AWS Snowball vs HPE Zerto Software comparison

Why PeerSpot?

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Hewlett Packard Enterprise are both solutions in the Cloud Migration category. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is ranked #15 with an average rating of 7.7, while Hewlett Packard Enterprise is ranked #1 with an average rating of 9.1. Amazon Web Services (AWS) holds a 2.3% mindshare in CM, compared to Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s 4.8% mindshare. Additionally, 90% of Amazon Web Services (AWS) users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 98% of Hewlett Packard Enterprise users who would recommend it.

AWS Snowball

Read 10 AWS Snowball reviews

5,323 Views
798 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

HPE Zerto Software

Read 365 HPE Zerto Software reviews

28,672 Views
3,154 Comparison Views

98% willing to recommend

AWS Snowball

HPE Zerto Software

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 22, 2026

HPE Zerto Software and AWS Snowball compete in the data management and recovery space. HPE Zerto Software has an edge in cost-effectiveness and user-friendliness, while AWS Snowball's advanced features and reliability provide value through efficient data handling capabilities.

Features: HPE Zerto Software supports continuous data protection, automated failover, and near-zero RPO, making it ideal for business continuity. AWS Snowball offers scalability, advanced data transfer, and physical security, addressing large-scale transfer and storage needs efficiently.

Room for Improvement: HPE Zerto Software could enhance its analytical monitoring and focus on broader solutions than narrowing down services. AWS Snowball might improve ease of deployment and reduce dependency on extensive setup, especially for initial hardware requirements.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: HPE Zerto Software is noted for its seamless integration and responsive customer service, supporting efficient virtual environment setup. AWS Snowball provides reliable dedicated support for complex deployments, although its on-site setup may require more initial time.

Pricing and ROI: HPE Zerto Software offers a lower initial setup cost, providing good ROI for disaster recovery-focused businesses. AWS Snowball's higher setup cost is offset by its efficiency in managing large data volumes, offering significant ROI over time for scalability-focused deployments.

To learn more, read our detailed AWS Snowball vs. HPE Zerto Software Report (Updated: November 2026).

Buyer's Guide

AWS Snowball vs. HPE Zerto Software

November 2026

Download the complete report

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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

AWS Snowball

Ranking in Cloud Migration

15th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Data Migration Appliances (1st)

HPE Zerto Software

Ranking in Cloud Migration

1st

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

365

Ranking in other categories

Backup and Recovery (2nd), Cloud Backup (2nd), Disaster Recovery (DR) Software (1st), Autonomous Operational Resilience (1st)

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Cloud Migration category, the mindshare of AWS Snowball is 2.3%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of HPE Zerto Software is 4.8%, down from 6.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Cloud Migration Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
HPE Zerto Software	4.8%
AWS Snowball	2.3%
Other	92.9%

Cloud Migration

Featured Reviews

Kevin-Davis

Global CTO AWS Business Group at Eviden

Seamless data transfer and efficient migration with customizable storage sizes

I like that I can take data and send it straight to S3 when it loads in. The interface for getting my data onto the Snowball is so streamlined. I don't know if you've ever seen it before. It's really cool. I connect them to the backplane of our existing network. I'm able to address it quickly and move the data quickly inside my customers' data centers. There's a little screen on it, which changes the UPS codes and all that stuff. The label and everything AWS electronic, so I don't have to deal with shipping issues. It makes it super simple and easy to use from end to end.

Read full review

Aslah Faseel K

DevOps Engineer at a media company with 201-500 employees

Near-zero downtime has protected critical workloads and now simplifies hybrid cloud recovery

The best features of HPE Zerto Software are mainly very sophisticated and relevant to the current market. The data protection CDP part has real-time replication, unlike other solutions that have snapshot backups. We can set it up hourly, making it ideal for use with workloads. Another attraction is the near-zero RTO, with automated failover within minutes and one-click failover and failback. Currently, we are using a hybrid cloud solution, and HPE Zerto Software supports multi-cloud environments, making it easy to migrate between on-premises and cloud. Regarding the impact of HPE Zerto Software on our RTOs, we have near-zero RTO, meaning the system must be back online within thirty minutes if we measure the time. It is very quick to recover services. With HPE Zerto Software's near-synchronous replication, we have some CDP protection, so we typically write interceptions along with some asynchronous replication. There is almost real-time replication available.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The flexibility of AWS Snowball is valuable. Its security allows for the ability to move and secure data without concern if the device is lost and the option to trace it back to AWS data centers."

"The features I like best are the tool's high capacity, scalability, end-to-end encryption for data security, ease of use, durability, and cost-effectiveness. It's particularly cost-effective for transferring large amounts of data compared to high-speed internet transfers."

"The most valuable features of AWS Snowball for me are its security measures and its flexibility."

"The solution is elastic."

"We are a very large company with around 20 million users that include architects, developers, and admin staff, and it's a very nice service we would highly recommend."

"If you have a large amount of data, it's a perfect way to move it to the cloud."

