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HPE Zerto Software vs VMware Live Recovery comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 11, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
7.3
HPE Zerto Software enhances disaster recovery efficiency, reducing costs and labor while providing significant time savings and cloud-based benefits.
Sentiment score
8.2
VMware Live Recovery offers up to 50% DR cost savings and enhances ROI with automation and resource-efficient management since 2012.
Before, it was a huge cost. It was several thousand dollars to do a DR test, whereas now, I click a button.
The return on investment is evident, as Zerto saves more than 60 percent of time in various operations compared to the previous manual processes.
Most people like me hope we never have to use it. It is like insurance.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.8
HPE Zerto Software's support is praised for quick, professional service, though initial contact responsiveness and expertise need improvement.
Sentiment score
7.2
VMware Live Recovery customer service varies, but technical support is generally responsive and helpful, with minor delays reported.
I have never had an issue that was not resolved, and I have never been in a situation where they did not respond.
I would give them a rating of ten because it represents the highest level of support based on the technical knowledge of the support team, response time, and effectiveness of the provided resolutions.
When I open a ticket, I usually get a call within an hour or two.
They are knowledgeable.
The technical support from VMware is very good and operates based on a service level.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.6
HPE Zerto Software is scalable, easy to manage, adaptable, and reliable, supporting diverse environments and both on-premise and cloud operations.
Sentiment score
7.4
VMware Live Recovery is praised for scalability and ease of use, despite challenges with compatibility and configuration issues.
I would rate it a ten out of ten for scalability.
Customers need to follow good engineering practices for optimal product use.
By adding more hosts and installing VRAs on each, tasks can be efficiently managed.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.0
Zerto Software is stable and reliable, with seamless upgrades, responsive support, and excellent compatibility, earning high user ratings.
Sentiment score
7.5
VMware Live Recovery is reliable with some upgrade challenges, receiving positive ratings for stability and compatibility, despite occasional issues.
I promptly delete the malfunctioning elements and set them up again to resume replication, ensuring stability.
The ease of use was so good with Zerto that they were able to migrate things much quicker.
It is very reliable.
 

Room For Improvement

HPE Zerto Software aims to improve backup, expand hypervisor support, and refine reporting, with user-requested advancements in various areas.
VMware Live Recovery struggles with stability, integration, and costs, requiring usability improvements and better support, licensing, and management.
If I have 350 objects that I am protecting, I would like Zerto to be able to fire them up in one order, rather than having to manually bring them up in a sequence.
If the host has a lot of VMs on it, there may not always be enough time to relocate all of the VMs from a protection group standpoint to other hosts before the replication appliance that Zerto uses to manage that powers itself down.
To increase accessibility for small and medium businesses, Zerto should consider a competitive pricing strategy, possibly including subscription-based licensing options.
It's important for the cost to be justified based on the features used in production.
I would like to see improved integration services with other solutions, such as SIEM management or security monitoring.
The licensing area needs improvement as the cost per virtual machine is high.
 

Setup Cost

HPE Zerto Software offers cost-effective pricing for enterprises, based on VM count, with flexible licensing and low setup costs.
VMware Live Recovery can be costly, especially for smaller enterprises, compared to alternatives like Veeam or Nutanix.
If you want a good-quality tool that is robust and does a good job for you, you have to pay a higher price to get that, and Zerto is no different.
However, it can become quite expensive when you start looking at the number of workloads you have in the environment and what you would like to do.
Zerto is easier to set up and use, and it's less expensive.
Previously, when acquiring a license for Ethiopian drug supply chains, the price was significantly high, especially after Broadcom joined VMware.
For cloud-based solutions, the cost seems quite pricey, so we stick to on-premises deployment.
 

