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BackupAssist vs N-able Cove Data Protection comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 11, 2024

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

BackupAssist
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
63rd
Ranking in MSP Backup
12th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
N-able Cove Data Protection
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
31st
Ranking in MSP Backup
3rd
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
23
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Backup (21st), SaaS Backup (10th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of BackupAssist is 0.8%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of N-able Cove Data Protection is 1.4%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Backup and Recovery Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
N-able Cove Data Protection1.4%
BackupAssist0.8%
Other97.8%
Backup and Recovery
 

Featured Reviews

RM
Director at Gemini Systems
Provides ransomware protection, does good reporting, and is close to perfect for our use case
The main challenge that I have had with it was no line of support, but I've anyway taken away the Linux machine that I was using. So, I don't need that anymore. I'm migrating my Exchange to the cloud. So, I probably will stop using the exchange backup side of it sometime next year, but the rest of the virtual machines that I have on-premises are very well covered by it. To be able to back up my online Exchange, I know there is a backup in the cloud, but I prefer to have something physical with something on my premises as well. It stopped doing my backups after I did the last update on it.
Per MøllerJacobsen - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior consultant at Azend A/S
Delivers cost-effective data backup with room for search improvements
The challenges I face especially are those I've mentioned, that finding some specific data in N-able Cove Data Protection is not as easy as it is in some other systems. You cannot just search for something—you need to know where it was and when it was there to restore it, plus it would be nice to take out data from Microsoft 365 in some portable format, which is currently not an option. I would like to extract the data from Microsoft 365 in a portable format, something like a database or maybe just to take out a PST file or SharePoint and Teams files to the file system. Especially in these times, where we discuss potential risks with the Microsoft cloud for European companies, companies would want to know how to access their data from the backup if they suddenly don't have a tenant. I believe there should be the ability to take out data from Microsoft 365 in a portable format. I know that Cohesity is working on making such a thing. It's not there yet; I asked last week for something for forensics, and the support team said it's not possible yet, but I know from our technical account manager they are working on some solutions.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I get my reports. It is generally very reliable. Unless there is a major change, it doesn't stop backing up. I've got my server room set up with everything connected to the same power, and I never have power issues or failures of backups because a sub-site has gone off."
"We can configure the notifications themselves so that the right people get the notifications. This is very helpful. It allows key stakeholders to know if backups have happened and to remind each other to check the backups if something is not right."
"The most valuable features of BackupAssist are ease of use, configure is simple, and more importantly, ease of recovery. If you needed to do a complete system recovery or another recovery it is straightforward."
"What you want is software that can be relied upon at the moment when a server goes down, you can backup simply and reliably, BackupAssist fulfilled this criterion."
"I would definitely recommend this solution to others."
"I have found that the backups are usually very successful."
"Now that we are using the solution, we get notified online when our backups are done."
"We managed to have good backups which were easy to recover, and easy backup of MS Exchange and SQL databases."
"The solution has reduced backup times by an immeasurable amount. Its backups are incremental, so you are only backing up data changes based on the last 24 hours or so. If you are also maintaining the stored images, the restores are also only incremental, happening in minutes. Whereas, with a lot of the other solutions that we have looked at, each time it goes to refresh the restore, then it has to build a completely new image. That takes forever. This solution also improves recovery time."
"We use a neat feature called VDR status, Virtual Disaster Recovery status. It only works on servers... It's automated. Once or twice a month it will virtually mount the backup and provide a screenshot and advise whether or not there have been any errors."
"N-Able, as a whole, has given me the RMM solution that I desire and the backup solutions that I desire."
"The product is simple to use and manage. The customers have access to verify the backups."
"For starters, this is one of few databases that allow us to backup MySQL databases, most others only support Microsoft SQL. This solution also has a very user-friendly interface accessed through a web browser. Additionally, backups can be easily configured through N-able Backup."
"For us, this product works well."
"It's their cloud, it's their storage. I don't have to buy a space on Amazon or Google's cloud and then use their software to push it. That works well for me. This way, I don't have to worry about another option or the opportunity that there might be a credential leak."
"N-Able has allowed us to have peace of mind regarding backups, with very easy browser-based backup and restore of files and no more missed backup schedules or need to go on a course to learn how to use the software."
 

