AWS Snowball vs HPE Zerto Software comparison

Why PeerSpot?

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Hewlett Packard Enterprise are both solutions in the Cloud Migration category. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is ranked #15 with an average rating of 7.7, while Hewlett Packard Enterprise is ranked #1 with an average rating of 9.1. Amazon Web Services (AWS) holds a 2.3% mindshare in CM, compared to Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s 4.8% 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

5,323 Views
798 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

HPE Zerto Software

Read 365 HPE Zerto Software reviews

28,672 Views
3,154 Comparison Views

98% willing to recommend

AWS Snowball

HPE Zerto Software

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 22, 2026

HPE Zerto Software and AWS Snowball compete in the data management and recovery space. HPE Zerto Software has an edge in cost-effectiveness and user-friendliness, while AWS Snowball's advanced features and reliability provide value through efficient data handling capabilities.

Features: HPE Zerto Software supports continuous data protection, automated failover, and near-zero RPO, making it ideal for business continuity. AWS Snowball offers scalability, advanced data transfer, and physical security, addressing large-scale transfer and storage needs efficiently.

Room for Improvement: HPE Zerto Software could enhance its analytical monitoring and focus on broader solutions than narrowing down services. AWS Snowball might improve ease of deployment and reduce dependency on extensive setup, especially for initial hardware requirements.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: HPE Zerto Software is noted for its seamless integration and responsive customer service, supporting efficient virtual environment setup. AWS Snowball provides reliable dedicated support for complex deployments, although its on-site setup may require more initial time.

Pricing and ROI: HPE Zerto Software offers a lower initial setup cost, providing good ROI for disaster recovery-focused businesses. AWS Snowball's higher setup cost is offset by its efficiency in managing large data volumes, offering significant ROI over time for scalability-focused deployments.

To learn more, read our detailed AWS Snowball vs. HPE Zerto Software Report (Updated: November 2026).

Buyer's Guide

AWS Snowball vs. HPE Zerto Software

November 2026

Download the complete report

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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

15th

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

7.1

Number of Reviews

365

Ranking in other categories

Backup and Recovery (2nd), Cloud Backup (2nd), Disaster Recovery (DR) Software (1st), Autonomous Operational Resilience (1st)

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Cloud Migration category, the mindshare of AWS Snowball is 2.3%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of HPE Zerto Software is 4.8%, down from 6.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Cloud Migration Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
HPE Zerto Software	4.8%
AWS Snowball	2.3%
Other	92.9%

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.

Read full review

Aslah Faseel K

DevOps Engineer at a media company with 201-500 employees

Near-zero downtime has protected critical workloads and now simplifies hybrid cloud recovery

The best features of HPE Zerto Software are mainly very sophisticated and relevant to the current market. The data protection CDP part has real-time replication, unlike other solutions that have snapshot backups. We can set it up hourly, making it ideal for use with workloads. Another attraction is the near-zero RTO, with automated failover within minutes and one-click failover and failback. Currently, we are using a hybrid cloud solution, and HPE Zerto Software supports multi-cloud environments, making it easy to migrate between on-premises and cloud. Regarding the impact of HPE Zerto Software on our RTOs, we have near-zero RTO, meaning the system must be back online within thirty minutes if we measure the time. It is very quick to recover services. With HPE Zerto Software's near-synchronous replication, we have some CDP protection, so we typically write interceptions along with some asynchronous replication. There is almost real-time replication available.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I like that I can take data and send it straight to S3 when it loads in."

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

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

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

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

"We are a very large company with around 20 million users that include architects, developers, and admin staff, and it's a very nice service we would highly recommend."

"The solution is elastic."

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

More AWS Snowball pros

"The ability to test which virtual machines can be failed over to our DR site without interruption of our production environment."

"With Zerto CDP, we can pull to our recovery objective in six seconds."

"HPE Zerto Software has positively impacted our organization by allowing us to grow our business as an MSP, leading to a revenue increase of around 10%, and as a customer, we have not experienced any downtime for the past four years, achieving 100% uptime."

"Overall, considering both our test and production environments, using Zerto benefits us with an approximate time savings of 60%."

"Our ROI is quite significant, as the SQL cost savings alone would be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars per year."

"Overall, I would rate Zerto a nine out of ten."

"Zerto's two main features are ease of management and that the product just works. It does what they say it'll do."

"The most valuable feature is how quickly it powers down the original source VMs and the speed at which it powers up the new VMs. The amount of time it takes to put up the operating system is valuable. The speed is what I like the best."

More HPE Zerto Software pros

Cons

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

"AWS support could be more responsive."

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

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

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

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

"I think AWS Snowball could improve by expanding its availability to more countries."

"It's not cheap."

More AWS Snowball cons

"Whenever we do a failover, there's a confirmation box that shows up later. It's a little hard to see sometimes... A popup to continue would be a little bit better because then you're not sitting and waiting for something and it's already there."

"Zerto can improve the dashboard by making it even more simple. Right now, there's a lot on the dashboard, and it can be overwhelming. If you're an experienced user, then you'll find it easy to use, but if you're a beginner, it will take you some time."

"There can be a bit more logging. It seems a bit harder to find logs for test restores and all that. If they had a way to email the results of a test restore, that would be excellent."

"While Zerto's current version supports VMware environments, I'd like the added flexibility of using Hypervisors as well."

"There needs to be more flexibility in the licensing."

"The solution is very expensive."

"The backup solution needs to be improved. From our perspective, Veeam and Zerto were competing products. They both do very unique things that they're very good at. For instance, Veeam can do replication well. However, it's really a backup product."

"Zerto's current reporting capabilities are insufficient for our needs."

