Veeam vs Acronis (and Datto): Small Business Backup Compared

Veeam is backup and recovery software built around servers and virtual machines, licensed per workload through resellers and service providers, with replication and instant recovery for fast returns. Acronis Cyber Protect puts backup, anti-malware and endpoint management in one agent and one console, with per-device prices published on its website. In Veeam vs Acronis, Veeam usually suits a business with virtualized servers and someone to run the backup infrastructure, while Acronis suits a small office that wants one tool across laptops, a server and Microsoft 365.

Datto is the third name that comes up: a backup appliance with cloud recovery, written for managed service providers and IT teams. Disclosure: the backup tools we run for managed clients are Datto and Veeam, and our Datto vs Veeam comparison covers that pair in depth. This guide compares Veeam with Acronis and places Datto beside them.

What is the difference between Veeam and Acronis?

They start from different ideas. Veeam sells Veeam Data Platform in Foundation, Advanced and Premium editions, metered per workload and bought through authorized resellers, Veeam-powered service providers or Veeam's own sales team. Acronis Cyber Protect builds endpoint security and management into the backup product and sells it as one agent, one console and one license per protected workload.

How do Veeam and Acronis license and price?

Veeam's editions and pricing page shows no dollar prices; buyers request a quote from Veeam, a reseller or a provider, and Microsoft 365, Salesforce and Kasten backup are standalone products licensed separately. For small environments, Veeam's Community Edition is free for up to 10 workloads, without technical support.

Acronis publishes its prices. As of October 2026, its purchasing page lists these one-year subscriptions in US dollars:

Workstation licenses include 50 GB of Acronis cloud storage, and server and virtual host licenses include 250 GB. Backup Advanced is the backup-focused edition, with essential security such as ransomware protection rather than the fuller security features of Standard and Advanced, and it is the only edition that backs up Microsoft 365: $209 a year per five-seat pack, with unlimited Acronis-hosted storage. Extra cloud storage starts at $229 a year for 250 GB, and the cloud disaster recovery add-on is $485 a year for one cloud recovery server with 2,000 compute points. Datto publishes no prices; its SIRIS page asks buyers to request pricing.

How do recovery speed and replication compare?

Veeam's strength is getting servers back quickly. Its documentation describes Instant Recovery, which runs a workload directly from the backup file and brings it back in a matter of minutes, with limited performance until it moves to production storage; replication, which keeps a ready-to-start copy of a virtual machine on another host; continuous data protection for recovery points measured in seconds; and SureBackup, which tests that a backup can actually be recovered. Our backup vs replication guide explains when a replica is worth its cost.

Acronis covers fast recovery through its disaster recovery capability: failover to cloud replicas of applications and data, runbooks to automate recovery and failback to a virtual machine, sold as an add-on. Datto virtualizes protected systems either on the local appliance or in Datto's cloud, and includes screenshot verification of backups at no extra cost.

How do they protect backups from ransomware?

All three can keep a copy attackers cannot change, by different routes. Veeam's hardened repository is a Linux server on which backup files cannot be moved, modified or deleted during the immutability period you set, and it can use single-use credentials that are never stored, so a compromised backup server cannot hand them to an attacker; Veeam Vault cloud storage is immutable by default. Acronis lists immutable backup storage and runs anti-malware in the same agent that takes the backups. Datto describes an immutable cloud design that blocks unwanted changes and deletions. With Veeam, immutability depends on building the repository correctly, which is work to hand to someone who has done it before.

Datto vs Acronis: where does Datto fit?

Datto calls SIRIS an all-in-one, turnkey business continuity and disaster recovery solution, and its product page is written for MSPs and IT teams. You get local backups, cloud copies and the ability to run systems on the appliance or in Datto's cloud, usually managed by your provider. Acronis is software you can buy online and run yourself, or receive from a provider through Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud, its edition for service providers. So the Datto vs Acronis decision is mostly about who runs it: a provider with an appliance, or your own team with an agent and a console.

