Dell Avamar vs HPE Zerto Software comparison

Dell Technologies and Hewlett Packard Enterprise are both solutions in the Backup and Recovery category. Dell Technologies is ranked #9 with an average rating of 8.0, while Hewlett Packard Enterprise is ranked #2 with an average rating of 9.0. Dell Technologies holds a 1.9% mindshare in BRS, compared to Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s 2.0% mindshare. Additionally, 87% of Dell Technologies users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 98% of Hewlett Packard Enterprise users who would recommend it.

Dell Avamar

Read 90 Dell Avamar reviews

5,701 Views
5,245 Comparison Views

87% willing to recommend

HPE Zerto Software

Read 344 HPE Zerto Software reviews

15,285 Views
8,712 Comparison Views

98% willing to recommend

Dell Avamar

HPE Zerto Software

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 21, 2025

Dell Avamar and HPE Zerto Software compete in the data protection and disaster recovery category. Based on feature sets, Dell Avamar excels in data deduplication and integration with VMware, while HPE Zerto Software stands out for its near-zero RPO and disaster recovery features.

Features: Dell Avamar provides client-side and source-side deduplication, excellent integration with VMware, and supports various data types such as SQL Server, NDMP, and image-level backups. HPE Zerto Software offers near-zero RPO, continuous data protection journaling, and supports various platforms for rapid VM migrations.

Room for Improvement: Dell Avamar needs to simplify deployment, enhance cloud integration, and improve management interfaces. Users note a need for better reporting and tape connectivity. HPE Zerto Software could upgrade its backup functionalities, encryption options, and licensing flexibility, and enhance its alerting system. Its high cost and limited multi-cloud support are also noted.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Dell Avamar's deployment and technical support receive mixed reviews, with experiences ranging from responsive service to delays in resolution. HPE Zerto Software is praised for ease of use and simple deployment, though customer support has faced challenges post-HPE acquisition, with some users citing slower response times.

Pricing and ROI: Dell Avamar is noted for being costly, often included in EMC packages, with its ROI seen over three to five years due to effectiveness in data deduplication. HPE Zerto Software is also considered expensive but is justified by its robust disaster recovery features, with a quicker ROI through a flexible licensing model.

To learn more, read our detailed Dell Avamar vs. HPE Zerto Software Report (Updated: February 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Dell Avamar vs. HPE Zerto Software

February 2026

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Helped 881,665 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score

5.8

Dell Avamar offers efficient data reduction, cost savings, enhanced IT operations, and strong data security against ransomware threats.

Sentiment score

6.9

HPE Zerto Software enhances efficiency and reduces costs through improved disaster recovery, data protection, and minimal downtime.

No quotes available

For more quotes and insights, download the Dell Avamar report

Before, it was a huge cost. It was several thousand dollars to do a DR test, whereas now, I click a button.

Thomas Sipf

CTO at Erisa Administrative Services, Inc.

It saves us a lot of time and gives us the ability to perform other DR plans for other systems.

reviewer2728620

System Engineer at a wholesaler/distributor with 1,001-5,000 employees

It's not only in the cloud; it's DR as a service, which means that the recovery operations are performed by a dedicated team specializing in this area.

Itsik Ohana

Founder & CEO at Itix Cyber Ltd

For more quotes and insights, download the HPE Zerto Software report

Customer Service

Sentiment score

6.9

Dell Avamar support is knowledgeable but slow, with communication challenges and limited first-level responsiveness hindering comprehensive assistance.

Sentiment score

7.5

HPE Zerto Software's customer service is highly praised for responsiveness, with strong ratings reflecting overall user satisfaction.

When their technical person is online, the quality of service and technical knowledge are very good.

Atul Pandya

Project Engineer at Concept Information Technologies India Pvt. Ltd.

The current technical support by Dell is very good.

SamuelThomas

Consultant at Key Information Technology L.L.C.