Valuable Features

Zerto offers real-time replication, user-friendly management, and compatibility with AWS and Azure for effective disaster recovery and data management.
VMware Live Recovery offers automated disaster recovery with seamless integration, minimizing downtime and enhancing business continuity across industries.
Zerto offers excellent technical support with responsive and helpful experts.
If we were attacked, I could revert to a backup from five seconds before the attack, and no one would know we were attacked.
The replication time and the minor amount of time it takes to sync a new server outside of any of my huge 40-terabyte boxes is ridiculously quick.
It is used for data replication between data centers and allows for quick response in times of failure, ensuring data availability.
The capability and the functionality of the features are very helpful for us.
The solution offers a rich set of features, well adapted in the market.
 

Categories and Ranking

HPE Zerto Software
Ranking in Disaster Recovery (DR) Software
2nd
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
309
Ranking in other categories
Backup and Recovery (2nd), Cloud Migration (2nd), Cloud Backup (3rd)
VMware Live Recovery
Ranking in Disaster Recovery (DR) Software
4th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
80
Ranking in other categories
Disaster Recovery as a Service (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Disaster Recovery (DR) Software category, the mindshare of HPE Zerto Software is 10.2%, down from 12.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware Live Recovery is 8.1%, down from 11.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Disaster Recovery (DR) Software
 

Featured Reviews

Sachin Vinay - PeerSpot reviewer
Leverage disaster recovery with reliable support and cost-effective future-proof features
Zerto is straightforward to implement because it only requires the installation of an agent on the VMs designated for migration. A service, typically a VM, must also be deployed at the disaster recovery location. This entire process is simple and can be completed within three days. Zerto's near-synchronous replication occurs every minute, allowing for highly granular recovery points. This means that even if interruptions or malware disruptions occur within that minute, Zerto can restore to the last known good state, effectively recovering the entire setup to the latest backup. This capability ensures high data security and minimizes potential data loss. One of the main benefits of implementing Zerto is its data compression, which significantly reduces the load on our IPsec VPN. Zerto compresses data by 80 percent before transmitting it across the VPN, minimizing the data transferred between geographically dispersed locations. This compression and subsequent decompression at the destination alleviate the strain on the VPN, preventing overload and ensuring efficient data synchronization. Zerto simplifies malware protection by integrating it into its disaster recovery and synchronization features. This comprehensive approach eliminates the need for separate antivirus setups in virtual machines and applications. It streamlines our security measures and removes the need for additional software or solutions, resulting in an excellent return on investment. Zerto's single-click recovery solution offers exceptional recovery speed. Through the user interface, a single click allows for a complete restoration from the most recent backup within two to three minutes, enabling rapid recovery and minimal downtime. Zerto's Recovery Time Objective is excellent. In the past, if a virtual machine crashed, we would recover it from a snapshot, which could take one to two hours. With Zerto, the recovery process takes only five minutes, and users are typically unaware of any disruption. This allows us to restore everything quickly and efficiently. Zerto has significantly reduced our downtime. When malware affects our data, Zerto immediately notifies us and helps us protect other applications, even those not yet implemented with Zerto. By monitoring these applications, we can quickly identify and address any potential malware spread, minimizing downtime across our systems. Zerto significantly reduces downtime and associated costs during disruptions. Our services are unified, so in the event of a disruption without Zerto, even a half-day disruption would necessitate offline procedures. This would lead to increased manpower, service delays, and substantial financial losses due to interrupted admissions and other critical processes. By unifying service processes, Zerto minimizes the impact of outages. Zerto streamlines our disaster recovery testing across multiple locations by enabling efficient failover testing without disrupting live services. Traditionally, DR testing required downtime of critical systems, but Zerto's replication and failover capabilities allow us to test in parallel with live operations. This non-disruptive approach ensures continuous service availability while validating our DR plan, even in scenarios like malware attacks, by creating a separate testing environment that mirrors the live setup. This comprehensive testing provides confidence in our ability to handle real-world incidents effectively. This saves us over 60 percent of the time. Zerto streamlines system administration tasks by automating many processes, thereby reducing the workload for multiple administrators. This allows them to focus on other university services that require attention and effectively reallocate support resources from automated tasks to those requiring more dedicated management. Zerto is used exclusively for our critical services, providing up to a 70 percent improvement in our IT resilience.
Yosevan Sinaga Sinaga - PeerSpot reviewer
The capability and the functionality of the features are very helpful for us
We use VMware Live Recovery for creating new hosts and new servers. We synchronize all of our software from our data center to our co-location in real time, so when a disaster happens, we switch to the co-location The functionality of the features is helpful for us. We find the resource…
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Comparison Review

