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Hornetsecurity Altaro VM Backup vs Unitrends comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 11, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Hornetsecurity Altaro VM Ba...
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
32nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
31
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Backup (27th), Disaster Recovery (DR) Software (18th)
Unitrends
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
36th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.8
Number of Reviews
34
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of Hornetsecurity Altaro VM Backup is 0.8%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Unitrends is 0.5%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Backup and Recovery
 

Featured Reviews

Asif Usmani - PeerSpot reviewer
Lacks multi-platform support and physical infrastructure but excels in storage optimization
We use it for VM backup and Office 365 backup I find the solution to be user-friendly and easy to manage and deploy. It provides storage for Office 365, which is beneficial, and the deduplication technology is excellent, especially in optimizing storage capacity compared to others. In terms of…
Todd Guthrie - PeerSpot reviewer
The solution can be used to back up servers and Hyper-V cluster nodes, but its support is super expensive
I wouldn't rate Unitrends a ten out of ten because we had some hard drive failures in the appliance. Typically, when you have OneDrive, you can get it replaced. For some particular reason, the situation caused the entire system to crash. We had to reinstall the CentOS operating system on it, and we lost all our backups. They said there was no way to retain it, and it was pretty devastating and concerning that a drive failure would cause the loss of all the data on the appliance. It was extremely disappointing, and we had to start from scratch after three years worth of backup data. I rate Unitrends a nine out of ten for stability.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"Hornetsecurity Altaro VM Backup's most valuable features include its user-friendly interface and the ability to perform data compression updates, which enhance overall efficiency and effectiveness."
"We frequently use the granular restore option for when our users accidentally delete files or to recover emails from mailboxes. We have found that to be a must-have feature and it comes with the solution at no extra cost."
"I find the solution to be user-friendly and easy to manage and deploy."
"The most valuable feature of Altaro VM Backup is its ability to backup and restore various types of data, including Active Directory, application servers, and SQL Server databases."
"Hornetsecurity Altaro VM Backup's most valuable features include its user-friendly interface and the ability to perform data compression updates, which enhance overall efficiency and effectiveness."
"The ability to test the backups without having to manually mount the VHDs after restore allows us to check the integrity of the backups."
"Reverse Delta is Altaro proprietary backup deduplication technology. With Reverse Delta, the latest version of a file is always made available in its entirety, not as a delta file."
"The intuitive interface allows you to set up and perform backups and restores easily."
"The most valuable feature of Unitrends for me is the automated feedback"
"I like the fact that you can recover the VMs inside the appliance. For example, they're basically running this appliance on a Linux-based distribution, and they're spinning off KVM virtual machines inside."
"It's not easy to scale it."
"VM backup is much faster and more reliable, as I can test my backups with Data Copy Access jobs."
"When I have had to use tech support, they've been very good."
"Unitrends has helped us cut down the time that it takes to restore a server to its original configuration."
"Backup/archive to multiple locations."
"It is very easy to set up and get started. Almost too easy. We racked this device and had it up and running in less than 15 minutes."
 

Cons

"Replication is not fast, the GUI could be more user-friendly, and technical support is lacking in Iran."
"The cloud backup and VMware support (now available in the latest releases), could do with some improvement."
"Hornetsecurity Altaro VM Backup could be improved in several areas, such as enhancing scalability features and possibly reducing the price."
"It would be nice to see a feature that backs up the host so that, in case of a server failure, an entire server could be restored all at once."
"Hornetsecurity Altaro VM Backup could be improved in several areas, such as enhancing scalability features and possibly reducing the price."
"It would be nice to be able to recover the items to their original location."
"Improvement areas for Altaro VM Backup include enhancing backup and deduplication solutions for continuous operation and offering an all-in-one solution for hardware backup."
"Availability of physical server backup would be an added advantage."
"Probably the biggest issue I've had is actually paying for the unit, and part of that problem is that they use a third party for the billing."
"In terms of improvement, the UI, especially in the recovery section, is unclear about which repository it uses."
"It could be a little more customizable."
"Unitrends can be challenging to scale."
"Network-based storage stability could be improved."
"Comparing the features and the working pattern, definitely they have to come down on pricing if they want to compete in the market."
"​​Follow up for the DRaaS service setup. I'm still waiting to schedule a DRaaS test after upgrading several months ago."
"The solution’s UI can be improved. I am saying this because I have seen solutions with better UIs."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Altaro had the best prices and ROI in the whole bunch that we evaluated."
"No other product offers these features for this price. The ROI is great."
"The price is great for the utility you get and the licensing has never caused any issues with my company."
"VMware is a little pricey, but it is a good solution and priced similar to other products."
"There is a free version for Hosts with 2 VMs."
"Its yearly maintenance fee is fairly high for me to renew for upgrades and support."
"The pricing is okay,"
"There is a free version for two VMs. I would advise to study the deployment environment well, prior to committing to order a license per host."
"The cost of Unitrends definitely draws you in. The licensing is all included in the appliance, which is a great incentive."
"We found that the cost of Unitrends was about the same as the Dell DR6300. We liked the fact that the Unitrends appliance was all-in-one."
"When we renew the Unitrends maintenance contract and update it to the latest version, the cost would be $5,000 per year. There are no hidden costs. They've been transparent with the costs."
"Their licensing depended on the number of CPUs you had."
"No comment."
"Unitrends is an expensive solution."
"With respect to cost, my advice is to get what you need."
"Talk with the sales guys. They can work with you on the best package."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Government
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Computer Software Company
13%
Retailer
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Non Profit
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Hornetsecurity Altaro VM Backup?
The most valuable feature of Altaro VM Backup is its ability to backup and restore various types of data, including Active Directory, application servers, and SQL Server databases.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Hornetsecurity Altaro VM Backup?
The pricing and licensing cost is challenging since most competitors offer cheaper pricing, making it difficult to penetrate the market with the current pricing strategy.
What needs improvement with Hornetsecurity Altaro VM Backup?
The solution needs multi-platform support as it is currently only available for VMware and Hyper-V. It also lacks support for physical servers and workstations. Additionally, they should add more p...
What do you like most about Unitrends?
The most valuable feature of Unitrends for me is the automated feedback
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Unitrends?
Unitrends is an expensive solution. We've negotiated deals where they've given us the $ 62,000 to $ 64,000 appliance for free but charged $ 90,000 for three years of support.
What needs improvement with Unitrends?
In terms of improvement, the UI, especially in the recovery section, is unclear about which repository it uses—I had to hover over to find that information. Figuring out the scripting part wasn't s...
 

Also Known As

Altaro VM Backup
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Thomson Reuters, Microsoft, Amazon, Harvard University, MIT, Peugeot, Xerox
NHL Players Association, Salvation Army, Sligro Food Group, Mason General Hospital, Tec Group, Saldab IT, Baker Tilly, Clinton Savings Bank, Ennit Magna Bank, Manukau Institute of Technology
Find out what your peers are saying about Hornetsecurity Altaro VM Backup vs. Unitrends and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
859,687 professionals have used our research since 2012.