Which fits a small team?

• No IT staff: buy backup as a managed service. The software matters less than someone checking jobs daily and testing restores.
• One IT generalist, laptops plus a server or two, Microsoft 365: Acronis Cyber Protect is simpler to run end to end, and published per-device prices make budgeting easy.
• Several virtualized servers and a need for replication or fast failover: Veeam, run by someone who can build a hardened repository and test recovery.
• An appliance and a provider who owns recovery: Datto through an MSP.

Whichever you pick, insist on an immutable or offline copy, a recovery time target for each system and a restore test on the calendar.

What affects cost, implementation and support?

• Licenses: Acronis per device per year at published prices; Veeam per workload through a reseller; Datto through a provider, on request.
• Storage: Veeam needs repository hardware or cloud storage you choose, such as Veeam Vault at $14 per TB per month for its Foundation edition as of October 2026; Acronis includes some cloud storage per license and sells more; Datto keeps copies on the appliance and in its own cloud.
• Implementation: Veeam takes the most design work: repository sizing, immutability, offsite copies and replication targets. Acronis is mostly agent rollout and policies. Datto arrives as an appliance set up by the provider.
• Support: daily job checks, fixes for failed jobs, restore tests and renewals, whoever does them. Budget for that labor even when the software is inexpensive.

How does NetSys choose and run backup?

Our IT disaster recovery services start from recovery targets, not brands: an RTO and RPO for each system, agreed with its owner, then a method that meets them. The backup tools we run for managed clients are Datto and Veeam. Either way we keep offline and immutable copies, check backup jobs daily, test restores on a schedule with measured times, and back up Microsoft 365 separately. Across more than 30 ransomware incidents in the last three years, every organization we worked with was fully recovered, and clients with a documented disaster recovery plan were back within 24 hours. Disaster recovery planning is included in every managed agreement, month to month.

Book a call with an engineer to check your current backup tool against your recovery targets before you renew or switch.

Frequently asked questions

Is Veeam or Acronis better for a small business?

It depends on what you protect and who runs it. Veeam is stronger for virtualized servers, replication and fast recovery, and needs someone to design and run it. Acronis covers laptops, servers and Microsoft 365 from one console with published prices, which suits a small office with a generalist. Both need tested restores.

Is Veeam free?

Veeam's Community Edition is free for up to 10 workloads, without technical support. Beyond that, Veeam Data Platform is licensed per workload through resellers, service providers or Veeam's sales team, and Veeam publishes no dollar prices on its pricing page.

Does Acronis Cyber Protect include antivirus?

Acronis Cyber Protect combines backup with anti-malware and endpoint management in one agent and console. Whether it should replace your current endpoint protection is a separate decision; check what your existing detection and response tool covers before removing anything.

Can Veeam and Acronis back up Microsoft 365?

Yes. Acronis sells Microsoft 365 backup under its Backup Advanced edition in five-seat packs, $209 a year per pack with unlimited Acronis-hosted storage as of October 2026. Veeam licenses Microsoft 365 backup as a standalone product, separate from Veeam Data Platform.

Datto vs Acronis: which is easier to run?

Without IT staff, Datto, because a provider runs the appliance and the cloud for you. With a generalist who wants to run backup in-house, Acronis, because it is software with one console for every device. Either way, someone has to check jobs and test restores.

Which option fits a small team?

No IT staff: backup as a managed service, where testing matters more than the brand. A generalist with laptops, a server and Microsoft 365: Acronis. Several virtualized servers needing replication: Veeam. Whatever the tool, keep an immutable copy and test restores.

What affects the cost of Veeam or Acronis?

Licenses are only part of it. Add storage for retention and offsite copies, hardware for a Veeam repository, cloud disaster recovery if you need failover, and the labor of daily checks and restore tests. Compare options on a three-year total for the same recovery targets.