Dell Avamar vs Synology DSM comparison

Dell Technologies and Synology are both solutions in the Backup and Recovery category. Dell Technologies is ranked #9 with an average rating of 8.0, while Synology is ranked #22 with an average rating of 10.0. Dell Technologies holds a 2.0% mindshare in BRS, compared to Synology’s 1.4% mindshare. Additionally, 87% of Dell Technologies users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Synology users who would recommend it.

Dell Avamar

Read 90 Dell Avamar reviews

5,396 Views
4,910 Comparison Views

87% willing to recommend

Synology DSM

Read 10 Synology DSM reviews

2,683 Views
2,656 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Dell Avamar

Synology DSM

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 11, 2024

Dell Avamar and Synology DSM are both prominent data protection solutions. Dell Avamar seems to have the upper hand due to its superior data deduplication capability and cost-efficiency, despite Synology DSM's robust integration and customization flexibilities.

Features: Users value Dell Avamar's efficient data deduplication, ease of data retrieval, and reasonable setup costs. Synology DSM is favored for its integration with various cloud services, extensive customization options, and long-term value through extensive features.

Room for Improvement: Dell Avamar reviews suggest improvements in performance speed, user learning curve, and initial setup. Synology DSM users point out the need for enhanced customer service, backup reliability, and easier deployment.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Dell Avamar is praised for its straightforward deployment but criticized for slow initial setup. Synology DSM has mixed reviews on deployment, with some users finding it complicated. Customer service is seen as adequate for Dell Avamar, whereas Synology DSM users express the need for improvement.

Pricing and ROI: Dell Avamar users typically report reasonable setup costs and quick ROI due to its effective deduplication. Synology DSM might have higher initial costs but is seen as providing good long-term value through its extensive features.

To learn more, read our detailed Dell Avamar vs. Synology DSM Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Dell Avamar vs. Synology DSM

December 2025

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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

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)

Synology DSM

Ranking in Backup and Recovery

22nd

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

8.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of Dell Avamar is 2.0%, down from 3.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Synology DSM is 1.4%, down from 1.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Backup and Recovery Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Dell Avamar	2.0%
Synology DSM	1.4%
Other	96.6%

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.

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Michael Adejoh

Solutions Manager at Excel Connect Ventures

Reliable and cost-effective

One area where Synology DSM could improve is in enhancing its ability to detect and respond to security threats during backups and replication. Currently, it lacks the capability to automatically stop backups if it detects a virus or suspicious network activity, as some third-party solutions can. Having AI-driven analytics to identify anomalies and halt backups during potential attacks, along with notifications to administrators, would be valuable. Additionally, providing a dashboard for monitoring the backup environment's security would be a beneficial feature. These improvements would help address security concerns and make Synology more competitive in this aspect.

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

"It is one of the best solutions for backing up Oracle and other servers."

"Quick incremental backups and product replication are the two highlights of the product. Once you capture a full backup, incrementals are pretty quick. It is fairly efficient from that perspective."

"They are extremely reliable and scalable — they provide the best de-duplication on the market."

"The solution scales well."

"We love the instant recovery functionality. It's very useful."

"It's a good solution."

"Centralization is Avamar's biggest advantage. It moves data to a central location from various geographical locations."

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

More Dell Avamar pros

"Synology DSM is very easy to work and operate."

"The solution's most valuable feature stems from its ease of use, making it the tool's most interesting part."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it serves as a backup for our company's virtual machine."

"The most valuable features are the basic storage, file management, Btrfs file system, and built-in backups that come with the solution."

"Because of its simplicity and the wide array of features it offers, I would recommend DSM for both tech-savvy individuals and those who prefer a straightforward file-serving solution."

"The most valuable aspect is its ability to handle multiple disks."

"It offers a variety of software options through its package center, allowing users to customize their NAS device to serve multiple purposes."

"The most valuable features of Synology DSM are its security and connectivity."

More Synology DSM pros

Cons

"The licensing model is not very flexible. Every time we upgrade our storage size, we need to upgrade the Avamar license."

"Some customers need to back up to tape, but Avamar lacks support, so it costs a lot."

"Dell hasn't done a good job at handling these upgrades, or the way EMC used to handle them."

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

"The stability could improve, a lot of scheduled backups failed at one time."

"Reporting in Dell Avamar needs improvement. The current reporting tool is very basic, and you have to dig deep into each function to get the information you need. For example, getting the status of failed and succeeded backups is very difficult in Avamar compared to Veeam. As for additional functionality, I would suggest improving WAN optimization. It's very important for getting offline or off-site backups. It should also include a tool to check for ransomware which would be beneficial. If a backup is vulnerable to ransomware, there should be a way to detect it, like using ARR rules to ensure your backup is ransomware-free. I haven't had any experience integrating Dell Avamar with AI solutions. It’s also a good point that Avamar doesn't offer such integrations, which is an area where Dell could improve."

