Altaro VM Backup for MSPs vs N-able Cove Data Protection comparison

Hornetsecurity and N-able are both solutions in the MSP Backup category. Hornetsecurity is ranked #8, while N-able is ranked #3 with an average rating of 7.5. Hornetsecurity holds a 6.0% mindshare in MB, compared to N-able’s 15.3% mindshare. Additionally, 50% of Hornetsecurity users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of N-able users who would recommend it.

Altaro VM Backup for MSPs

Read 1 Altaro VM Backup for MSPs review

540 Views
362 Comparison Views

50% willing to recommend

N-able Cove Data Protection

Read 23 N-able Cove Data Protection reviews

6,333 Views
887 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

Altaro VM Backup for MSPs

N-able Cove Data Protection

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Altaro VM Backup for MSPs and N-able Cove Data Protection based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about NinjaOne, datto, N-able and others in MSP Backup.

To learn more, read our detailed MSP Backup Report (Updated: May 2026).

Buyer's Guide

MSP Backup

May 2026

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Helped 895,151 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:

Categories and Ranking

Altaro VM Backup for MSPs

Ranking in MSP Backup

8th

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

N-able Cove Data Protection

Ranking in MSP Backup

3rd

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Backup and Recovery (30th), Cloud Backup (19th), SaaS Backup (8th)

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the MSP Backup category, the mindshare of Altaro VM Backup for MSPs is 6.0%, up from 5.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of N-able Cove Data Protection is 15.3%, down from 25.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

MSP Backup Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
N-able Cove Data Protection	15.3%
Altaro VM Backup for MSPs	6.0%
Other	78.7%

MSP Backup

Featured Reviews

Anthony Linder

Information Technology Application Specialist at a government with 10,001+ employees

An incredibly stable product with a great user interface

Improvements are needed in the solution since it might get difficult if you just drop a technical person who doesn't necessarily have a lot of experience with Altaro VM Backup for MSPs. A technical person who hasn't received any dedicated training or hasn't gone through the documentation part of the solution may find the product to be a little non-intuitive at times. In Altaro VM Backup for MSPs, if you expect something to be somewhere else or when you expect a certain part of the user interface to function in a specific way, it doesn't happen so since the functionality that you expect to be there in the product isn't present on that screen and you need to go somewhere else for that piece. I think that is the case with the most complex tech products. I would like to be able to store a full cluster environment inside of Altaro VM and make sure that the cluster communicates inside of the product, presuming that we have the necessary backup drive in our company. Altaro VM already can test individual VM restores, but one can't really go beyond that scope, at least with the version of the solution that we have in our company right now.

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Per MøllerJacobsen

Senior consultant at Azend A/S

Delivers cost-effective data backup with room for search improvements

The challenges I face especially are those I've mentioned, that finding some specific data in N-able Cove Data Protection is not as easy as it is in some other systems. You cannot just search for something—you need to know where it was and when it was there to restore it, plus it would be nice to take out data from Microsoft 365 in some portable format, which is currently not an option. I would like to extract the data from Microsoft 365 in a portable format, something like a database or maybe just to take out a PST file or SharePoint and Teams files to the file system. Especially in these times, where we discuss potential risks with the Microsoft cloud for European companies, companies would want to know how to access their data from the backup if they suddenly don't have a tenant. I believe there should be the ability to take out data from Microsoft 365 in a portable format. I know that Cohesity is working on making such a thing. It's not there yet; I asked last week for something for forensics, and the support team said it's not possible yet, but I know from our technical account manager they are working on some solutions.

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

"Granular restoration is extremely useful in Altaro VM Backup for MSPs since it is something that we make use of the most in our company."

"We've got twenty-seven different clients right now using Cove and our success rate on backups, taking out all the variables like computers being offline or crashing, is about a 95% to 99% success rate at all times."

"Of all the IT companies that we deal with as suppliers, I'm pretty sure they are the best that we have ever dealt with."

"I know I won't have an issue if the data is there. The reliability and the confidence that we have is amazing. It doesn't matter. We've had customers have ransomware. We've had customers that have had corruption. We've had customers that have had employees destroy their data. As long as it's been backed up, I know that I can get it back and I know I have nothing to worry about. Our confidence level is very high."