"You are able to scale the solution vertically. It's very scalable."

"I like that I can take data and send it straight to S3 when it loads in."

More AWS Snowball pros

"Zerto is one of the easiest disaster recovery products I've used."

"What I appreciate about Zerto is that it's set and forget. You set it, and it just works."

"The feature of the HPE Zerto Software I appreciate the most is the ease of use of single file restores, which is something we use frequently."

"Previously, when we did disaster recovery it would take us easily a day or two to restore all of our servers, and we can do the same thing with Zerto in about an hour and a half."

"The feature I've found most valuable so far has been the ability to migrate the VMs from Hyper-V and Citrix Hypervisor. It's made our migration seamless. In the beginning, we were looking at freeware tools, and it was just a massive headache. Zerto solved a lot of the roadblocks that we'd run into in the past."

"The best feature of Zerto is the fast, automated backup and recovery. The data lift for applications is short, with minimal data loss."

"The instant recovery at DR locations is the most valuable feature. We're required to do periodic DR tests of critical databases, including Oracle and Microsoft SQL. We have recovery point objectives set for specific databases and we need to be able to achieve them. Zerto helps solve that business problem."

"We've never had any major headaches with the virtual-protection groups. They seem to work exactly as they should. If there's ever an issue with replication, we know right away, so it's all been very reliable."

More HPE Zerto Software pros

Cons

"AWS support could be more responsive."

"It would be helpful if Snowball provided more kinds of connectivity. That will make it easier to add and move data."

"There's always room for improvement as you use the service more and gain expertise. Some challenges I've faced include the time factor (data transfer can be time-consuming), data validation after the transfer, risks associated with physical handling and shipping of the device, and ensuring data security during transit."

"If AWS Snowball is intercepted, there is a potential risk of unauthorized access to the data."

"The stability of the solution isn't ideal and should be improved."

"It's not an easy product to start using for a beginner, but If you're a professional, it's easy to understand."

"It does have room for improvement. The ability to better ingest some of the big data."

"It's not cheap."

More AWS Snowball cons

"We've also found that certain situations will not work for us since we haven't finalized the air gap vault in place, and we know that using some simulated ransomware attacks would cause problems, so we wouldn't be able to recover."

"Some of the integrations with our internal tools, in particular, company-specific ones, do not work. In cases like this, we have to ask for additional support."

"The overall management plan could improve. If something happens with the VM on the vSphere side, the error codes are pretty weak. If there was a way to click on something within the UI that takes us to a support page or article, that would be very beneficial."

"A lot of the wording isn't very clear. If you don't know what you're looking at, it just doesn't make sense when you are setting it up."

"Some of the features need improvement. One would be, as you're creating a Move group or a VPG, as they call it, it should either autosave or have the ability so that you can save it for coming back to later because if the setup times out, you lose all your work. That would be a nice improvement to have."

"Zerto could be considered as a backup product but this is not true. So if we could consolidate and use Zerto for disaster recovery as well as everyday backup and restore for situations where we need to recover something, that would be helpful. Anyway, we think that Zerto will win with no competition in the Disaster Recovery process, so we stay focused on this. Now we are testing version 10 which include real-time ransomware detection, a new Cyber Resilience Vault and enhanced cloud capabilities and security: we expect more from these features for superior hybrid cloud security."

"Zerto should add the capability to replicate the same VM to multiple sites."

"The solution is very expensive."

More HPE Zerto Software cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The tool's pricing depends on the type of Snowball device you choose, the amount of data you need to transfer, and the service fees involved. There’s a standard price for larger data transfers and a flat job fee, which includes the first ten days of on-site usage. Typically, there are no additional data transfer fees."

"It's not a cheap solution, but the price is right for the product."

"Pricing is kind of expensive, but for what we get, it is probably worth it. I know they just had a huge price increase due to the VMware stuff getting expensive, which added about a thousand dollars a month to our bill."

"Zerto is fairly expensive, but worth it."

"It is not the cheapest product; it is not the most expensive product, but it works. It is a mid-range product, and it is justified in terms of being pretty quick and easy."

"We find the Zerto pricing fits our budget."

"Its price is reasonable. I have not worked with other tools, but as compared to its competitors such as VMware, its price is lower. So, in my opinion, its price is good."

"When we purchased Zerto, we felt it was worth the cost as it would protect us from any potential problems and give us peace of mind knowing that any critical items could be recovered quickly."

"The pricing is slightly above average, but the immediate and comprehensive support makes the price acceptable."

"Zerto is not overly expensive. It's worth what we're getting for it, but with tough times, a discount would be beneficial."

