NetApp SnapMirror vs NetApp Snapshot comparison

NetApp SnapMirror and NetApp Snapshot are both solutions in the Data Replication category. NetApp SnapMirror is ranked #1 with an average rating of 9.1, while NetApp Snapshot is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.9. NetApp SnapMirror holds a 17.3% mindshare in DR, compared to NetApp Snapshot’s 21.4% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of NetApp SnapMirror users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of NetApp Snapshot users who would recommend it.

NetApp SnapMirror

Read 25 NetApp SnapMirror reviews

1,965 Views
919 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

NetApp Snapshot

Read 24 NetApp Snapshot reviews

1,606 Views
1,054 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

NetApp SnapMirror

NetApp Snapshot

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 20, 2025

NetApp SnapMirror and NetApp Snapshot compete in the data replication and recovery category. NetApp SnapMirror has the upper hand due to its robust replication capabilities and platform integration.

Features: NetApp SnapMirror offers powerful data replication, quick disaster recovery, and strong platform integration with Oracle, SQL, VMware, and Hyper-V. SnapMirror maintains data integrity across sites, enhancing reliability. NetApp Snapshot provides efficient snapshot and clone functionalities, crucial for data recovery and backup tasks. It integrates well with application-aware backups and accelerates recovery processes.

Room for Improvement: SnapMirror could benefit from enhanced controller performance, improved replication support with non-NetApp systems, and simpler licensing. Users face challenges with network efficiency and seek better global support. NetApp Snapshot users desire improved compression, better notification systems for snapshot completions, and more extensive integration with third-party databases and cloud features, along with pricing improvements.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Both NetApp SnapMirror and Snapshot are praised for customer service and technical support. SnapMirror is deployed in varied environments, mainly on-premises and hybrid cloud. It has positive feedback on responsiveness and problem resolution. Snapshot deployment spans on-premises, public, and hybrid clouds, indicating adaptability. Customer feedback highlights excellent support, though regional support variations are noted for both products.

Pricing and ROI: SnapMirror is considered expensive by some, but offers comprehensive value with reasonable licensing flexibility. Reviews highlight its cost-effectiveness in enhancing service availability through unified storage solutions. In contrast, NetApp Snapshot is praised for its free basic functionality with NetApp storage, though enterprise features add costs. Some users find these prices steep compared to other markets, yet it delivers significant ROI through improved data management.

To learn more, read our detailed NetApp SnapMirror vs. NetApp Snapshot Report (Updated: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

NetApp SnapMirror vs. NetApp Snapshot

June 2025

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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

NetApp SnapMirror

Ranking in Data Replication

1st

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

NetApp Snapshot

Ranking in Data Replication

2nd

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Data Replication category, the mindshare of NetApp SnapMirror is 17.3%, down from 21.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NetApp Snapshot is 21.4%, down from 23.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Data Replication

Featured Reviews

Christopher Cagayan

IT Server and Storage Engineer at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees

Protects our data during any emergency or disaster

If they can make the application free like other vendors or include it in all the packages, it would be great. Once we bought a license for NetApp AFF A250, but the company didn’t include SnapMirror, which lead to issues while transferring data. We had to reach out to the vendor again which lead to logistical issues. It was quite frustrating as we had already incorporated the product cost into the budget, and it is quite difficult to include it again. That was a bad experience.

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AjayKumar13

Cloud/Data/Database Manager at a government with 10,001+ employees

Efficiently complete large database snapshots quickly for reliable backup

The most valuable feature of NetApp Snapshot ( /products/netapp-snapshot-reviews ) is its ability to complete a sixty-terabyte database snapshot in less than three minutes. This efficiency means we do not have to manage tape backups, which are time-consuming, and it uses less storage as snapshots are compressed. NetApp Snapshot is also easy to restore or copy to another location for disaster recovery. Overall, it has helped us meet our service level agreements due to its performance.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The performance and stability are valuable features. It seems to fulfill all the requirements."

"NetApp SnapMirror stands out for its ease of management, efficiency, and scalability, which align well with our operational needs."

"The most valuable feature is the data replication tool. There is also a lot of ability for data migration."

"The tool seamlessly moves data over the network without putting pressure on the network."

"The user interface is very easy to manage. The replication is also very easy to set up."

