N-able Cove Data Protection vs Unitrends comparison

N-able Cove Data Protection

Read 34 Unitrends reviews

857 Views
601 Comparison Views

84% willing to recommend

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 11, 2024

Unitrends and N-able Cove Data Protection are both robust data protection solutions. Users exhibit greater satisfaction with Unitrends' features and customer support, whereas N-able Cove Data Protection is praised for its comprehensive data protection capabilities and ease in deployment.

Features: Unitrends offers automated recovery testing, efficient backup processes, and strong customer support. N-able Cove Data Protection offers advanced threat detection, continuous data protection, and proactive threat management.

Room for Improvement: Unitrends could benefit from a more intuitive configuration process, enhanced performance analytics, and improved performance insights. N-able Cove Data Protection users desire quicker support response times, better reporting tools, and enhancements in customer service efficiency.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Unitrends has straightforward deployment with occasional complexities requiring thorough customer support. N-able Cove Data Protection boasts a seamless installation process but garners mixed reviews on customer service efficiency.

Pricing and ROI: Unitrends users mention reasonable setup costs and notable ROI over time. Feedback about N-able Cove Data Protection highlights its competitive pricing and quicker returns on investment.

To learn more, read our detailed N-able Cove Data Protection vs. Unitrends Report (Updated: April 2025).

N-able Cove Data Protection vs. Unitrends

Download the complete report

Helped 850,349 peers since 2012

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

N-able Cove Data Protection

Ranking in Backup and Recovery

29th

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Cloud Backup (16th), SaaS Backup (8th), MSP Backup (2nd)

Unitrends

Ranking in Backup and Recovery

37th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of N-able Cove Data Protection is 1.3%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Unitrends is 0.4%, down from 0.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Backup and Recovery

Featured Reviews

Jack Henson

Owner at Henson Business Products

Allows us to back up workstations and servers, and saved us time when checking endpoints and the viability of backups

I have some issues with the agent failing on workstations. I've had to completely uninstall several of them, delete everything, and start over to get them to work. That's been the biggest source of my problems recently. The problem is that when we delete one, we lose the backup. Consequently, it means we're without a backup unless we have a local copy. When we delete the agent, there's the problem of how to go back and restore it. I haven't had to deal with it yet, because I haven't had a failure that occurred while I was doing that. I had a workstation that started failing, and we couldn't get the services to run. I don't know what caused it. I had to reinstall the agent, which didn't work. I had to go into the machine and delete everything and load another agent onto it. Once I did that, I was able to make it work, but 90% of the time I never have an issue. During the other 10% of the time when I have a problem, it's a mess. The ability to recover to a different workstation or a different data point is a little bit clumsy. It could use some work.

Read full review

Todd Guthrie

Director Of Information Technology at Creation Technologies

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.

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

"The most valuable feature is that it's hands-off. I log in every morning and there are pre-canned filters that I've created to make my life easier. I have something called server status color bars, and that gives me all the servers and, in a nutshell, I can see: if any errors are being reported; when the last backup was; if one is not working, should there be one, and it literally jumps off the page."

"The ability to back up, restore, and do different types of testing for the preventative maintenance has really increased our importance to these clients because they see the value in how fast we can get them back up and running. We're saving them money in that way."

"The monitoring makes it very easy to check whether a backup has gone bad."

"The ease of use and the console are great."

"We use a neat feature called VDR status, Virtual Disaster Recovery status. It only works on servers... It's automated. Once or twice a month it will virtually mount the backup and provide a screenshot and advise whether or not there have been any errors."

"For starters, this is one of few databases that allow us to backup MySQL databases, most others only support Microsoft SQL. This solution also has a very user-friendly interface accessed through a web browser. Additionally, backups can be easily configured through N-able Backup."

"N-able Cove Data Protection is user-friendly and straightforward, and the dashboard is clear."

"The most valuable feature by far is the Virtual Disaster Recovery. On top of that is the bare-metal recovery. The recovery options that we have are great. We have tested the Virtual Disaster Recovery and the bare-metal recovery in just about any scenario you can think of. We have even restored bare metal, a full server, to a laptop, and had full functionality. It's just insane how well it works and how simple it is. It does most of the work for you."

More N-able Cove Data Protection pros

"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."

"The predictive analytics are great and the reporting is awesome."

"It is a quick and easy way to organize my backups and to keep track of them."

"The simple and fast restore routine."