More HPE Zerto Software cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."

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

"At close to $1,000 a license, it makes it very hard to protect all of your environment, especially for a smaller shop."

"I do not like the current pricing model because the product has been divided into different components and they are charging for them individually."

"I would suggest getting a dedicated, well-informed rep."

"Zerto is fairly expensive, but worth it."

"The last time I looked at pricing, it was very good. It's much cheaper by far than VMware."

"This solution is far less expensive than SRM and NetBackup."

"It works very well as a backup and recovery solution, with frequent recovery points. It's very good. But it's too pricey for us to use it as a backup solution for all of our clients. Not every customer needs recovery points every five seconds."

"I wish it were cheaper, but I would purchase it again at the same price."

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

12%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Computer Software Company

Comms Service Provider

Outsourcing Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Construction 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	97
Midsize Enterprise	94
Large Enterprise	210

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...

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...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zerto?

I find HPE Zerto Software affordable.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Zerto?

I would like HPE Zerto Software to support more hypervisor platforms than currently available. Support for additional hypervisors could be added in the future. Since we have multiple platforms, we ...

See all answers

Comparisons

Google Transfer Appliance vs AWS Snowball

Compared 58% of the time

Microsoft Azure Data Box vs AWS Snowball

Compared 8% of the time

Cloudwick Amorphic Data Platform vs AWS Snowball

Compared 6% of the time

Palantir Foundry vs AWS Snowball

Compared 5% of the time

Nasuni vs AWS Snowball

Compared 3% of the time

More AWS Snowball Competitors

Veeam Data Platform vs HPE Zerto Software

Compared 7% of the time

Rubrik vs HPE Zerto Software

Compared 4% of the time

VMware Live Recovery vs HPE Zerto Software

Compared 4% of the time

Infrascale Backup & Disaster Recovery vs HPE Zerto Software

Compared 3% of the time

Dell RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines vs HPE Zerto Software

Compared 3% of the time

More HPE Zerto Software Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

AWS Snowball

November 2026

Download AWS Snowball product report

Buyer's Guide

HPE Zerto Software

October 2026

Download HPE Zerto Software product report

Also Known As

Amazon AWS Snowball, Amazon Snowball, Snowball

Zerto Virtual Replication

Overview

AWS Snowball is an efficient tool providing high-speed data transfers, end-to-end encryption, and scalability to organizations in need of reliable data migration and integration with AWS infrastructure.

AWS Snowball offers robust data transfer capabilities, ensuring efficient management of large data volumes. It provides end-to-end encryption and tamper-evident features, enhancing data security. The interface is user-friendly and supports seamless integration within AWS. Its scalability and flexible integration options make it a valuable choice for managing complex data migrations. Despite the need for improved connectivity and broader geographical availability, continuous innovations and managed services optimize resources and time.

What are the key features of AWS Snowball?

High-Speed Data Transfer: Facilitates quick migration of large data volumes.
User-Friendly Interface: Simplifies the process of data management.
End-to-End Encryption: Ensures data security during transfers.
Scalability: Easily integrates with AWS systems.
Edge Computing: Provides on-site processing capabilities.
Physical Durability: Designed for reliable data transport.

What benefits can users expect when implementing AWS Snowball?

Cost Efficiency: Reduces expenses associated with large-scale data transfers.
Time Optimization: Saves time in data migration processes.
Resource Optimization: Managed services enhance resource efficiency.
Seamless Integration: Supports on-premises to cloud migrations.
Security: Protects data with encryption during transfer.

Organizations across various industries utilize AWS Snowball for efficient cloud migrations and disaster recovery. In fields where bandwidth is limited, Snowball provides a solution for large-scale data transfers. Financial institutions use it for ETL processes and integrating analytical layers over current data warehouses. Industries with data validation requirements appreciate its secure data transfer features and the ability to reduce dependency on internet connections. Its edge computing capabilities address diverse environmental needs, ensuring data accuracy during migrations.

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

HPE Zerto Software offers near real-time replication and fast recovery, focusing on business continuity. It's designed for data protection, disaster recovery, and cloud migrations with features tailored for minimizing downtime and data loss.

HPE Zerto Software is geared towards critical workload management, providing continuous data protection, automated failover, and seamless workload transitions between environments. The software's journaling capability enables data restoration at specific points, vital for reducing data loss. While it enhances operational efficiency and disaster resilience, it struggles with Hyper-V and VMware compatibility, complex licensing, and limited API support. Users express the need for improved automation, GUI, and clearer documentation. Integration, long-term storage, and better alert management remain challenges, alongside desires for more flexible pricing and enhanced cloud vendor support.

What are the key features of HPE Zerto Software?

Continuous Data Protection: Enables constant data monitoring and recovery capabilities.
Automated Failover: Simplifies disaster recovery processes by automating transition steps.
Fast Recovery: Reduces downtime to keep operations running smoothly.
Journaling: Allows data restoration at specific points to minimize loss.
Workload Mobility: Facilitates seamless transitions across different IT environments.

What benefits and ROI should users consider?

Operational Efficiency: Improves processes by reducing manual interventions.
Disaster Resilience: Ensures quick recovery and reduced impact from incidents.
Improved RTO and RPO: Achieves lower recovery time and point objectives for critical applications.
Business Continuity: Maintains business operations in the face of disruptions.

HPE Zerto Software is widely used across industries for disaster recovery and data protection. Companies leverage its capabilities for virtual machine replication between on-premises and cloud setups to ensure continuous operations and rapid disaster recovery, making it ideal for environments facing threats like ransomware.

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

November 2026

Free Report: AWS Snowball vs. HPE Zerto Software

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