.Read 21 Oct 2026 · bareos.com
Self-hosting
Community binaries and source code are publicly downloadable, while subscription repositories provide maintained vendor packages.Read 21 Oct 2026 · download.bareos.org
Server backup
YesRead 20 Sep 2026 · bareos.com
Storage targets
Bareos can write backups to disk and tape, and the official site also describes S3-compatible object storage targets.Read 21 Oct 2026 · bareos.com
Virtualization integrations
Included plugins cover VMware vSphere, Hyper-V and Proxmox.Read 21 Oct 2026 · bareos.com
WebUI status
Bareos 25.1 introduced a separate Vue-based WebUI as a technical preview, with the classic PHP WebUI still recommended for production.Read 21 Oct 2026 · bareos.com

Plans and prices

Community Free No subscription required Open-source community edition · Public repository access · Complete source code Read 20 Sep 2026 · bareos.com
Subscription €480 a year From €480 / year; minimum 10 units 10 units minimum Read 20 Sep 2026 · bareos.com
Subscription €480 a year annual minimum 10 backup units · maintained binary repositories · selected plugins · tested updates Read 21 Oct 2026 · bareos.com
Setup Review €800, paid once one-time review and recommendations Read 21 Oct 2026 · bareos.com
Training €810, paid once from admin training Read 21 Oct 2026 · bareos.com
Consulting €900, paid once from project consulting Read 21 Oct 2026 · bareos.com
Basic Support €1,080 a year annual best effort, no SLA · up to 20 units · 3 incidents Read 21 Oct 2026 · bareos.com
Bareos Health Check €1,800, paid once one-time one day Read 21 Oct 2026 · bareos.com
Standard Support €2,850 a year annual 2nd business day response · 10 incidents Read 21 Oct 2026 · bareos.com
Advanced Support €5,700 a year annual next business day response · 20 incidents Read 21 Oct 2026 · bareos.com
Premier Support €11,800 a year annual 4-hour response during business hours · 50 incidents Read 21 Oct 2026 · bareos.com
Global Support €42,900 a year annual 1-hour response · 24/7 · unlimited incidents Read 21 Oct 2026 · bareos.com

Every Bareos plan and price →

Strong points and limits

Strong points

  • Covers computers and servers.
  • Includes ransomware protection.
  • Supports Linux, macOS, Windows, web, and self-hosted use.
  • Community edition provides complete source code.
  • Community plan requires no subscription.

Limits

  • Subscription has a minimum of 10 units.
  • Subscription starts at €480 a year.

Who it suits

Bareos suits people responsible for backing up both computers and servers, including those needing self-hosted use. The Community edition may suit users who want access to open-source code without a subscription.

Verdict

Bareos combines computer and server backup with ransomware protection and multiple supported environments. The Community edition has no subscription requirement, while the paid plan starts at €480 a year with a 10-unit minimum.

Where Specifiction places it

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