"Iinstant recovery (allows a spin-up of your image as a VM on the appliance)."

"I am impressed with the tool's reporting and UniView features."

"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."

"It is an easy system to use. The support, if needed, is always willing to help."

More Unitrends pros

Cons

"The one thing they don't are Linux servers, it's Windows only. I understand that directive. I have another product that I use for our Linux servers and stuff, but it would be nice if they had that flexibility on the Linux side. I understand the development and the world is geared towards Windows in 365, I know that's where the clienteles are and the business and the money is."

"We don't use the solution’s automated recovery testing because SolarWinds made me cross. When they released it, I went, "Oh, well, that's quite good." Because if you use the system, then it supposedly spins up, and on the portal, it gives you a screenshot of the booted device. So, I phoned up, and I said, "Oh, that's really quite cool. How much is that?" They said, "No, no, no. It's all included in your license." I went, "Okay then," and went and deployed it on about half the fleet. One of the options that our customers have is they can pay us a small amount every month for us to test the recovery just to prove that it's viable, and I thought, "Well, this will do that for us. Nice." Then, in the next invoice, we got a charge for it. While It was not a huge amount, I took offense at the fact that we were told that it would be a no extra cost option that was part of our license, but it turns out that it's chargeable. Therefore, we haven't used it since."

"The reporting feature and functionality need improvement. We would like to see a little bit more detailed reporting that offers more CEO or C-level focused reporting options."

"N-able Cove Data Protection does not provide a lot of SaaS backup products, which is an area they can improve. Additionally, there are some limitations on the storage side, where I cannot have a lot of employees backing up their data."

"One area I don't like has to do with the agent that goes on the system... if a system stays offline for some length of time, say for a week or so, I may have to go back in and reinstall the agent to get it back in business. I don't know what's causing that."

"N-able Cove Data Protection for Microsoft 365 is an area with shortcomings that need improvement."

"I have some issues with the agent failing on workstations. I've had to completely uninstall several of them, delete everything, and start over to get them to work."

"Having the licensing available for partners to be able to take advantage of testing without paying would make a big difference."

More N-able Cove Data Protection cons

"Making the seeding process more accessible and easier to understand. Also, make more of the undocumented best practices easier to find."

"The ability to run just differentials without pulling the full on your archive."

"Follow up for the DRaaS service setup. I'm still waiting to schedule a DRaaS test after upgrading several months ago."

"Techs don't see to be well-versed in troubleshooting issues that arise and tickets stay opened for weeks for resolution."

"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."

"The amount of updates which are being released. Updates should be limited to two or three a year, focusing more on quality instead of a rushed bug release."

"Network-based storage stability could be improved."

More Unitrends cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is very competitive and it's well worth the price."

"I believe that the price is very reasonable in comparison to other options. It is cheaper than both Redstor and Acronis and, since we are now using our own on-premise cloud, there is absolutely no comparison since we have unlimited storage rather than paying per gigabyte used for their onsite storage. We are currently able to backup fifty computers for the same price that we use to backup five computers."

"N-able Cove Data Protection is an averagely-priced product."

"The only option I would like to see is an adjustable scale. Right now we have 250 seats and we're not using all of them. It would be nice to be able to save that little bit of money by being able to buy just what we need."

"When you have a device/appliance on the site quite a lot of the other enterprise class backup people insist that you have their appliance, which is frankly offensively expensive. Because when you pry the top off, it's just a standard 19-inch tin box with a standard Intel I5 in it, some RAM, and a hard drive. Then, you go, "Why have they just charged me 5,500 quid for a box, which I could have probably build for under 500." Whereas, with the SolarWinds product, they don't have that. The backup appliances that we have onsite are just plain cooking PCs. We can build our own machines, which is reflected in the price that we can offer a customer."

"The pricing, for now, is good. The package that they gave us recently is pretty good. It depends on how many clients you have, and you pay for certain terabytes per license. These terabytes, if not used, are pooled together."

"There is no per node cost, at least not the way I am doing it. I am on bulk. New customers can be set up on a trial, where they can get things all squared away, then they can switch over to being a billed customer."

"The pricing of SolarWinds seems to be fair compared to the rest of the industry."

More N-able Cove Data Protection pricing and cost advice

"Talk with the sales guys. They can work with you on the best package."

"Based on a scale of one to ten, with one being low and ten being high, I would rate the pricing of this solution as a three. Also, there are no additional costs involved in the standard licensing of the solution."