"Overall, the product is very good. It's an easy to use tool."

"The synchronous and real-time replication are the most vital features of NetApp SnapMirror"

"Data protection is a valuable feature."

More NetApp SnapMirror pros

"The most valuable features of the solution are the repurposing and backup features."

"It is a very scalable solution. Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."

"This is a very mature product that does exactly what it needs to in taking temporary pictures of data states."

"The initial setup was straightforward."

"The consistency of Snapshot is very significant."

"Compared to the traditional way we did backups, with Snapshot it takes us less time. It has improved my organization by saving us time."

"You never have to worry about maintaining millions of files stored across several thousands of virtual machines."

"From a functional standpoint, it's been, pretty much bulletproof. I have never gone to a snapshot and not been able to do what I needed to do."

More NetApp Snapshot pros

Cons

"At the moment, we are not using the synchronous mirror, but we can implement the synchronous mirror. The only thing is that it needs another license. This is the same issue we have with business continuity. It needs another license to be implemented. You need too many separate licenses for the features. They should add some of the aspects of the premium bundle into the basic bundle. Sometimes our customers choose other replication services because of the initial cost of the licenses."

"We have to do manual verifications about the subscriptions often."

"The GUI can be improved to perform complex tasks"

"The tool should also work on third-party solutions."

"In the next release, I would like to see Data reduction included and WAN optimization."

"In the next release, I would like to get an active IP number solution."

"It is not as efficient as it needs to be. It doesn't compress the data really well when it is forwarded to a secondary site. The download performance could be better."

"We have different families of storage, such as the E-Series and Flash systems, but NetApp cannot be set up between them."

More NetApp SnapMirror cons

"The dashboards are in need of improvement."

"The solution could include more databases and make it accessible to the DBAs. The automation process should be run in a way where it could be run from the database itself."

"The next release should include developments on the step center for purpose or bandwidth."

"The company could update their products more regularly."

"The price could be improved a little bit."

"I would like to see cloud features added to the next release of this solution."

"Although support is good, the global support is lacking depending on location."

"I would like some sort of notification that lets me know when a snapshot is done or not done."

More NetApp Snapshot cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution has monthly and yearly licensing options."

"The pricing can be improved."

"The product price is reasonable."

"The cost is low compared to different vendors."

"The pricing could be improved."

"It's a highly cost-effective solution"

"It's part of the NetApp Firewall, so it's free."

"SnapMirror is extremely expensive. We had a hard time adjusting to our budget. If rated on a scale of one to ten, with ten being the most expensive, I would definitely rate it ten out of ten."

"Snapshot is free and comes with the NetApp storage software. It's purely free of cost."

"If there is a way to save more on the number of snapshots, it should be included in the next release."

"NetApp Snapshot is expensive since you need to buy an additional premium license for it which is an extra cost over the payments made for NetApp...The license works during the entire life cycle of NetApp Snapshot."

"It's not too expensive."

"The price of the solution is reasonable but could improve. However, if you are in a country that has a poor currency then the price will be considered expensive."

"As far as their licensing costs, the licensing is paid on a yearly basis. The organization pays for the licensing based on the software and the capacity that they choose."

"The price of this solution is fair."

"The price of NetApp Snapshot depends on the use case. They charge by how much data you need, the capability, and for snap licenses."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

20%

Computer Software Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Government

Manufacturing Company

24%

Computer Software Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about NetApp SnapMirror?

The performance and stability are valuable features. It seems to fulfill all the requirements.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NetApp SnapMirror?

The product price is reasonable.

See all answers

What needs improvement with NetApp SnapMirror?

They could make continued enhancements in integration with diverse platforms for the product.

See all answers

What method of data replication does NetApp Snapshot use?

Here's a breakdown of how the data replication by NetApp Snapshot works: it's through the snapshot replication method. What does that mean? Well, in simple words, the software creates copies of dat...

See all answers

What is the storage scale of NetApp Snapshot?

Last time I checked, the NetApp Snapshot data replication software could go up to 255 snapshot copies. I'm not sure how familiar you are with similar software, but that's a pretty good number. It g...

See all answers

Will NetApp Snapshot recover data in an emergency?

Well yes, the snapshots that NetApp Snapshot creates are your backup. But then there's also their feature for advanced backup. This allows you to copy backups to offline locations and also make arc...