"The integration of N-able Cove Data Protection into our existing infrastructure is easy."

"We use a neat feature called VDR status, Virtual Disaster Recovery status. It only works on servers... It's automated. Once or twice a month it will virtually mount the backup and provide a screenshot and advise whether or not there have been any errors."

"N-able Cove Data Protection is user-friendly and straightforward, and the dashboard is clear."

"For servers, first and foremost, it's just a rock-solid solution."

"Overall, our team is much more satisfied, I don't have to bite my fingernails every morning wondering "What happened here?" and pretty much when things don't back up, it's usually either a machine failure or their network went down or something else is screwed up."

More N-able Cove Data Protection pros

Cons

"A technical person who hasn't received any dedicated training or hasn't gone through the documentation part of the solution may find the product to be a little non-intuitive at times."

"One area I don't like has to do with the agent that goes on the system... if a system stays offline for some length of time, say for a week or so, I may have to go back in and reinstall the agent to get it back in business. I don't know what's causing that."

"N-able Cove Data Protection for Microsoft 365 is an area with shortcomings that need improvement."

"During the other 10% of the time when I have a problem, it's a mess."

"We don't use the solution’s automated recovery testing because SolarWinds made me cross."

"The recovery side, the restore side, could be a little more optimized."

"The reporting feature and functionality need improvement."

"For the MSP side, they could have more of a "security user" that can go in and only see certain clients. If you give somebody access as a technician, they can see all the clients."

"We don't use the solution’s automated recovery testing because SolarWinds made me cross. When they released it, I went, "Oh, well, that's quite good." Because if you use the system, then it supposedly spins up, and on the portal, it gives you a screenshot of the booted device. So, I phoned up, and I said, "Oh, that's really quite cool. How much is that?" They said, "No, no, no. It's all included in your license." I went, "Okay then," and went and deployed it on about half the fleet. One of the options that our customers have is they can pay us a small amount every month for us to test the recovery just to prove that it's viable, and I thought, "Well, this will do that for us. Nice." Then, in the next invoice, we got a charge for it. While It was not a huge amount, I took offense at the fact that we were told that it would be a no extra cost option that was part of our license, but it turns out that it's chargeable. Therefore, we haven't used it since."

More N-able Cove Data Protection cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"There is no per node cost, at least not the way I am doing it. I am on bulk. New customers can be set up on a trial, where they can get things all squared away, then they can switch over to being a billed customer."

"When you have a device/appliance on the site quite a lot of the other enterprise class backup people insist that you have their appliance, which is frankly offensively expensive. Because when you pry the top off, it's just a standard 19-inch tin box with a standard Intel I5 in it, some RAM, and a hard drive. Then, you go, "Why have they just charged me 5,500 quid for a box, which I could have probably build for under 500." Whereas, with the SolarWinds product, they don't have that. The backup appliances that we have onsite are just plain cooking PCs. We can build our own machines, which is reflected in the price that we can offer a customer."

"The pricing is affordable. N-able Cove Data Protection has a direct-to-cloud architecture, but it also allows saving backups locally without extra storage costs."

"The cost is around ten dollars per workstation a month and that includes a certain amount of data."

"N-able Cove Data Protection is an averagely-priced product."

"The pricing, for now, is good. The package that they gave us recently is pretty good. It depends on how many clients you have, and you pay for certain terabytes per license. These terabytes, if not used, are pooled together."

"The pricing of SolarWinds seems to be fair compared to the rest of the industry."

"The pricing is very competitive and it's well worth the price."

More N-able Cove Data Protection pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

No data available

Comms Service Provider

12%

Computer Software Company

10%

Construction Company

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	19
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	1

Questions from the Community

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for N-able Backup?

In terms of pricing, N-able Cove Data Protection is neither cheap nor expensive compared to other competitors.

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What needs improvement with N-able Backup?

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What is your primary use case for N-able Backup?

Our main use cases for enabling N-able Cove Data Protection include backing up our customers' data on servers hosted in data centers and servers hosted in our own data center, as well as a few onsi...