For more quotes and insights, download the Dell Avamar report

I have never had an issue that was not resolved, and I have never been in a situation where they did not respond.

reviewer762012

Sr. Systems Engineer at a legal firm with 1,001-5,000 employees

I would give them a rating of ten because it represents the highest level of support based on the technical knowledge of the support team, response time, and effectiveness of the provided resolutions.

reviewer1599558

Disaster Recovery Manager at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

When I open a ticket, I usually get a call within an hour or two.

David Comer

Systems Engineering Manager at a legal firm with 1,001-5,000 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the HPE Zerto Software report

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score

6.6

Dell Avamar offers scalability for medium to large enterprises but requires costly node additions and has infrastructure limitations.

Sentiment score

7.5

HPE Zerto Software efficiently scales, integrates with cloud platforms, and manages workloads, despite licensing and bandwidth challenges.

Dell Avamar offers very good scalability.

Atul Pandya

Project Engineer at Concept Information Technologies India Pvt. Ltd.

For more quotes and insights, download the Dell Avamar report

I would rate it a ten out of ten for scalability.

Alan Barrett

Head of IT at TWM SOLICITORS LLP

Customers need to follow good engineering practices for optimal product use.

Proby Patel

Tech Lead, Storage and Data Protection at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees

By adding more hosts and installing VRAs on each, tasks can be efficiently managed.

reviewer2641974

Senior Systems Engineer at a financial services firm with 51-200 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the HPE Zerto Software report

Stability Issues

Sentiment score

8.2

Dell Avamar is stable and reliable, praised for smooth operation and low failure rates in various infrastructures.

Sentiment score

8.0

HPE Zerto Software is highly stable, with minimal issues reported, effective performance, and responsive support, rated nine out of ten.

No quotes available

For more quotes and insights, download the Dell Avamar report

I promptly delete the malfunctioning elements and set them up again to resume replication, ensuring stability.

Jagadeesh Ethiraj

Technical Architect at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees

The ease of use was so good with Zerto that they were able to migrate things much quicker.

reviewer2691450

Inside Sales Representative at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

It is very reliable.

David Comer

Systems Engineering Manager at a legal firm with 1,001-5,000 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the HPE Zerto Software report

Room For Improvement

Dell Avamar needs UI, backup speed, cloud integration, and scalability improvements, with concerns over pricing and technical support.

HPE Zerto users seek improved documentation, support, automation, integration, and pricing, with enhanced cloud services, backups, and reporting.

They could add more features for cyber resilience and multi-cloud options in the next release to make it even better.

SamuelThomas

Consultant at Key Information Technology L.L.C.

There are instances where backups fail on certain applications, which is an area that could be improved.

Ayodeji Oyewole

Managing Director at Atlantic factorial

While Dell Avamar is a good product, the pricing is very high.

Atul Pandya

Project Engineer at Concept Information Technologies India Pvt. Ltd.

For more quotes and insights, download the Dell Avamar report

If I have 350 objects that I am protecting, I would like Zerto to be able to fire them up in one order, rather than having to manually bring them up in a sequence.

David Riberdy

Enterprise data management supervisor at a insurance company with 1,001-5,000 employees

If the host has a lot of VMs on it, there may not always be enough time to relocate all of the VMs from a protection group standpoint to other hosts before the replication appliance that Zerto uses to manage that powers itself down.

David Comer

Systems Engineering Manager at a legal firm with 1,001-5,000 employees

If HPE Zerto Software has it built-in where we're going to vCenter and you click on it, it will build the VPG and indicate configuration requirements, that would be amazing.

reviewer2729427

Senior Converged Infrastructure Engineer at a educational organization with 1,001-5,000 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the HPE Zerto Software report

Setup Cost

Dell Avamar offers varying pricing experiences, with praised setup ease, but cost-effectiveness compared to competitors like Veeam is debated.

HPE Zerto Software offers flexible, transparent pricing with scalable licenses, valued for robust disaster recovery despite perceived high costs.

I don't currently have detailed knowledge about the pricing, however, it is geared towards enterprise businesses and might be on the higher side.

