Arcserve ShadowProtect vs VM Backup
Arcserve ShadowProtect
arcserve.comVM Backup
hornetsecurity.comSide by side
| Figure | Arcserve ShadowProtect | VM Backup |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | Free |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 7 | 8 |
| Spec score · Backup software | 9.0 (#11) | 8.8 (#22) |
| API | The June 2026 ImageManager 8.1 release added an API that exports verification data to dashboards, reporting systems and automation tools. | Hornetsecurity documents a RESTful API for advanced users familiar with REST APIs and PowerShell cmdlets. |
| Backup scope | image | mixed |
| Computer backup | Yes | No |
| Encryption | Backup images can be password-protected with RC4-128, AES-128 or AES-256 encryption. | The product page lists AES-256 encryption as a feature. |
| Founded | 1983 | 2007 |
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Headquarters | Eden Prairie, Minnesota, United States | Hannover, Germany |
| Management | SPX provides remote monitoring and management of other SPX systems over HTTP. | The product supports managing VMware, Proxmox, and Hyper-V from a single console, and a separate remote management console can connect to remote installations. |
| Supported platforms | Windows,Linux | Windows hosts; Hyper-V,VMware,and Proxmox virtualized environments |
| Ransomware protection | Yes | The product uses immutable cloud storage policies intended to prevent backup data from being erased, modified, or deleted during a defined period. |
| Restore modes | mixed | mixed |
| Server backup | Yes | Yes |
Plans
Arcserve ShadowProtect
- Annual subscriptionPrice not published
- Two-year subscriptionPrice not published
- Perpetual licensePrice not published
- ShadowProtect SPX Desktop (Windows)$47 a year
- ShadowProtect SPX Desktop (Windows) - 2 Years$83.96, paid once
- ShadowProtect Basic listing$99.95, paid once
- ShadowProtect SPX Server (Windows)$511 a year
VM Backup
- Free EditionPriced on request
- StandardPriced on request
- UnlimitedPriced on request
- Unlimited PlusPriced on request
- 30-day fully featured trialFree
- Free EditionFree
- PerpetualPriced on request
- Subscription — Unlimited PlusPrice not published
In their own words
Arcserve ShadowProtect
Arcserve ShadowProtect is a paid backup and recovery product for Windows and Linux. It creates image backups for physical and virtual computers and servers, with support for workloads including Exchange, SQL Server, SharePoint, IIS, Hyper-V, Dynamics CRM, VMware vCenter, Oracle Database, and custom applications. Listed SaaS coverage includes Microsoft 365, Microsoft Entra ID, Azure DevOps, Dynamics 365, Power BI, Salesforce, Google Workspace, Zendesk, Jira Cloud, and Confluence Cloud. Backups can run multiple times daily, use incremental images, be encrypted, and go to cloud image destinations. Immutable backups and application-aware backup are supported. Recovery features include item-level restoration, bare-metal restore, and bootable recovery media. ShadowProtect also provides test failover, failover orchestration, failback orchestration, and audit logs in a hybrid deployment. Annual and two-year subscriptions include updates, upgrades, and standard technical support during the subscription period. A perpetual license covers one system in physical or virtual environments. There is no free plan; pricing is on request and a 30-day trial is listed.
VM Backup
VM Backup is Hornetsecurity’s backup and replication software for virtual machines running on Hyper-V, VMware, and Proxmox. It runs on Windows hosts and can schedule live backups as often as every five minutes without downtime. Recovery options include restoring a whole VM or selected files and Exchange items, moving a restore to another host, and starting a VM from backup. It supports management of the three hypervisors from one console, with a separate console for remote installations. Listed destinations include Microsoft Azure, Impossible Cloud Storage, Backblaze B2, Amazon S3, and Wasabi; the product also lists AES-256 encryption and a monitor that checks backup storage integrity and may attempt repairs in a later job. VMware backups can be restored to Hyper-V and vice versa. Proxmox LXC container backups are unsupported, and the listed requirements say Proxmox replication and CDP were not yet available in that version information. Free Edition covers two VMs per host; a fully featured trial lasts 30 days.