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NAKIVO Backup & Replication vs Synology DSM comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 8, 2026

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

NAKIVO Backup & Replication
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
12th
Average Rating
9.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
93
Ranking in other categories
Disaster Recovery (DR) Software (9th)
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 March 2026, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of NAKIVO Backup & Replication is 1.2%, down from 1.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Synology DSM is 1.4%, down from 1.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Backup and Recovery Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
NAKIVO Backup & Replication1.2%
Synology DSM1.4%
Other97.4%
Backup and Recovery
 

Featured Reviews

EDERLEY TERRERO - PeerSpot reviewer
Business Consulting at Gestion IT
Has improved customer satisfaction through reliable replication and flexible deployment
NAKIVO Backup & Replication has positively impacted my organization and my customers because it is not expensive and easy to use. I can see all the backup and replication processes, and I can protect all my customer data. It's the best solution when compared with others. The time savings and customer satisfaction demonstrate specific positive outcomes. The customers are happy with the solution and appreciate that it is not expensive.
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

"NAKIVO is easy to use and pretty easy to set up."
"It has a much higher bang for the buck than other products we evaluated."
"The VM, restore, and file recovery capabilities are considered gold standards."
"The VM Backup Verification is one of the features I appreciate the most."
"The back-up and restore functions work great and it's easy to use."
"The cost aspect and the ease of licensing, along with simplified licensing, are most valuable."
"All in all, NAKIVO helped us save a lot of time."
"Nakivo's backup and replication product has allowed us to implement a disaster recovery solution with a target repository in the cloud."
"The product performs well. It is easy to use and implement."
"The most valuable features are the basic storage, file management, Btrfs file system, and built-in backups that come with the solution."
"The most valuable aspect is its ability to handle multiple disks."
"Synology DSM is very easy to work and operate."
"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 solution's most valuable feature stems from its ease of use, making it the tool's most interesting part."
 

Cons

"Implementing more comprehensive data deduplication and compression techniques could optimize storage utilization and reduce backup times, improving overall efficiency."
"I need no more valuable features for backs-up. I have not yet tried the latest release, however, I have all the features that I need."
"The way encryption is currently working could be improved. Currently, it's not possible to encrypt the backup to an NFS share directly. It needs to have the encryption within the Transporter/VM to enable encryption, which isn't optimal. So I'm hoping that in the near future this function will be implemented."
"Nakivo's implementation documentation could use a little beefing up."
"The only thing we have encountered that we would like to see improved in the future are error messages. They could be more detailed and helpful, without the need to send logs to support. Failing that, the part of the log related to the error could be displayed alongside the error message, so I can investigate the error without looking through all of those logs that I'm able to download."
"Automatic updates do not work, and every update has to be done manually."
"They need a better knowledge base with more information about support issues."
"In the future, I would like to see support for backing up data to more cloud platforms, besides Amazon."
"The product's only shortcoming is pricing, as it is an expensive solution."
"The only bothersome aspect is that the device is aging."
"The platform could be much more cost-effective and flexible for integrating third-party products."
"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."
"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."
"One area where Synology DSM could improve is in enhancing its ability to detect and respond to security threats during backups and replication."
"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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product is quite cheap compared to other products on the market, but despite this, it is rich in features both at the level of backup and recovery as well as at the level of additional options."
"This product is cheaper than other big rivals."
"I think the price is competitive. However, for some projects, it can be a bit much for price-sensitive small businesses."
"The price is not a problem in NAKIVO, as it is the most competitive in the market."
"Nakivo is cheaper per machine and per backup."
"The licensing currently allows for host-based licensing, which is advantageous if you have a lot of data on a few hosts."
"Nakivo has a good price-performance ratio."
"I advise that this is the best product for medium or small environments according to my cost-benefit analysis."
"The solution’s pricing is neither cheap nor expensive."
"Synology DSM is a free tool."
"The pricing varies widely, catering to a broad range of needs."
"Synology DSM is a cheap solution."
"It is quite an affordable solution."
"The price of the solution is very good."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Marketing Services Firm
7%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business81
Midsize Enterprise16
Large Enterprise9
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise1
 

Questions from the Community

How does Nakivo compare with Veeam Backup & Replication?
Nakivo is my favorite backup software. Below are the main benefits of Nakivo compared to Veeam 1. Low cost. 2. Backup storage with global deduplication (this is the main requirement of a backup sol...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Nakivo?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing is very positive. The pricing is very low, and the licensing process makes it easy to obtain any quote.
What needs improvement with Nakivo?
NAKIVO Backup & Replication has been improving lately as they have released many updates, and it seems to work excellently at this moment. There will always be emerging needs, such as AI, which...
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Also Known As

No data available
Synology DiskStation Manager (DSM)
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Coca Cola, Honda, 3M, University of Arizona, University of Maryland, University of Arkansas, Johns Hopkins University, Marriott, Radisson Hotels and Resorts, Fujifilm, Eiffage
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about NAKIVO Backup & Replication vs. Synology DSM and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
884,933 professionals have used our research since 2012.