it_user159711 - PeerSpot reviewer
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…
 

Answers from the Community

AD
Jan 2, 2025
Jan 2, 2025
Zerto = VM near-synchronous replication (RPO in seconds), Multi-site and Multi-Cloud, Migration-only licensing available, Options for Backup-like long-term retention of VM snapshots, Application-centric DR workflows, Super easy to set up and run DR workflows, RTOs usually = mins, Built-in real-time ransomware detection, Options for HPE integrated Cyber Recovery Vault SRM = Asynchronous VM rep...
See 2 answers
Msc Schober - PeerSpot reviewer
May 22, 2023
Hi Abhishek, That's a great question. In Europe/Austria most of the companies run Veeam - so do we. There a lot of advantages if you use Veeam as it's designed. Also, Zerto (more for Data migration) we use - but not for Backup. VM SRM is good for 1:n replication if you already use VMWare. There is a good comparison: https://community.veeam.com/vu... It's on the website from Veeam but still good. Cheers,  Martin
JH
Jan 2, 2025
Zerto = VM near-synchronous replication (RPO in seconds), Multi-site and Multi-Cloud, Migration-only licensing available, Options for Backup-like long-term retention of VM snapshots, Application-centric DR workflows, Super easy to set up and run DR workflows, RTOs usually = mins, Built-in real-time ransomware detection, Options for HPE integrated Cyber Recovery Vault SRM = Asynchronous VM replication, relies on Storage platform snapshots and replication, RPOs will vary depending on storage platform. RTOs usually = hours depending on the size and complexity of the environment, VMware to VMware only, Comprehensive DR workflows for recovery, complicated to setup and run. Veeam = Many options for VM and VM data protection. Options for VM replication or VM backup with backup replication for DR. Can support Multi-Site and Multi-Cloud, Extensive backup and archive options for long-term retention, Ransomware detection by scanning backups, RPO – hours or days depending on backup and replication scheduled. Simple setup, DR recovery workflows are more manual than Zerto or SRM unless you leverage a 33rd party automation solution, RTOs usually = hours or days depending on dataset sizes and environment complexity.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
23%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Healthcare Company
8%
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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...
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...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zerto?
I ballpark Zerto's pricing at about $1,000 per VM, which I find fair for what it does, but the cost of entry was tough initially due to the minimum number needed to start. I really needed to prove ...
What do you like most about VMware Cloud Disaster Recovery?
Setting up VMs can be done quickly. It is easy to use.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VMware Cloud Disaster Recovery?
We use a three-year license, and the cost for VMware Live Recovery can be high. Previously, when acquiring a license for Ethiopian drug supply chains, the price was significantly high, especially a...
What needs improvement with VMware Cloud Disaster Recovery?
The licensing area needs improvement as the cost per virtual machine is high. If they offered discounts or minimized their prices, it would be more beneficial.
 

Also Known As

Zerto Virtual Replication
VMware Cloud Disaster Recovery, Datrium DRaaS , VMware SRM
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

United Airlines, HCA, XPO Logistics, TaxSlayer, McKesson, Insight Global, American Airlines, Tencate, Aaron’s, Grey’s County, Kingston Technologies
Certainty Home Loans, VPay, ZEON
Find out what your peers are saying about HPE Zerto Software vs. VMware Live Recovery and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
856,807 professionals have used our research since 2012.