More HPE Zerto Software pricing and cost advice

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Comparison Review

it_user159711

Architect at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

Nov 9, 2014

VMware SRM vs. Veeam vs. Zerto

Disaster recovery planning is something that seems challenging for all businesses. Virtualization in addition to its operational flexibility, and cost reduction benefits, has helped companies improve their DR posture. Virtualization has made it easier to move machines from production to…

Read full review

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Computer Software Company

Comms Service Provider

Outsourcing Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Construction Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	4
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	6

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	97
Midsize Enterprise	94
Large Enterprise	210

Questions from the Community

Which is better - Microsoft Azure Data Box or AWS Snowball?

Microsoft Azure Databox is a 45-pound, super rugged, tamper-resistant, human-managed hardware appliance that can transfer up to 100TB of data capacity to copy, store, then send to the Azure cloud. ...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for AWS Snowball?

Depending of what is your priority; UseAWS Snowball if you are heavily invested in AWS or need edge computing features Choose Azure Data Box for smooth integration with Azure and potentially lower ...

See all answers

What needs improvement with AWS Snowball?

It's difficult to make a comparison and it depends on the customer. When analyzing costs, I must see how the customer uses AWS, Azure, or Google. Google is particularly interesting, for example, fo...

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering Oracle Data Guard?

Ik fluister:VM Host Oracle en DataGuard hebben we per toeval vervangen door Zerto :-) tijdens de Zerto implementatie en VPG werden de Host Data in write-ack Block-Level gerepliceerd. Qua licentie 1...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zerto?

I find HPE Zerto Software affordable.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Zerto?

I would like HPE Zerto Software to support more hypervisor platforms than currently available. Support for additional hypervisors could be added in the future. Since we have multiple platforms, we ...

See all answers

Comparisons

Google Transfer Appliance vs AWS Snowball

Compared 58% of the time

Microsoft Azure Data Box vs AWS Snowball

Compared 8% of the time

Cloudwick Amorphic Data Platform vs AWS Snowball

Compared 6% of the time

Palantir Foundry vs AWS Snowball

Compared 5% of the time

Nasuni vs AWS Snowball

Compared 3% of the time

More AWS Snowball Competitors

Veeam Data Platform vs HPE Zerto Software

Compared 7% of the time

Rubrik vs HPE Zerto Software

Compared 4% of the time

VMware Live Recovery vs HPE Zerto Software

Compared 4% of the time

Infrascale Backup & Disaster Recovery vs HPE Zerto Software

Compared 3% of the time

AWS Elastic Disaster Recovery vs HPE Zerto Software

Compared 3% of the time

More HPE Zerto Software Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

AWS Snowball

October 2026

Download AWS Snowball product report

Buyer's Guide

HPE Zerto Software

October 2026

Download HPE Zerto Software product report

Also Known As

Amazon AWS Snowball, Amazon Snowball, Snowball

Zerto Virtual Replication

Overview

AWS Snowball is an efficient tool providing high-speed data transfers, end-to-end encryption, and scalability to organizations in need of reliable data migration and integration with AWS infrastructure.

AWS Snowball offers robust data transfer capabilities, ensuring efficient management of large data volumes. It provides end-to-end encryption and tamper-evident features, enhancing data security. The interface is user-friendly and supports seamless integration within AWS. Its scalability and flexible integration options make it a valuable choice for managing complex data migrations. Despite the need for improved connectivity and broader geographical availability, continuous innovations and managed services optimize resources and time.

What are the key features of AWS Snowball?

High-Speed Data Transfer: Facilitates quick migration of large data volumes.
User-Friendly Interface: Simplifies the process of data management.
End-to-End Encryption: Ensures data security during transfers.
Scalability: Easily integrates with AWS systems.
Edge Computing: Provides on-site processing capabilities.
Physical Durability: Designed for reliable data transport.

What benefits can users expect when implementing AWS Snowball?

Cost Efficiency: Reduces expenses associated with large-scale data transfers.
Time Optimization: Saves time in data migration processes.
Resource Optimization: Managed services enhance resource efficiency.
Seamless Integration: Supports on-premises to cloud migrations.
Security: Protects data with encryption during transfer.

Organizations across various industries utilize AWS Snowball for efficient cloud migrations and disaster recovery. In fields where bandwidth is limited, Snowball provides a solution for large-scale data transfers. Financial institutions use it for ETL processes and integrating analytical layers over current data warehouses. Industries with data validation requirements appreciate its secure data transfer features and the ability to reduce dependency on internet connections. Its edge computing capabilities address diverse environmental needs, ensuring data accuracy during migrations.

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Zerto is used for disaster recovery, business continuity, data migration, and ransomware recovery, providing continuous data protection and near real-time replication. Valued for ease of use, efficient failover processes, and versatile integration, it enhances organizational efficiency, reduces errors, and boosts productivity.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Sample Customers

Wazee Digital, Craftsy, Live Nation, Essess

United Airlines, HCA, XPO Logistics, TaxSlayer, McKesson, Insight Global, American Airlines, Tencate, Aaron’s, Grey’s County, Kingston Technologies

Buyer's Guide

AWS Snowball vs. HPE Zerto Software

November 2026

Free Report: AWS Snowball vs. HPE Zerto Software

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