AWS Snowball vs HPE Zerto Software comparison

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Hewlett Packard Enterprise are both solutions in the Cloud Migration category. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is ranked #11 with an average rating of 7.8, while Hewlett Packard Enterprise is ranked #1 with an average rating of 9.0. Amazon Web Services (AWS) holds a 1.5% mindshare in CM, compared to Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s 6.2% mindshare. Additionally, 90% of Amazon Web Services (AWS) users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 98% of Hewlett Packard Enterprise users who would recommend it.

AWS Snowball

Read 10 AWS Snowball reviews

2,489 Views
100 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

HPE Zerto Software

Read 343 HPE Zerto Software reviews

14,306 Views
858 Comparison Views

98% willing to recommend

AWS Snowball

HPE Zerto Software

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 21, 2025

HPE Zerto Software and AWS Snowball both compete in data management solutions. While Zerto stands out for its excellent disaster recovery capabilities and customer satisfaction, Snowball offers comprehensive features and robust performance that lend reliability and cost-effectiveness.

Features: HPE Zerto Software offers real-time recovery, continuous data protection, and advanced recovery points, focusing on virtual environments and rapid recovery. AWS Snowball boasts high-capacity data transfer, integrates well with AWS services, ensuring secure data transport, especially appealing to enterprises needing large-scale data transport.

Room for Improvement: For HPE Zerto Software, improvements could include more straightforward integration with diverse ecosystems, enhanced physical hardware compatibility, and optimized support for network latency issues. AWS Snowball could improve by increasing the speed of data transfer further, refining its integration capabilities with non-AWS platforms, and making the user interface even more intuitive for the end-users.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: HPE Zerto Software ensures simple deployment in virtual setups with responsive customer support helping to tackle challenges. Conversely, AWS Snowball relies on a physical shipment model, which adds complexity for deployment but strengthens data security. Both offer commendable customer service with Snowball slightly more complex in physical operations.

Pricing and ROI: HPE Zerto Software offers competitive pricing reflecting high ROI, especially when rapid recovery is needed. AWS Snowball involves upfront investment in physical devices, optimizing ROI through cost-efficient large-scale data transfers. While Zerto remains budget-friendly in virtual settings, Snowball’s pricing structure benefits entities that prioritize secure physical data transport.

To learn more, read our detailed AWS Snowball vs. HPE Zerto Software Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

AWS Snowball vs. HPE Zerto Software

December 2025

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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

AWS Snowball

Ranking in Cloud Migration

11th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Data Migration Appliances (1st)

HPE Zerto Software

Ranking in Cloud Migration

1st

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

343

Ranking in other categories

Backup and Recovery (2nd), Cloud Backup (3rd), Disaster Recovery (DR) Software (1st)

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Cloud Migration category, the mindshare of AWS Snowball is 1.5%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of HPE Zerto Software is 6.2%, up from 5.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Cloud Migration Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
HPE Zerto Software	6.2%
AWS Snowball	1.5%
Other	92.3%

Cloud Migration

Featured Reviews

Kevin-Davis

Global CTO AWS Business Group at Eviden

Seamless data transfer and efficient migration with customizable storage sizes

I like that I can take data and send it straight to S3 when it loads in. The interface for getting my data onto the Snowball is so streamlined. I don't know if you've ever seen it before. It's really cool. I connect them to the backplane of our existing network. I'm able to address it quickly and move the data quickly inside my customers' data centers. There's a little screen on it, which changes the UPS codes and all that stuff. The label and everything AWS electronic, so I don't have to deal with shipping issues. It makes it super simple and easy to use from end to end.

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David Riberdy

Enterprise data management supervisor at a insurance company with 1,001-5,000 employees

An all-in-one and cost-efficient solution that does what it promises

Zerto is very easy to use. Installation is about half an hour, and then it starts protecting the data and VMs. It is not very cumbersome. The UI is built very well. It is fairly self-explanatory. To be able to stand up a product you have never seen in half an hour and get it functioning and protecting speaks to how good the UI and workflow are. Zerto has near-synchronous replication. As a change is made on site A, it gets copied across the network to site B. We are five or six seconds behind production. If I have a heavily used system and I use traditional backups, I could be anywhere from 5 minutes to 23 hours behind. With Zerto, I am single-digit seconds behind. That works well for us. Our disaster recovery test, which used to span an entire week, now takes two days. We used to recover our servers in the first two or three days with a backup product and then test for two days before tearing it all down. Now, we spend half a day on new servers and ensuring things work with networking, etc. We test the next day, and we are done in two days. Across the entire company, we are able to save significant man-hours by shortening the test from a week to two days. We are now doing smaller tests once a month and larger tests once a year. Zerto has reduced our DR testing time by 60% to 70%. We are also able to do more disaster recovery testing. Previously, we were doing it once a year, whereas now, we are doing smaller tests once a month and our large tests once a year. In recovery point objectives, we are single-digit seconds behind. In terms of RTOs, I can recover 350 VMs in 30 minutes. It takes less than several seconds to restore a single VM. From days to 30 minutes for 350 compared to 100 VMs is an incredible time-saving in terms of RTOs and RPOs for us.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The way the data is moved is very clever. Also, the interface is very simple and user-friendly."