"You should be aware how much the monthly costs are to use, what the initial costs for hardware are, and what the options to expand are, if needed."

"Unitrends is an expensive solution."

"No comment."

"I would rate the solution's pricing a four out of ten. The licensing is yearly and it depends on the customers."

"When you purchase initially, get into the program which gives replacement hardware for free when you renew your support agreement."

"With respect to cost, my advice is to get what you need."

More Unitrends pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Backup and Recovery solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

850,349 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

21%

Manufacturing Company

Real Estate/Law Firm

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

13%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Educational Organization

Retailer

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about N-able Backup?

The initial setup of N-able Cove Data Protection was very easy.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for N-able Backup?

In terms of pricing, N-able Cove Data Protection is neither cheap nor expensive compared to other competitors.

What needs improvement with N-able Backup?

N-able Cove Data Protection does not provide a lot of SaaS backup products, which is an area they can improve. Additionally, there are some limitations on the storage side, where I cannot have a lo...

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...

Veeam Data Platform vs N-able Cove Data Protection

Comparisons

Compared 15% of the time

Acronis Cyber Protect vs N-able Cove Data Protection

Compared 11% of the time

Veeam Data Cloud for Microsoft 365 vs N-able Cove Data Protection

Compared 6% of the time

Rubrik vs N-able Cove Data Protection

Compared 5% of the time

Azure Backup vs N-able Cove Data Protection

Compared 5% of the time

More N-able Cove Data Protection Competitors

Veeam Data Platform vs Unitrends

Compared 61% of the time

Rubrik vs Unitrends

Compared 16% of the time

Acronis Cyber Protect vs Unitrends

Compared 13% of the time

Commvault Cloud vs Unitrends

Compared 10% of the time

More Unitrends Competitors

Product Reports

N-able Cove Data Protection

Download N-able Cove Data Protection product report

Download Unitrends product report

Also Known As

N-able Backup, SolarWinds Backup, SolarWinds MSP Backup & Recovery, SolarWinds MSP Backup

No data available

Overview

Cove Data Protection, from N-able, is a comprehensive solution designed to safeguard critical business data. It offers a range of features including backup and recovery, disaster recovery, and endpoint protection. With automated backups and flexible scheduling options, it ensures data is protected and easily recoverable.

The solution also includes advanced security measures such as encryption and ransomware detection to prevent unauthorized access and data breaches. Cove Data Protection provides seamless integration with various platforms and offers centralized management for efficient monitoring and control.

With its user-friendly interface and robust capabilities, Cove Data Protection is an ideal choice for businesses seeking reliable data protection.

N-able

Organizations rely on Unitrends to back up and protect both physical and virtual servers with compatibility for legacy systems and an appliance model.

Unitrends supports Microsoft Hyper-V clusters, VMware ESXi clusters, SQL databases, and Exchange DAGs. Valuable for K-12 schools for continuous monitoring via a graphical interface, it also offers real-time synchronization, file restoration, report generation, email status updates, redundancy, and ransomware protection. Features include effective technical support, instant recovery, detailed reporting, real-time synchronization, global deduplication, cross-compatibility for OS backups, and frequent updates. Easy to install for Hyper-V appliances, the platform benefits users with its dashboard insights, saving time and ensuring reliability. While improvements are needed in high availability features, customer engagement, cloud capabilities, storage options, and the free version, the UI, configuration complexity, pricing, and support costs also demand attention. Users find scaling challenging and desire better feature parity with competitors, clearer recovery information, improved scripting, and flexible retention settings based on repository.

What are the most important features?

Effective technical support
Instant recovery
Detailed daily and email reporting
User-friendly interface
Real-time synchronization
Global deduplication
Cross-compatibility for diverse OS backups
Frequent updates
Ease of installation for Hyper-V appliances
Automated feedback
UniView features
Instant power-on
Cost-effective pricing
Time-saving dashboard insights

What benefits or ROI should users look for?

Time-saving features
Efficient data synchronization
Enhanced data recovery and protection
Accurate reporting and insights
Cost-effective and reliable solution

K-12 schools use Unitrends for continuous monitoring and verification via a graphical interface. Its real-time synchronization, file restoration, and report generation features support educational institutions' needs, ensuring data protection and operational efficiency.

Sample Customers

Computer Depot, Leading Edge Computers, IT Logic Australia

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

N-able Cove Data Protection vs. Unitrends