Acronis vs Veeam: which backup software is right for your business?
Acronis and Veeam are two of the most widely used backup platforms. Both are excellent at backup and recovery – but they take very different approaches. Here’s an honest side-by-side comparison to help you choose.
Backup + cybersecurity + management in one agent
Acronis integrates image and file backup with AI-based anti-malware, anti-ransomware, vulnerability assessment, patch management and remote management. One agent and one console protect physical machines, virtual machines, Microsoft 365, Google Workspace and mobile devices.
About Acronis Cyber Protect →Specialist backup and recovery for data centres
Veeam Backup & Replication is a backup-focused platform with deep support for VMware, Hyper-V and other hypervisors, plus agents for physical servers and endpoints. Monitoring, recovery orchestration and Microsoft 365 backup are delivered through additional Veeam products and editions.
Acronis vs Veeam: feature comparison
| Feature | Acronis Cyber Protect | Veeam Data Platform |
|---|---|---|
| Approach | Single platform: backup, endpoint security and management from one agent and console | Backup-first platform; security, monitoring and orchestration via additional components and editions |
| Image & file backup | Yes – full image, disk, volume and file-level | Yes – VM image, agent-based image and file-level |
| Virtual machines | VMware, Hyper-V, Nutanix, Proxmox, Citrix, Red Hat, Scale Computing, Virtuozzo, Azure VMs – agent or agentless, with cross-platform restore (e.g. VMware to Nutanix). More | Very strong – VMware, Hyper-V, Nutanix AHV, Proxmox, oVirt and major public clouds; a long-standing Veeam strength |
| Physical servers & PCs | Windows, Linux, macOS | Windows, Linux, macOS and Unix via Veeam Agents |
| Mobile devices | iOS and Android backup | Not supported |
| Microsoft 365 | Exchange Online, OneDrive, SharePoint and Teams from the same console | Mature coverage via Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 or Veeam Data Cloud – a separate product |
| Google Workspace | Yes | Not in core Backup & Replication |
| Anti-malware / anti-ransomware on endpoints | Built in – AI and behaviour-based protection, with automatic rollback of encrypted files | Not included – requires separate endpoint security software |
| Malware detection in backups | Malware scanning of backups and safe recovery to a clean restore point | Inline and post-backup malware detection, YARA scanning and Secure Restore |
| Patch & vulnerability management | Built in, with fail-safe patching (backup taken before patching) | Not included |
| Immutable backups | Yes – Acronis Cloud and supported storage | Yes – hardened Linux repository and S3 Object Lock storage |
| Disaster recovery | Acronis Cyber Disaster Recovery: failover to Acronis Cloud with runbooks and test failover | Replication and CDP; orchestrated DR via Veeam Recovery Orchestrator (Premium edition) |
| Backup verification | Checksum validation and automated boot (screenshot/heartbeat) checks | SureBackup automated recovery verification |
| Cloud storage | Acronis-hosted cloud, public cloud and S3-compatible storage | Your choice of object storage and cloud providers, plus Veeam Data Cloud Vault |
| Licensing | Subscription per workload (Standard, Advanced, Backup Advanced editions) | Veeam Universal License per workload (Foundation, Advanced, Premium editions) |
| Free option | 30-day trial | Community Edition for small environments, plus trial |
Summarised from Acronis and Veeam published information, October 2026. Both vendors update their products regularly – ask us for the latest detail on any feature.
Acronis or Veeam: how to decide
Choose Acronis if you…
- Want backup and endpoint security from one vendor, one agent and one console
- Need to protect a mix of servers, PCs, Macs, mobiles and Microsoft 365
- Have a small IT team and want fewer tools to manage
- Want patch management with an automatic backup before every patch
- Need Google Workspace or mobile device backup
Veeam may suit you if you…
- Run a large, mainly virtualised data centre
- Already have a separate endpoint security product you’re happy with
- Have a dedicated infrastructure team comfortable with multiple components
- Need deep integration with enterprise storage arrays
Moving from Veeam to Acronis
Switching doesn’t mean losing your backup history. A typical migration runs both platforms in parallel until Acronis covers your retention period.
- Review current Veeam jobs, retention and storage
- Map workloads to the right Acronis Cyber Protect edition
- Deploy Acronis agents and create matching backup plans
- Keep Veeam restore points available until they expire
- Retire the old jobs and storage when you’re ready
Comparing Acronis and Veeam?
Tell us about your environment and current backup setup – we'll give you an honest recommendation and a clear Acronis quote.
Acronis vs Veeam FAQs
What is the main difference between Acronis and Veeam?
Acronis Cyber Protect combines backup with endpoint security (anti-malware, anti-ransomware, patch management) and remote management in a single agent. Veeam focuses on backup, recovery and data resilience – especially for virtualised infrastructure – and relies on separate tools for endpoint security and patching.
Is Acronis or Veeam better for small businesses?
Many small and mid-sized businesses find Acronis simpler because one agent and one console cover servers, PCs, Macs, mobile devices and Microsoft 365, alongside endpoint protection. Organisations running large virtualised estates with a dedicated infrastructure team often favour Veeam.
Can Acronis and Veeam both back up Microsoft 365?
Yes. Acronis protects Microsoft 365 from the same console as your other workloads. Veeam protects Microsoft 365 through Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 (or its Veeam Data Cloud SaaS service), which is a separate product from Veeam Backup & Replication.
Do Acronis and Veeam support immutable backups?
Both do. Acronis offers immutable storage in Acronis Cloud and on supported storage. Veeam offers immutability through hardened Linux repositories and S3 Object Lock-compatible object storage.
Can I switch from Veeam to Acronis?
Yes. Most organisations run the two side by side until the Acronis backup history covers their retention requirements, then retire the old jobs. We can help plan the migration and licensing.