"You are able to scale the solution vertically. It's very scalable."

"It's a nice way of shipping a lot of data without using a network."

"AWS offers managed services which save time and reduce administrative overhead."

"The most valuable features of AWS Snowball for me are its security measures and its flexibility."

"The flexibility of AWS Snowball is valuable. Its security allows for the ability to move and secure data without concern if the device is lost and the option to trace it back to AWS data centers."

"The support team's awesome, and they've always been very responsive."

"The solution is elastic."

More AWS Snowball pros

"The failover test option in HPE Zerto Software is the most valuable at this point since we can validate that things are going to come up, that the data is valid, and then tear it back down without having to interrupt the users."

"The whole package is valuable. The most useful feature for the company is the rapid RTO, which offers a faster return to operations and brings us back online quicker. The last time we had an issue, we recovered within about 36 minutes, which was probably the most valuable thing for us because, previously, it took four to seven days."

"Zerto has improved our restoration time and made it easier to test software upgrades. It has simplified tasks like decommissioning a site and replicating virtual machines from one location to another."

"We can failover to an isolated environment and validate the application without impacting the production environment. We can do more testing in a non-impactful way..."

"It does what it's purported to do, which is to provide continuous data protection. We have a five-second RPO. It's definitely doing its job."

"The UI is straightforward. It makes it very simple to group our resources and understand that our production workloads are covered because we can set them up as granular or as non-granular as we want."

"It is incredibly granular and I really appreciate that."

"The most valuable feature is the customization that allows me to set my protection group myself."

More HPE Zerto Software pros

Cons

"If AWS Snowball is intercepted, there is a potential risk of unauthorized access to the data."

"It would be helpful if Snowball provided more kinds of connectivity. That will make it easier to add and move data."

"The costs of services the customer needs also matter, such as storage requirements and whether storage is rational."

"24/7 support is more expensive on AWS compared to Azure."

"AWS support could be more responsive."

"It's not an easy product to start using for a beginner, but If you're a professional, it's easy to understand."

"The stability of the solution isn't ideal and should be improved."

"Snowball is not interesting and is a pain to deal with."

More AWS Snowball cons

"For improvement points, because Zerto is not a backup company, if they could implement some kind of backup solutions, it would help us out significantly."

"Better communication around pricing would be useful - particularly in light of the economic and tariff situation we have going on."

"Its pricing could be better. Also, Zerto needs to improve its reporting capabilities and provide better dashboards."

"When I have a technical question, it sometimes takes a while for tech support to respond."

"Zerto's near-synchronous replication is excellent when it works. I'm trying to be nice to them because I like the product a lot, but we're having a lot of difficulty with it in our environment."

"We have had some issues running Linux virtual machines on the new version. There were some issues with virtual replication adapters on Cisco UCS hosts running VMware vCenter 8."

"My input would be to have their sales engineers not overpromise and then have the product underdeliver because we were scoped not-appropriately sized target hardware. That hit us hard. We went with Exagrid as our target. Because of incorrect sizing, we didn't get the expected compression, and we ran out of space. We didn't have enough capacity for all of our backups the way we wanted them tiered. It crippled Zerto as well."

"They should not make it so expensive so that I can buy more of it."

More HPE Zerto Software cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's not a cheap solution, but the price is right for the product."

"The tool's pricing depends on the type of Snowball device you choose, the amount of data you need to transfer, and the service fees involved. There’s a standard price for larger data transfers and a flat job fee, which includes the first ten days of on-site usage. Typically, there are no additional data transfer fees."

"When we purchased Zerto, we felt it was worth the cost as it would protect us from any potential problems and give us peace of mind knowing that any critical items could be recovered quickly."

"We have always been able to get the pricing worked out. At this new company I am right now, we are doing well. We sometimes go through a third party to help us with pricing, but Zerto is fairly decently priced, especially when you consider some of the other solutions that are out there which could be very expensive."

"The pricing seems reasonable. It's still within what we consider to be value-add."

"The only negative part that I have seen so far has been the cost. It is kind of pricey, but you get what you pay for. Zerto is a lot faster than other solutions and you get enhanced performance."

