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HPE Zerto Software vs Synology DSM comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 22, 2026

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

HPE Zerto Software
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
2nd
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
355
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Migration (1st), Cloud Backup (2nd), Disaster Recovery (DR) Software (1st), Autonomous Operational Resilience (1st)
Synology DSM
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
51st
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
8.0
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of HPE Zerto Software is 1.9%, down from 3.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Synology DSM is 1.4%, down from 1.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Backup and Recovery Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
HPE Zerto Software1.9%
Synology DSM1.4%
Other96.7%
Backup and Recovery
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2802231 - PeerSpot reviewer
Dev Ops 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.
Michael Adejoh - PeerSpot reviewer
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Customer Service: Sales and customer service are responsive to questions."
"We have had many instances where VMs were corrupted by an application owner, where they were installing something and did not create a snapshot in VMware for it. Instead of tapping into our backups, with just two clicks, we were able to restore the VM back to its original state. It helps a lot in the day-to-day running of our business."
"It's a nice tool, and you should go for it; I don't think you'll be disappointed."
"We didn't have anything that worked for so long, and Zerto has reduced our DR testing time drastically while allowing granular failover so we can confirm our DR plan is solid and almost not miss a beat."
"The failover feature is great for getting VMs up and running at a secondary site."
"Its ease of use is most valuable. The online documentation is very clear and helpful. We are able to solve a lot of problems on our own without having to contact support."
"The customer service and support are very good. Every time we have problems, they're ready to help us."
"The speed of recovery with Zerto versus the speed of recovery with other disaster recovery solutions is night and day. We use Veeam for backups and the amount of time that it takes to recover is so much quicker mounting with Zerto. That's why we extended the journal so that we could capture a few more days and make it easier for us to recover files."
"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 features of Synology DSM are its security and connectivity."
"The most valuable features are the basic storage, file management, Btrfs file system, and built-in backups that come with the solution."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it serves as a backup for our company's virtual machine."
"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 aspect is its ability to handle multiple disks."
"The solution's most valuable feature stems from its ease of use, making it the tool's most interesting part."
"Synology DSM is very easy to work and operate."
 

Cons

"Some of the integrations with our internal tools, in particular, company-specific ones, do not work."
"I had to have my colleague contact technical support because we had an issue where VMs in VMware were getting blocked, and we weren't able to delete them."
"The alerting doesn't quite give you the information about what exactly is going on when an issue comes up."
"Customer service and technical support need improvement."
"When we are trying to upgrade any virtual machines, we have to stop the virtual machines that have been replicated in Zerto and then upgrade or update to the virtual machines onsite. Instead of having to do it manually, there should be some way of automating that particular function."
"If we could integrate our AIOps solutions and incident management capabilities within HPE Zerto Software, that would be beneficial."
"We would like more mobile options. If we are at a restaurant or out and about in our normal daily lives, we would like to be able to interface via our mobiles."
"I am very pleased with it as is, but the ease of use of the restoration utility could be challenging initially."
"One area where Synology DSM could improve is in enhancing its ability to detect and respond to security threats during backups and replication."
"Synology DSM's user interface is not quite intuitive."
"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."
"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."
"Users may lose their data if they don't configure the solution properly."
"The only bothersome aspect is that the device is aging."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"You need to figure out how many critical servers and applications you have in your environment so you will know how many Zerto licenses to buy."
"The solution is very cost-effective and very easy to set-up but does not compromise on features."
"All of my customers are happy with how this product works and they like it, but unfortunately, in the market that I represent, Zerto is expensive when compared with the competition."
"I think the cost is reasonable for VM licensing. It's not outside the scope of an enterprise product."
"It's very reasonably priced. It's a little more than $3,000 annually. That works out to about $20 per server per month."
"There is a one-time cost for maintenance and support. We have a three-year contract that we will have to renew when those three years come up. There is also licensing on top of that for whatever product you are using it for."
"Obviously, I wish it were cheaper and more affordable. But I get what I pay for, so I can't complain."
"Zerto is not overly expensive. It's worth what we're getting for it, but with tough times, a discount would be beneficial."
"Synology DSM is a free tool."
"The solution’s pricing is neither cheap nor expensive."
"Synology DSM is a cheap solution."
"The price of the solution is very good."
"It is quite an affordable 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 pricing varies widely, catering to a broad range of needs."
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Comparison Review

it_user159711 - PeerSpot reviewer
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…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Healthcare Company
8%
Computer Software Company
7%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business92
Midsize Enterprise94
Large Enterprise202
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise1
 

Questions from the Community

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...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zerto?
In terms of pricing, I'll not say HPE Zerto Software is very cheap, and I'll not say that whatever features it provides, it's very highly priced. However, there could be room for negotiation on the...
What needs improvement with Zerto?
The documentation is very good. The GUI is kind of an old one. More development on the GUI can be useful for the users.The areas that have room for improvement include the GUI. The other thing is t...
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Also Known As

Zerto Virtual Replication
Synology DiskStation Manager (DSM)
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

United Airlines, HCA, XPO Logistics, TaxSlayer, McKesson, Insight Global, American Airlines, Tencate, Aaron’s, Grey’s County, Kingston Technologies
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Find out what your peers are saying about HPE Zerto Software vs. Synology DSM and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
893,244 professionals have used our research since 2012.