Cons

"Has a few problems working with snapshots time-outs and failed backups."
"It stopped doing my backups after I did the last update on it."
"Many solutions become stagnant over time. However, BackupAssist has been consistent in updates but they must continue to innovate and improve to avoid stagnation."
"One issue I had with this program, was that I couldn't get it to back up my Linux virtual machines."
"In the future I would like to see more support for Linux."
"The solution needs a dashboard or some form of central control from which you can manage all backups."
"The one thing they don't are Linux servers, it's Windows only. I understand that directive. I have another product that I use for our Linux servers and stuff, but it would be nice if they had that flexibility on the Linux side. I understand the development and the world is geared towards Windows in 365, I know that's where the clienteles are and the business and the money is."
"The one thing that could use some improvement is their Linux backup; their Linux backup is a files/folders backup and you are not able to do a system restore."
"There could be a possibility to create a local NAS backup for infrastructure."
"For small amounts of data, recovery is easy, but when it's large amounts of data, it takes forever. So, if they can have a service where they put our data on a hard drive and ship it to us as fast as possible, it would be great. Even if there's a fee associated with it, it's fine."
"The reporting feature and functionality need improvement."
"Currently you can't dump the files that were backed up. You have to use the web interface and you can only see 30 files at a crack."
"We don't use the solution’s automated recovery testing because SolarWinds made me cross. When they released it, I went, "Oh, well, that's quite good." Because if you use the system, then it supposedly spins up, and on the portal, it gives you a screenshot of the booted device. So, I phoned up, and I said, "Oh, that's really quite cool. How much is that?" They said, "No, no, no. It's all included in your license." I went, "Okay then," and went and deployed it on about half the fleet. One of the options that our customers have is they can pay us a small amount every month for us to test the recovery just to prove that it's viable, and I thought, "Well, this will do that for us. Nice." Then, in the next invoice, we got a charge for it. While It was not a huge amount, I took offense at the fact that we were told that it would be a no extra cost option that was part of our license, but it turns out that it's chargeable. Therefore, we haven't used it since."
"A feature I'd like to see would be a more customizable admin console."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's on a yearly basis, but I'm not the one who does the licensing on that. I don't have any figures, but it's on a yearly basis, and I believe it's reasonable."
"The cost of the solution is reasonable and there are add-on options that can be purchased. I have used other solutions that are a lot more expensive that are not as good. The ability to get support is very simple and very reasonable from a cost standpoint."
"There's a yearly licensing cost. The costs might be around $2000 USD annually."
"The product pricing here in Zimbabwe is good, I cannot complain."
"The pricing of SolarWinds seems to be fair compared to the rest of the industry."
"The only option I would like to see is an adjustable scale. Right now we have 250 seats and we're not using all of them. It would be nice to be able to save that little bit of money by being able to buy just what we need."
"The pricing is affordable. N-able Cove Data Protection has a direct-to-cloud architecture, but it also allows saving backups locally without extra storage costs."
"There is no per node cost, at least not the way I am doing it. I am on bulk. New customers can be set up on a trial, where they can get things all squared away, then they can switch over to being a billed customer."
"N-able Cove Data Protection is an averagely-priced product."
"I believe that the price is very reasonable in comparison to other options. It is cheaper than both Redstor and Acronis and, since we are now using our own on-premise cloud, there is absolutely no comparison since we have unlimited storage rather than paying per gigabyte used for their onsite storage. We are currently able to backup fifty computers for the same price that we use to backup five computers."
"The price isn't extreme, but I'd love to pay less."
"When you have a device/appliance on the site quite a lot of the other enterprise class backup people insist that you have their appliance, which is frankly offensively expensive. Because when you pry the top off, it's just a standard 19-inch tin box with a standard Intel I5 in it, some RAM, and a hard drive. Then, you go, "Why have they just charged me 5,500 quid for a box, which I could have probably build for under 500." Whereas, with the SolarWinds product, they don't have that. The backup appliances that we have onsite are just plain cooking PCs. We can build our own machines, which is reflected in the price that we can offer a customer."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
27%
Financial Services Firm
16%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Outsourcing Company
6%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Construction Company
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise1
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for N-able Backup?
In terms of pricing, N-able Cove Data Protection is neither cheap nor expensive compared to other competitors.
What needs improvement with N-able Backup?
The challenges I face especially are those I've mentioned, that finding some specific data in N-able Cove Data Protection is not as easy as it is in some other systems. You cannot just search for s...
What is your primary use case for N-able Backup?
Our main use cases for enabling N-able Cove Data Protection include backing up our customers' data on servers hosted in data centers and servers hosted in our own data center, as well as a few onsi...
 

Also Known As

No data available
N-able Backup, SolarWinds Backup, SolarWinds MSP Backup & Recovery, SolarWinds MSP Backup
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Monash University, NASA, NYU, Pfizer, RAF Association, Rockwell Colins, University of Arizona, US Department of State, Volvo
Computer Depot, Leading Edge Computers, IT Logic Australia
Find out what your peers are saying about BackupAssist vs. N-able Cove Data Protection and other solutions. Updated: May 2026.
900,838 professionals have used our research since 2012.