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Synology DSM vs Unitrends 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

Synology DSM
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
52nd
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
8.0
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Unitrends
Ranking in Backup and Recovery
29th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
35
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Backup and Recovery category, the mindshare of Synology DSM is 1.3%, down from 1.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Unitrends is 0.7%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Backup and Recovery Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Unitrends0.7%
Synology DSM1.3%
Other98.0%
Backup and Recovery
 

Featured Reviews

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.
Derek Schneider - PeerSpot reviewer
Manager, Information Technology at a hospitality company with 201-500 employees
Daily recovery tests have validated restore readiness and ensured consistent data protection
The best features of Unitrends include the daily reporting functionality. When backups fail, it is obvious in the logs what caused the issue. Most times it is a credential problem, which is relatively easy to resolve. Though I have experienced a few more challenging issues, nothing has affected critical backup restore functionality. Every time I have needed to restore something, it has worked successfully. The support team is readily available when I need assistance, and they help walk me through issues, solving them within a reasonable timeframe. The automated backup scheduling feature has helped our organization in managing backup timelines and consistency by handling all the work automatically. We set the schedule, breaking things into smaller chunks since our main common area for files is large. I have staggered the backups so some areas receive more attention than others, particularly for less active data. Adding, removing, excluding, and inputting elements is straightforward. The system makes it simple to schedule portions and generate reports on their functionality. The impact of Unitrends' instant recovery features on strengthening data security measures is significant. I generally use instant recovery when restoring specific files or instances where we need data that has changed. The process involves loading the backup, selecting the desired version, waiting for it to unpack, and retrieving the file. Every restore attempt has been successful. I run instant recovery daily in test mode on two virtual machines. I use it to test my domain controller and file server to ensure they communicate properly in the test environment. This ensures that in case of failure, I can activate the recovery and restore server functionality.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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."
"The most valuable features of Synology DSM are its security and connectivity."
"The product performs well. It is easy to use and implement."
"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 are the basic storage, file management, Btrfs file system, and built-in backups that come with the solution."
"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."
"It is an easy system to use, and the support, if needed, is always willing to help."
"It's not easy to scale it."
"Unitrends really has cross-compatibility and a broad area of support for various operating system backups."
"Every time I have needed to restore something, it has worked successfully."
"Unitrends has helped us cut down the time that it takes to restore a server to its original configuration."
"The nice thing with this appliance is you do not have to worry about server licencing, and it's separate from the SAN."
"Easily mastered interface and application for backup/recovery, versatile, works well in VM and physical environments, with nice VM or file-level recovery without spinning anything up to accommodate."
"It has reduced recovery time, from recovering VMs to just simple file-level recovery, and it's all fast and easy."
 

Cons

"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 only bothersome aspect is that the device is aging."
"The product's only shortcoming is pricing, as it is an expensive solution."
"The platform could be much more cost-effective and flexible for integrating third-party products."
"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."
"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."
"Though this is kinda hard to come up with at this point, but I think instead of deploying the VBAs from vCenter, it would be really nice if only the first deployment is needed from vCenter and the rest could be handled from within the solutions portal."
"There are a few quirks where the GUI, agent, and back-end are not precisely meshed."
"I wouldn't recommend this product to potential customers because it's an appliance-based model, and you'll be locked in with that vendor."
"It needs both a better interface and a more solid support structure for when issues arise."
"It would be great to have the job throttle/limit the max number of backups on a single ESXi host."
"It seems like Unitrends moved away from enterprise customer engagement and moved more towards the managed service provider market."
"We have a huge VMware infrastructure with multiple hosts that use local storage. Backup jobs of VMs seem to target one host at a time, so if there are 10 VMs on that host getting backed up, it hammers that ESXi host until sometimes the jobs hang and nothing more occurs."
"I would like to see more storage options for the free version."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing varies widely, catering to a broad range of needs."
"The price of the solution is very good."
"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."
"Synology DSM is a cheap solution."
"Synology DSM is a free tool."
"The solution’s pricing is neither cheap nor expensive."
"It is quite an affordable solution."
"The cost of Unitrends definitely draws you in. The licensing is all included in the appliance, which is a great incentive."
"Based on a scale of one to ten, with one being low and ten being high, I would rate the pricing of this solution as a three. Also, there are no additional costs involved in the standard licensing of the solution."
"Pricing model constantly changes."
"When we renew the Unitrends maintenance contract and update it to the latest version, the cost would be $5,000 per year. There are no hidden costs. They've been transparent with the costs."
"You should be aware how much the monthly costs are to use, what the initial costs for hardware are, and what the options to expand are, if needed."
"Make sure you do the homework to size the solution properly. Buy the Enterprise Plus licensing if you can afford it."
"Talk with the sales guys. They can work with you on the best package."
"With respect to cost, my advice is to get what you need."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Government
7%
Construction Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Retailer
9%
Outsourcing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise1
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise16
Large Enterprise8
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
What needs improvement with Unitrends?
I would evaluate the impact of Unitrends' ransomware detection for strengthening our data security measures as somewhat misleading. The ransomware detection from the appliance incorrectly identifie...
What is your primary use case for Unitrends?
Our main use case for Unitrends is taking our on-premise virtual machines or bulk data store and backing it up on a daily basis, or more frequently depending on requirements, and testing the virtua...
What advice do you have for others considering Unitrends?
Regarding Unitrends' integration with leading cloud services, I utilize Spanning, which handles Microsoft 365 environment backup for a location without direct file server access. Their SharePoint d...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

Synology DiskStation Manager (DSM)
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
NHL Players Association, Salvation Army, Sligro Food Group, Mason General Hospital, Tec Group, Saldab IT, Baker Tilly, Clinton Savings Bank, Ennit Magna Bank, Manukau Institute of Technology
Find out what your peers are saying about Synology DSM vs. Unitrends and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
908,834 professionals have used our research since 2012.