Ayodeji Oyewole

Managing Director at Atlantic factorial

For more quotes and insights, download the Dell Avamar report

If you want a good-quality tool that is robust and does a good job for you, you have to pay a higher price to get that, and Zerto is no different.

JeffSmith12

IT Manager at American Pioneer Federal Credit Union

However, it can become quite expensive when you start looking at the number of workloads you have in the environment and what you would like to do.

reviewer2645856

Cloud and Infrastructure Services Manager at a healthcare company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Zerto is easier to set up and use, and it's less expensive.

Bill Dudgeon

Professional Services Engineer at US Signal

For more quotes and insights, download the HPE Zerto Software report

Valuable Features

Dell Avamar provides efficient deduplication, scalable backup, and recovery with strong integration and platform support for robust data protection.

HPE Zerto offers real-time backup, fast recovery, and seamless VMware integration, enhancing disaster recovery and minimizing downtime effectively.

The most valuable feature is the instant recovery capability.

Atul Pandya

Project Engineer at Concept Information Technologies India Pvt. Ltd.

The software delivers flexible and efficient backup and recovery options through its cyber resiliency features.

SamuelThomas

Consultant at Key Information Technology L.L.C.

The most valuable feature for me is the backup functionality.

Ayodeji Oyewole

Managing Director at Atlantic factorial

For more quotes and insights, download the Dell Avamar report

Zerto offers excellent technical support with responsive and helpful experts.

Sachin Vinay

Assistant Manager-Networks at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees

If we were attacked, I could revert to a backup from five seconds before the attack, and no one would know we were attacked.

reviewer2641974

Senior Systems Engineer at a financial services firm with 51-200 employees

The replication time and the minor amount of time it takes to sync a new server outside of any of my huge 40-terabyte boxes is ridiculously quick.

reviewer762012

Sr. Systems Engineer at a legal firm with 1,001-5,000 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the HPE Zerto Software report

Categories and Ranking

Dell Avamar

Ranking in Backup and Recovery

9th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Deduplication Software (5th)

HPE Zerto Software

Ranking in Backup and Recovery

2nd

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

344

Ranking in other categories

Cloud Migration (1st), Cloud Backup (2nd), Disaster Recovery (DR) Software (1st)

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of Dell Avamar is 1.9%, down from 3.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of HPE Zerto Software is 2.0%, down from 2.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Backup and Recovery Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
HPE Zerto Software	2.0%
Dell Avamar	1.9%
Other	96.1%

Backup and Recovery

Featured Reviews

SamuelThomas

Consultant at Key Information Technology L.L.C.

Have supported critical environments despite room for improvement in legacy backup options

It is very efficient in cyber resilience. Deduplication, automation, and everything is very efficient. It is multi-cloud enabled and has broad protections. The software delivers flexible and efficient backup and recovery options through its cyber resiliency features. Dell PowerProtect Manager provides insights in managing backup processes. Its encryption mechanisms are very efficient, helping to secure sensitive data. Its integration with Dell EMC Data Domain is very good. It is easy to integrate with Data Domain. Multi-cloud options are enabled, and backup in cloud options exist in Dell Avamar.

Read full review

David Riberdy

Enterprise data management supervisor at a insurance company with 1,001-5,000 employees