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

MSP Backup

May 2026

Download Altaro VM Backup for MSPs product report

Buyer's Guide

N-able Cove Data Protection

May 2026

Download N-able Cove Data Protection product report

Also Known As

No data available

N-able Backup, SolarWinds Backup, SolarWinds MSP Backup & Recovery, SolarWinds MSP Backup

Overview

Altaro VM Backup for MSPs is designed to simplify and enhance virtual machine backup and recovery for managed service providers, offering a centralized and efficient solution to manage multiple customers.

This software caters to MSPs by providing robust features that streamline the backup process, allowing centralized control over numerous clients. It offers increased efficiency by reducing the complexity involved in managing virtual machine environments. With a user-friendly architecture, it enables backup and recovery management across multiple sites, ensuring data protection and reducing downtime.

What features make Altaro VM Backup for MSPs stand out?

Centralized Management: A single pane of glass that allows seamless management of all your clients' systems.
Incremental Backups: Utilize efficient backup methodologies to offer quick and space-saving data protection.
Cloud Backup: Secure offsite backup to cloud storage, providing flexibility and enhanced disaster recovery options.
Advanced Data Compression: Reduces storage requirements, allowing significant savings in storage space and costs.
Quick Restore: Minimize downtime with rapid recovery features ensuring business continuity.

What benefits do Altaro VM Backup for MSPs reviews highlight?

Cost-Efficiency: Many users notice a decrease in overall operational costs due to reduced resource consumption.
Scalability: Reviews often mention ease of scalability as business needs grow.
Time Savings: The streamlined management structure saves valuable time for MSPs.
Reliable Support: Frequent positive feedback about support services ensuring timely assistance.
Flexibility: Numerous reviews cite the adaptability of the software to different environments and requirements.

Altaro VM Backup for MSPs can be particularly beneficial in industries with significant reliance on virtual machines, such as finance, healthcare, and education. These sectors require reliable data protection and efficient data recovery, which can be realized through its comprehensive backup methodologies, ensuring compliance and operational resilience.

Hornetsecurity

N-able Cove Data Protection delivers cloud-based data backup and disaster recovery with features like ease of use, automation, and efficient data transfer. Its unified dashboard and virtual disaster recovery options are key highlights for simplifying data management.

N-able Cove Data Protection stands out for its comprehensive cloud-based architecture, offering reliable backup, disaster recovery, and archiving solutions across industries such as legal, healthcare, and finance. Users benefit from features like virtual disaster recovery, bare-metal restore, and efficient data transfer. Cove's straightforward setup and resource efficiency make it popular among managed service providers, as it supports diverse environments, including Windows, Linux, and macOS systems. Despite its strengths, users have noted areas for improvement, such as dashboard navigation, cloud integration, and prolonged initial backup times.

What are the key features of N-able Cove Data Protection?

Ease of Use: Simplified setup and management with an intuitive interface.
Automation: Streamlined processes for efficient data handling.
Cloud-Based Architecture: Reliable backup and recovery from any location.
Virtual Disaster Recovery: Enables swift data restoration scenarios.
Bare-Metal Restore: Facilitates complete system recovery from hardware failures.

What benefits can users expect when evaluating data protection?

Resource Efficiency: Optimizes system resources to minimize overhead.
Remote Access: Simplifies data management with a unified dashboard from any location.
Scalability: Suits diverse organizational sizes and needs.
Integration: Supports Windows, Linux, macOS, and virtual environments.

Industries like legal, healthcare, and finance utilize N-able Cove Data Protection for its robust server, workstation, and Office 365 data backup capabilities. With support for SQL, MySQL, Exchange, and file backups, Cove aids managed service providers in efficiently managing both local and remote environments, offering strong disaster recovery, testing, and item-level restoration options.

N-able

Sample Customers

Alpha & Omega Computer Consultants, Chorus

Computer Depot, Leading Edge Computers, IT Logic Australia

Find out what your peers are saying about NinjaOne, datto, N-able and others in MSP Backup. Updated: May 2026.

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