See all answers

Comparisons

Hitachi TrueCopy vs NetApp SnapMirror

Compared 9% of the time

Dell AppSync vs NetApp SnapMirror

Compared 6% of the time

Hitachi Universal Replicator vs NetApp SnapMirror

Compared 5% of the time

More NetApp SnapMirror Competitors

Hitachi Thin Image Advanced vs NetApp Snapshot

Compared 24% of the time

Dell AppSync vs NetApp Snapshot

Compared 10% of the time

DDN DataFlow vs NetApp Snapshot

Compared 4% of the time

Dell RecoverPoint vs NetApp Snapshot

Compared 3% of the time

More NetApp Snapshot Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

NetApp SnapMirror

May 2025

Download NetApp SnapMirror product report

Buyer's Guide

NetApp Snapshot

May 2025

Download NetApp Snapshot product report

Also Known As

SnapMirror

No data available

Overview

NetApp SnapMirror technology provides fast, efficient data replication and disaster recovery (DR) for your critical data. Use a single solution across all NetApp storage arrays and protocols. SnapMirror technology works with any application, in both virtual and traditional environments, and in multiple configurations, including hybrid cloud.

NetApp

NetApp Snapshot is a data replication software that works through snapshot copies, crucial for the recovery of data. These copies are used as safe points for rollback before upgrades or patches. NetApp Snapshot provides prompt data replication which is also highly space-efficient, and provides users with the full management and control of their data and its copies. Through the various solutions the Snapshot technology has introduced, companies receive enhanced stability, functionality, and performance, as well as storage efficiency.

NetApp Snapshot uses two types of snapshot technologies to handle data replication: Copy on Write (COW) and Redirect on Write (ROW). The COW technologies make a copy of the original information and then only after the replication process is completed does the system overwrite the modified data into the original blocks. In contrast, ROW redirects the snapshots to new storage blocks, updating pointers to those blocks, which always point to the original location. When NetApp Snapshot combines the two technologies, it allows customers to save storage efficiency by way of deduplication and compression.

NetApp Snapshot Features

NetApp Snapshot’s valuable features include:

Data replication stability: Every NetApp Snapshot copy is an immutable, static copy, giving organizations the opportunity to create consistent backups from their storage system while applications are running.
Performance impact: The performance of NetApp's systems that store NetApp Snapshot aren’t affected. The actions of creating or deleting a Snapshot copy also don't greatly impact the performance of the systems where they are located. NetApp’s storage can be used for data replication, backup, and archival even if a company is using another storage system.
Storage scale: Another beneficial feature of NetApp is the volume of storage, which supports 255 Snapshot copies. This provides users with the opportunity to perform frequent data replication, thus creating current versions of their data.
File recovery: The above-mentioned features allow for the creation of backup for recovery purposes. They also provide\ the opportunity to copy backups to offline storage as well as to create an archive for them.
Storage utilization: The option for utilization of storage allows NetApp Snapshot users to benefit from storage volumes similar to those of active file systems. The software works through block increment, which limits the interval of time between added blocks of Snapshot copies, thus creating more efficient storage.

NetApp Snapshot Benefits

The benefits of using NetApp Snapshot include:

Ability to create instant data replication while applications run
Up to 255 data replicas available
Various tools for full-package coverage, including SnapManager, SnapProtect, SnapMirror, SnapRestore, and SnapVault

Reviews from Real Users

Gregg N., Manager of Data Center Services at TTi Power Equipment, states that the primary use of NetApp Snapshot by his organization is as a data-protection solution in the cloud and in the data center. He points out that this data duplication software is very user-friendly, extremely stable, and scalable.

Edgar M., Sr. Data Protection Engineer at DataPivot Technologies, uses NetApp Snapshot for its monitoring or clone capabilities, and he agrees that the solution is very stable.

According to George A., CEO at BDPR Technologies Limited, the most valuable features of NetApp Snapshot are the integration with other vendors and customization.

NetApp

Sample Customers

University at Albany, City of Houston, Yahoo Japan, Washington Employment Security Department, DG Khan Cement Co. Ltd., AmTrust Financial Services, Sheridan College

Mazda

Buyer's Guide

NetApp SnapMirror vs. NetApp Snapshot

June 2025

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