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NetApp SnapMirror vs NetApp Snapshot comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 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

NetApp SnapMirror
Ranking in Data Replication
1st
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
5.5
Number of Reviews
27
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
NetApp Snapshot
Ranking in Data Replication
2nd
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
26
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Data Replication category, the mindshare of NetApp SnapMirror is 7.2%, down from 17.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NetApp Snapshot is 5.3%, down from 21.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Replication Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
NetApp SnapMirror7.2%
NetApp Snapshot5.3%
Other87.5%
Data Replication
 

Featured Reviews

GP
Storage IT Specialist at a tech vendor with 201-500 employees
Achieves seamless business continuity with robust scalability
The features of NetApp SnapMirror that I have found most valuable include the possibility to stop synchronization in case of high network latency and to limit the bandwidth throttle. This means limiting bandwidth when less connectivity occurs or opening wide the throttling to use the full speed of network connectivity, which we can adjust according to our needs or the needs of our customers. All of this is done without limiting business continuity, so business continuity is always guaranteed. NetApp SnapMirror's data replication feature supports disaster recovery strategies, as it is incorporated into the business continuity feature. SnapMirror is strictly related to snapshot features, a core part of ONTAP, so it's very flexible. It allows us to start with just two snapshots as a simple backup and then use them as a replication point or base for both backup and business continuity. There is no right or wrong answer, it just depends on how it works for specific needs.
Tanveer Rahman - PeerSpot reviewer
Chief Technical Office at a comms service provider with 201-500 employees
Snapshots have enabled us to restore critical data quickly and confidently after unexpected changes
The functions or features I have found most valuable in NetApp Snapshot are that it is easy to do and takes very little time. The main benefits that NetApp Snapshot provides for me are that if anything goes wrong, we can go back and restore something. It gives you peace of mind, which saves money, effort, and everything else. I use NetApp's WAFL architecture as it is their way of doing things, how to save the files and everything else. It is built-in. You cannot avoid WAFL when you use NetApp. Regarding the integration of NetApp Snapshot with applications and workloads, we have NetApp Snapshot integrated with our OpenStack platform.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"With SnapMirror, the solution is the feature itself that is most valuable. It just replicates the data. It's very difficult to speak about, in the sense that it's similar to the features of a wheel. It is round and it's a part of an automobile."
"The tool seamlessly moves data over the network without putting pressure on the network."
"My understanding is that the technical support is good, but we don't need much support because it's working fine."
"It's a stable solution; it just works."
"NetApp SnapMirror's compatibility with NetApp products has helped my storage management efforts immensely, as it is part of ONTAP and all architectures based on ONTAP, including ONTAP 8 and 9."
"There are a lot of features that are excellent; the data compression during the transfer is good, the replication is great, the durability of the solution and the speed of the data moving from one site to another is impressive."
"NetApp SnapMirror has positively impacted my organization because it is a very helpful feature for any organization that needs to create a DR site for disaster recovery."
"The most valuable feature is the snap shot."
"The most important feature to us is creating live snapshots without impacting user access to the file. NetApp's processes are transparent to users and allow us to create point-in-time snapshots, enabling us to replicate that data into the cloud in real time without any impact."
"This is a very mature product that does exactly what it needs to in taking temporary pictures of data states."
"The most valuable feature of NetApp Snapshot is its ease of management."
"The most valuable feature of NetApp Snapshot is its ability to complete a sixty-terabyte database snapshot in less than three minutes."
"The solution is very stable."
"NetApp is extremely stable, no doubt about that."
"It doesn't occupy a lot of space and is very easy to use once you schedule the snapshots."
"The main benefits that NetApp Snapshot provides for me are that if anything goes wrong, we can go back and restore something; it gives you peace of mind, which saves money, effort, and everything else."
 

Cons

"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 must be able to integrate Flash Pool with SnapMirror."
"The new coursework models need to be improved. The bandwidth monitoring could also be better."
"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."
"The GUI can be improved to perform complex tasks"
"In the next release, I would like to get an active IP number solution."
"I think that NetApp needs to improve the performance of SnapMirror with controller volume access."
"You need too many separate licenses for the features. Sometimes our customers choose other replication services because of the initial cost of the licenses."
"There should be an alarm or notification in the NetApp management console if you're frequently deleting data or using a volume for backups."
"The initial setup process of NetApp Snapshot is not easy and needs improvement."
"The solution needs to ensure it has higher availability or business continuity."
"NetApp Snapshot usually takes a lot of space on the volume, requiring manual removal. It should be more automated."
"In my opinion, what NetApp can do to make NetApp Snapshot better is lower the cost."
"Sometimes I wait for maybe three minutes for something to come back so that I can get a proper listing and find what I need."
"I think the automation needs some improvement. It is not very user-friendly and could therefore be adapted a little."
"Rather than the product itself, the one thing that could possibly be improved is that NetApp global support is not very efficient."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing could be improved."
"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."
"The cost is low compared to different vendors."
"It's a highly cost-effective solution"
"It's part of the NetApp Firewall, so it's free."
"The solution has monthly and yearly licensing options."
"The product price is reasonable."
"The pricing can be improved."
"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 NetApp Snapshot depends on the use case. They charge by how much data you need, the capability, and for snap licenses."
"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."
"The price of this solution is fair."
"If there is a way to save more on the number of snapshots, it should be included in the next release."
"Snapshot is free and comes with the NetApp storage software. It's purely free of cost."
"It's not too expensive."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Construction Company
10%
Performing Arts
6%
Manufacturing Company
15%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise10
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise10
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with NetApp SnapMirror?
Some areas of NetApp SnapMirror that could be improved or enhanced include synchronous SnapMirror, which needs improvement as it suffers significantly from network latency. In particular, synchrono...
What is your primary use case for NetApp SnapMirror?
I can elaborate on how I am using NetApp SnapMirror for server migration for one of my clients. We create a cluster, establish intercluster connectivity for the server migration, and then create cl...
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...
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...
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...
 

Also Known As

SnapMirror
No data available
 

Overview

 

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
Find out what your peers are saying about NetApp SnapMirror vs. NetApp Snapshot and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
896,563 professionals have used our research since 2012.