"The solution, in the future, should offer support for mobile."

"It lacks support for certain plugins, like SAP HANA, for example."

More Dell Avamar cons

"Synology DSM's user interface is not quite intuitive."

"One area where Synology DSM could improve is in enhancing its ability to detect and respond to security threats during backups and replication."

"The platform could be much more cost-effective and flexible for integrating third-party products."

"Synology DSM is a good enough solution for small and medium companies, but I have not seen a big configuration of the solution for a big organization."

"Users may lose their data if they don't configure the solution properly."

"The product's only shortcoming is pricing, as it is an expensive solution."

"There's a surveillance application that allows you to connect IP cameras and stream footage to Synology and it is a great feature, but it's not always clear that adding more cameras may require purchasing additional licenses."

"Even though Synology provides a backup solution, it does not recognize the VM movement across cluster hosts."

More Synology DSM cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I rate the tool's price as a three out of ten if one means expensive and ten means it is a cheaply priced tool."

"The solution is not expensive for the value one gets."

"The solution is costly."

"Its price should be reduced. It would be good if you could pay as per usage, and there is a subscription model like VMware. There should be some flexibility because sometimes, the customer only uses the backup for one month or three months. Currently, I have to pay whether I use it or not. Its licensing should be flexible and based on consumption."

"The cost of the solution is very expensive."

"Licensing fees are paid annually."

"There are licensing costs for Dell EMC Avamar and it is paid annually."

"It's a very high-end solution and comparable to Rubrik and Cohesity."

More Dell Avamar pricing and cost advice

"The solution’s pricing is neither cheap nor expensive."

"The pricing varies widely, catering to a broad range of needs."

"Synology DSM is a cheap solution."

"The licensing part of the solution is free. The hardware is more expensive than the other solutions in the market, but it's okay in the long run."

"The price of the solution is very good."

"Synology DSM is a free tool."

"It is quite an affordable solution."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Government

Computer Software Company

14%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

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	8
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	1

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...

See all answers

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 do you like most about Synology DSM?

The most valuable features of Synology DSM are its security and connectivity.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Synology DSM?

The solution’s pricing is neither cheap nor expensive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Synology DSM?

Users may lose their data if they don't configure the solution properly.

See all answers

Comparisons

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager vs Dell Avamar

Compared 37% of the time

Veeam Data Platform vs Dell Avamar

Compared 8% of the time

Rubrik vs Dell Avamar

Compared 7% of the time

Commvault Cloud vs Dell Avamar

Compared 5% of the time

OpenText Data Protector vs Dell Avamar

Compared 2% of the time

More Dell Avamar Competitors

Veeam Data Platform vs Synology DSM

Compared 7% of the time

UrBackup vs Synology DSM

Compared 6% of the time

NetApp SnapCenter vs Synology DSM

Compared 6% of the time

GoodSync For Business vs Synology DSM

Compared 6% of the time

ExaGrid Tiered Backup Storage vs Synology DSM

Compared 3% of the time

More Synology DSM Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Dell Avamar

January 2026

Download Dell Avamar product report

Buyer's Guide

Synology DSM

January 2026

Download Synology DSM product report

Also Known As

Avamar

Synology DiskStation Manager (DSM)

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

Synology DSM (DiskStation Manager) is a comprehensive software platform designed for Synology NAS (Network Attached Storage) devices. It serves as the operating system for these devices, providing a wide range of features and functionalities.

The primary use case of Synology DSM is to centralize and manage data storage for organizations. It allows businesses to store, access, and share files securely across multiple devices and platforms. With its intuitive user interface, DSM simplifies the management of data, making it easy to create shared folders, set access permissions, and monitor storage usage.

One of the most valuable functionalities of Synology DSM is its robust data protection capabilities. It offers various RAID configurations, including SHR (Synology Hybrid RAID), which ensures data redundancy and safeguards against drive failures. DSM also supports advanced backup and disaster recovery solutions, such as Snapshot Replication and Hyper Backup, enabling organizations to protect their critical data effectively.

Furthermore, Synology DSM provides a wide range of productivity and collaboration tools. It offers applications like Synology Drive, which allows seamless file synchronization across devices, and Synology Office, a web-based suite for document editing and collaboration. DSM also supports various third-party applications, including popular cloud services like Dropbox and Google Drive, enabling organizations to integrate their existing workflows seamlessly.

Synology

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

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Dell Avamar vs. Synology DSM

December 2025

Free Report: Dell Avamar vs. Synology DSM

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