An all-in-one and cost-efficient solution that does what it promises

Zerto is very easy to use. Installation is about half an hour, and then it starts protecting the data and VMs. It is not very cumbersome. The UI is built very well. It is fairly self-explanatory. To be able to stand up a product you have never seen in half an hour and get it functioning and protecting speaks to how good the UI and workflow are. Zerto has near-synchronous replication. As a change is made on site A, it gets copied across the network to site B. We are five or six seconds behind production. If I have a heavily used system and I use traditional backups, I could be anywhere from 5 minutes to 23 hours behind. With Zerto, I am single-digit seconds behind. That works well for us. Our disaster recovery test, which used to span an entire week, now takes two days. We used to recover our servers in the first two or three days with a backup product and then test for two days before tearing it all down. Now, we spend half a day on new servers and ensuring things work with networking, etc. We test the next day, and we are done in two days. Across the entire company, we are able to save significant man-hours by shortening the test from a week to two days. We are now doing smaller tests once a month and larger tests once a year. Zerto has reduced our DR testing time by 60% to 70%. We are also able to do more disaster recovery testing. Previously, we were doing it once a year, whereas now, we are doing smaller tests once a month and our large tests once a year. In recovery point objectives, we are single-digit seconds behind. In terms of RTOs, I can recover 350 VMs in 30 minutes. It takes less than several seconds to restore a single VM. From days to 30 minutes for 350 compared to 100 VMs is an incredible time-saving in terms of RTOs and RPOs for us.

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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…

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Government

Retailer

Computer Software Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Healthcare Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	26
Midsize Enterprise	18
Large Enterprise	48

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	90
Midsize Enterprise	87
Large Enterprise	197

Questions from the Community

What's the difference between Dell EMC Avamar and Dell EMC NetWorker?

From the very beginning, Dell EMC NetWorker considers users and those who might potentially become users. In terms of both pricing and setup, this product offers an experience that is significantly...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell EMC Avamar?

The cost is very significant, and it could be lower.

See all answers

What do you like most about Dell Avamar?

Easy to configure and highly reliable for backup.

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...

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What do you like most about Zerto?

Its ability to roll back if the VM or the server that you are recovering does not come up right is also valuable. You have the ability to roll back a few seconds or a few minutes. The rollback feat...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zerto?

From a pricing perspective, HPE Zerto Software is expensive in comparison to other products on the market, but I think it is an easier sell because it works so well and it is so easy to set up a de...

See all answers

Comparisons

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager vs Dell Avamar

Compared 37% of the time

Veeam Data Platform vs Dell Avamar

Compared 7% of the time

Rubrik vs Dell Avamar

Compared 7% of the time

Commvault Cloud vs Dell Avamar

Compared 5% of the time

Dell PowerProtect Data Domain vs Dell Avamar

Compared 4% of the time

More Dell Avamar Competitors

Veeam Data Platform vs HPE Zerto Software

Compared 14% of the time

VMware Live Recovery vs HPE Zerto Software

Compared 5% of the time

Rubrik vs HPE Zerto Software

Compared 5% of the time

Dell RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines vs HPE Zerto Software

Compared 5% of the time

Commvault Cloud vs HPE Zerto Software

Compared 5% of the time

More HPE Zerto Software Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Dell Avamar

January 2026

Download Dell Avamar product report

Buyer's Guide

HPE Zerto Software

January 2026

Download HPE Zerto Software product report

Also Known As

Avamar

Zerto Virtual Replication

Overview

Dell Avamar data protection software delivers flexible and efficient backup and recovery operations that can scale from daily backup protection for endpoints to high-performance protection for large enterprises with diverse applications and workloads. With application consistent recovery, automation and fast backup and restores, Avamar can help you meet your SLAs and optimize your backup and recovery processes

If you are deploying all or part of your backup environment to the cloud, Avamar enables you to make the most of your cloud investment, enabling replication, disaster recovery and long-term retention for customers using AWS, Microsoft Azure or Google Cloud.

Avamar is available as part of Dell Data Protection Suite, which offers comprehensive data protection software applications and tools. Avamar is delivered as software and as a virtual edition.

Dell Technologies

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

Dodge County, St Laurence's College, FieldCore (a GE Company), Comanche County Memorial Hospital, Getronics, Lewisville Independent School District, EnvisionRxOptions, Cincinnati Bell Technology Solutions

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

Buyer's Guide

Dell Avamar vs. HPE Zerto Software

February 2026

Free Report: Dell Avamar vs. HPE Zerto Software

Find out what your peers are saying about Dell Avamar vs. HPE Zerto Software and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.

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