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Cohesity DataProtect vs Synology DSM 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

Cohesity DataProtect
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
12th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
77
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Backup (14th), AI Data Analysis (18th)
Synology DSM
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
52nd
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
8.0
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of Cohesity DataProtect is 1.7%, down from 3.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Synology DSM is 1.3%, down from 1.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Backup and Recovery Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cohesity DataProtect1.7%
Synology DSM1.3%
Other97.0%
Backup and Recovery
 

Featured Reviews

Kalaiarasan Meganathan - PeerSpot reviewer
Specialist at HCLSoftware
Backup operations have become faster and daily recoveries run smoothly for on‑prem workloads
When compared to other tools, the deduplication in Cohesity DataProtect is very fast, and the restore performance is better than other tools. Global deduplication ensures that only unique data blocks are stored, significantly reducing storage consumption. Cohesity DataProtect's dashboard displays options and errors clearly, making it easy to access and understand how to fix issues. Cohesity DataProtect's ability to start processes automatically without manual selections enhances its reliability. Cohesity DataProtect's architecture ensures that agent installations automatically reflect in the dashboard, allowing for seamless integration into backup jobs. This improves operational efficiency, ensuring backups can be triggered without manual refreshes. Additionally, the user interface is intuitive, and the respect of the N-1 rule during updates helps prevent client-affecting issues.
Michael Adejoh - PeerSpot reviewer
Solutions Manager at Excel Connect Ventures
Reliable and cost-effective
One area where Synology DSM could improve is in enhancing its ability to detect and respond to security threats during backups and replication. Currently, it lacks the capability to automatically stop backups if it detects a virus or suspicious network activity, as some third-party solutions can. Having AI-driven analytics to identify anomalies and halt backups during potential attacks, along with notifications to administrators, would be valuable. Additionally, providing a dashboard for monitoring the backup environment's security would be a beneficial feature. These improvements would help address security concerns and make Synology more competitive in this aspect.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The customer service and support are fast and professional."
"Instant volume mount and the SpanFS filesystem itself, which has great dedupe and compression across all of our backups."
"Cohesity DataProtect is a converged solution that simplifies backup and allows use of the backed-up data."
"Cohesity DataProtect is easy to deploy and operate."
"The tool is faster and easier to use than others. The most critical feature for our data protection needs is the accuracy of backups and restores."
"Instant recovery options are a big benefit for urgent restores, as we don't need to wait for hours or days for a restore to complete before being able to access the files."
"We removed multiple backup systems and replaced with Cohesity."
"I have found that the speed of restores, especially files and folders, are extremely fast. This bodes well for us, and our end users are always amazed at how fast you can get them their files."
"The most valuable features of Synology DSM are its security and connectivity."
"Because of its simplicity and the wide array of features it offers, I would recommend DSM for both tech-savvy individuals and those who prefer a straightforward file-serving solution."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it serves as a backup for our company's virtual machine."
"The product performs well. It is easy to use and implement."
"It offers a variety of software options through its package center, allowing users to customize their NAS device to serve multiple purposes."
"Synology DSM is very easy to work and operate."
"The solution's most valuable feature stems from its ease of use, making it the tool's most interesting part."
"The most valuable aspect is its ability to handle multiple disks."
 

Cons

"We would like it to have more capabilities for different kinds of PaaS or SaaS services in the Azure cloud, such as Azure SQL or Azure Cosmos DB."
"Since it is an evolving product, there are lot of frequent releases which require upgrades to be done every other weekend."
"At times, you may click the wrong server or click too fast and accidentally restore a cluster of servers. It would be very helpful to have a cancel option under restores."
"A little more documentation on standard faults would help, as new features are being released quite often."
"Currently, the product is lacking some features like BMR and backup for the cluster, but I think these are things that would be added in a few months."
"We found scaling Cohesity to be very challenging."
"You need to put the full name instead of a few letters while searching for backup. It should also improve customization."
"We have had our share of minor bugs over the past two years and a few bigger ones."
"The product's only shortcoming is pricing, as it is an expensive solution."
"Synology DSM is a good enough solution for small and medium companies, but I have not seen a big configuration of the solution for a big organization."
"One area where Synology DSM could improve is in enhancing its ability to detect and respond to security threats during backups and replication."
"Even though Synology provides a backup solution, it does not recognize the VM movement across cluster hosts."
"Synology DSM's user interface is not quite intuitive."
"There's a surveillance application that allows you to connect IP cameras and stream footage to Synology and it is a great feature, but it's not always clear that adding more cameras may require purchasing additional licenses."
"Users may lose their data if they don't configure the solution properly."
"The only bothersome aspect is that the device is aging."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I expect the system to probably pay off within the first two years."
"My advice is to always negotiate for better pricing."
"Licensing is per node and per protected terabyte. You will also pay 10-15% annually for support."
"It has reasonable pricing, and we know they can give discounts. If you look at the primary pricing or the list pricing, it conforms to the market pricing, but you have to have a discount on it. Otherwise, it is way too expensive."
"If SQL is in heavy use at your location, I would highly recommend narrowing your PoC testing to Cohesity and Rubrik. They will be competitive on pricing with each other, so really put them through the paces."
"The solution's pricing is quite high, more so than that of its competitors, Veeam, Veritas and Rubrik."
"Sizing is important and it is easy to overestimate."
"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a seven out of ten."
"It is quite an affordable solution."
"The licensing part of the solution is free. The hardware is more expensive than the other solutions in the market, but it's okay in the long run."
"Synology DSM is a free tool."
"Synology DSM is a cheap solution."
"The solution’s pricing is neither cheap nor expensive."
"The price of the solution is very good."
"The pricing varies widely, catering to a broad range of needs."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Construction Company
8%
Computer Software Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business21
Midsize Enterprise22
Large Enterprise43
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise1
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Cohesity DataProtect?
There are several areas that have room for improvement, and I believe there are other aspects that could be enhanced as well.
What is your primary use case for Cohesity DataProtect?
I use Cohesity DataProtect for backup, analysis, and recovery purposes.
Ask a question
Earn 20 points
 

Also Known As

Cohesity
Synology DiskStation Manager (DSM)
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Tribune Media
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Cohesity DataProtect vs. Synology DSM and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
909,948 professionals have used our research since 2012.