Afi Kubernetes Backup vs Velero

Afi Kubernetes Backup automates backup and recovery for distributed Kubernetes applications. It can protect etcd, namespace metadata and dependencies, infrastructure configurations, persistent volumes, and databases. Backups are scheduled and application-consistent, and full-text search can locate recovery points or individual items. Users can restore or replicate a whole cluster or selected components to the same or a different target environment. Afi automatically discovers Kubernetes resources and adjusts protection as infrastructure changes. Deployment choices include a cloud-hosted dashboard and on-premises-only or hybrid arrangements for air-gapped environments. Customers can use their own storage or Afi storage with selectable regions and residency policies. Named integrations and identity options include Terraform, CircleCI, Jenkins, OpenID, Azure AD, GCP, AWS, and Okta. Pricing is $140 a month, billed at $140 per protected node per month; backup storage is $60 per one terabyte per month. There is no storage charge when using your own storage. Free licenses at free are available by request for environments protecting less than 10 nodes.

Velero is an open-source tool for backing up and restoring Kubernetes resources and persistent volumes, recovering from data loss, and moving resources between clusters. Backups can cover an entire cluster or selected resources chosen by namespace or label. Recurring schedules and pre- and post-backup hooks support repeatable operations. Velero can restore after data loss and migrate resources, including replication from production to development or test clusters. Its server runs on Kubernetes, while a command-line client runs locally. Storage integrations include maintainer-supported plugins for AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, and VMware vSphere, plus community-maintained options. The plugin architecture also permits custom storage integrations and backup or restore behavior. Velero can be used in cloud or on-premises environments with object storage and, optionally, supported block storage. Installation requires access to a Kubernetes cluster, kubectl, a compatible object storage provider, and at least one plugin. File system backup is not installed by default. The project provides community support through GitHub and Kubernetes Slack.