NAKIVO vs Arq Backup
A detailed comparison to help you choose between NAKIVO and Arq Backup.
Quick Verdict
3.9/5
NAKIVO
0 reviews
4.0/5
Arq Backup
0 reviews
Arq Backup is rated higher (4.0 vs 3.9). NAKIVO is a cost-effective backup and recovery solution for VMware, Hyper-V, Nutanix, and AWS. Instant VM recovery, site-to-site replication, and direct-to-cloud backups. More affordable than Veeam. Arq Backup sends encrypted backups to your own S3, B2, Wasabi, or Google Drive. No subscription to Arq cloud — you own the destination. One-time purchase for macOS and Windows.
NAKIVO VM and cloud backup for SMBs | Arq Backup Mac and Windows backup to your own cloud | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Rating | 3.9 (0 reviews) | 4.0 (0 reviews)✓ |
| Pricing model | freemium | one-time purchase + optional subscription (Arq Premium is subscription) |
| Starting price | Free tier available✓ | From $59.99/mo |
| Best for | Small and midsize virtualized environments that want enterprise-shaped backup — immutability, replication, site recovery — at transparent published prices without a reseller negotiation. | Mac and Windows users who want a one-time-purchase backup app sending encrypted, versioned backups to their own cloud or NAS storage |
| Features | ||
| IPv6 | ||
| DDoS protection | ||
| Automated backups | ||
| Snapshots | ||
| Managed option | ||
| Bare metal | ||
| GPU available | ||
| S3-compatible | ||
| Hourly billing | ||
| Free tier | ✓ | |
| Tags | ||
| Tags | free tierteam features | encryptedself hosted |
| Visit NAKIVO → | Visit Arq Backup → | |
NAKIVO
Pros
- + Published list pricing — subscription from $1.95 per workload per month, perpetual from $229 per socket
- + Free Edition: 10 workloads plus 5 Microsoft 365 users free for one year with Pro-level features
- + Wide platform coverage including Proxmox VE, Nutanix AHV, EC2, physical machines, NAS, and Microsoft 365
- + Immutable storage and encryption in the core editions, not a top-tier add-on
- + Data stays in storage you control; NAKIVO itself holds no customer data
Cons
- - Free Edition expires after one year and limits backup targets to local folders or CIFS/NFS shares
- - Dense license matrix: replication, monitoring, M365, NAS, and Oracle priced as separate lines
- - Essentials editions cap at 6 sockets or 50 workloads per organization
- - Perpetual licenses include only one year of business-hours support; renewals add ongoing cost
- - Self-managed: you run the backup server, monitor jobs, and own the recovery process
Arq Backup
Pros
- + One-time $59.99 per-computer license with an optional, genuinely optional updates subscription
- + Backs up to storage you own — S3, B2, Wasabi, Google Drive, SFTP, NAS and other S3-compatible targets
- + End-to-end encryption with keys that never leave your machine
- + Open, documented backup format — restores do not depend on the vendor existing
Cons
- - macOS and Windows desktops only — no Linux or server agent
- - Destination storage, request and egress costs are separate and ongoing
- - File backup only: no disk imaging or bare-metal recovery
- - Small-company support with no published SLA
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