"My experience with pricing, setup costs, and licensing was straightforward."

"My impression is that Zerto is more expensive than other solutions, although I don't have exact numbers."

"The pricing for this solution could be cheaper. They have two licensing tiers. When we purchased it, they didn't have a license for the cloud model. Certain things that I used to get with the basic licensing are no longer available. They are only available in the Cloud. Overall, the licensing model could be simplified."

"From a customer perspective, the price is okay. From an investor's perspective, however, it is a little bit high."

More HPE Zerto Software pricing and cost advice

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Comparison Review

it_user159711

Architect at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

Nov 9, 2014

VMware SRM vs. Veeam vs. Zerto

Disaster recovery planning is something that seems challenging for all businesses. Virtualization in addition to its operational flexibility, and cost reduction benefits, has helped companies improve their DR posture. Virtualization has made it easier to move machines from production to…

Read full review

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

14%

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Healthcare Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	4
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	6

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	90
Midsize Enterprise	86
Large Enterprise	196

Questions from the Community

Which is better - Microsoft Azure Data Box or AWS Snowball?

Microsoft Azure Databox is a 45-pound, super rugged, tamper-resistant, human-managed hardware appliance that can transfer up to 100TB of data capacity to copy, store, then send to the Azure cloud. ...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for AWS Snowball?

Depending of what is your priority; UseAWS Snowball if you are heavily invested in AWS or need edge computing features Choose Azure Data Box for smooth integration with Azure and potentially lower ...

See all answers

What needs improvement with AWS Snowball?

It's difficult to make a comparison and it depends on the customer. When analyzing costs, I must see how the customer uses AWS, Azure, or Google. Google is particularly interesting, for example, fo...

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering Oracle Data Guard?

Ik fluister:VM Host Oracle en DataGuard hebben we per toeval vervangen door Zerto :-) tijdens de Zerto implementatie en VPG werden de Host Data in write-ack Block-Level gerepliceerd. Qua licentie 1...

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What do you like most about Zerto?

Its ability to roll back if the VM or the server that you are recovering does not come up right is also valuable. You have the ability to roll back a few seconds or a few minutes. The rollback feat...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zerto?

From a pricing perspective, HPE Zerto Software is expensive in comparison to other products on the market, but I think it is an easier sell because it works so well and it is so easy to set up a de...

See all answers

Comparisons

Google Transfer Appliance vs AWS Snowball

Compared 43% of the time

Microsoft Azure Data Box vs AWS Snowball

Compared 31% of the time

Cloudwick Amorphic Data Platform vs AWS Snowball

Compared 10% of the time

AWS Snowball Edge vs AWS Snowball

Compared 5% of the time

IBM Cloud Mass Data Migration vs AWS Snowball

Compared 5% of the time

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Veeam Data Platform vs HPE Zerto Software

Compared 14% of the time

VMware Live Recovery vs HPE Zerto Software

Compared 6% of the time

Commvault Cloud vs HPE Zerto Software

Compared 5% of the time

Dell RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines vs HPE Zerto Software

Compared 5% of the time

Rubrik vs HPE Zerto Software

Compared 5% of the time

More HPE Zerto Software Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

AWS Snowball

January 2026

Download AWS Snowball product report

Buyer's Guide

HPE Zerto Software

January 2026

Download HPE Zerto Software product report

Also Known As

Amazon AWS Snowball, Amazon Snowball, Snowball

Zerto Virtual Replication

Overview

Snowball is a petabyte-scale data transport solution that uses devices designed to be secure to transfer large amounts of data into and out of the AWS Cloud. Using Snowball addresses common challenges with large-scale data transfers including high network costs, long transfer times, and security concerns. Customers today use Snowball to migrate analytics data, genomics data, video libraries, image repositories, backups, and to archive part of data center shutdowns, tape replacement or application migration projects. Transferring data with Snowball is simple, fast, more secure, and can be as little as one-fifth the cost of transferring data via high-speed Internet.

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Zerto is used for disaster recovery, business continuity, data migration, and ransomware recovery, providing continuous data protection and near real-time replication. Valued for ease of use, efficient failover processes, and versatile integration, it enhances organizational efficiency, reduces errors, and boosts productivity.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Sample Customers

Wazee Digital, Craftsy, Live Nation, Essess

United Airlines, HCA, XPO Logistics, TaxSlayer, McKesson, Insight Global, American Airlines, Tencate, Aaron’s, Grey’s County, Kingston Technologies

Buyer's Guide

AWS Snowball vs. HPE Zerto Software

December 2025

Free Report: AWS Snowball vs. HPE Zerto Software

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