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VMware Live Recovery vs Zerto comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 15, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
8.2
VMware Live Recovery users report notable cost savings and efficiency, achieving up to 100% returns and reduced downtime.
Sentiment score
7.3
Zerto enhances efficiency, reduces costs and downtime by automating disaster recovery and eliminating secondary hardware, providing substantial time savings.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.2
VMware Live Recovery support gets mixed reviews, with praise for responsiveness but reports of delays and inconsistency, especially off-hours.
Sentiment score
7.7
Zerto's customer support is praised for responsiveness and expertise, though complex issues sometimes face slower response times post-HP acquisition.
They are knowledgeable.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.4
VMware Live Recovery is flexible for enterprises but faces challenges with compatibility, resources, and infrastructure-related scaling costs.
Sentiment score
7.6
Zerto efficiently manages scalable growth across diverse environments, supporting increased workloads with simple license additions and minimal intervention.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.5
VMware Live Recovery offers strong stability with minor glitches, and users report reliability with efficient support for resolving issues.
Sentiment score
8.0
Zerto is stable and reliable, with issues usually due to user errors, receiving high ratings for dependable performance.
 

Room For Improvement

VMware Live Recovery faces integration, stability, and scalability issues, with user concerns about complexity, support, and pricing.
Users desire improvements in Zerto's documentation, reporting, Hyper-V support, user interface, licensing, pricing, automation, and advanced features.
It's important for the cost to be justified based on the features used in production.
I would like to see improved integration services with other solutions, such as SIEM management or security monitoring.
 

Setup Cost

VMware Live Recovery is costly post-Broadcom acquisition, offering valuable automation for enterprises but pricey for smaller companies.
Zerto's VM licensing offers scalable pricing, viewed as cost-efficient yet sometimes expensive, aligning with powerful disaster recovery features.
For cloud-based solutions, the cost seems quite pricey, so we stick to on-premises deployment.
 

Valuable Features

VMware Live Recovery enhances disaster recovery with user-friendly interfaces, automated workflows, flexible recovery plans, and robust replication.
Zerto provides seamless integration, rapid recovery, and real-time replication, excelling in disaster recovery and migration with near-zero RPOs.
The capability and the functionality of the features are very helpful for us.
The solution offers a rich set of features, well adapted in the market.
Replicating my settings helps me recover point objectives faster and retain policies.
 

Categories and Ranking

VMware Live Recovery
Ranking in Disaster Recovery (DR) Software
5th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
79
Ranking in other categories
Disaster Recovery as a Service (1st)
Zerto
Ranking in Disaster Recovery (DR) Software
2nd
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
279
Ranking in other categories
Backup and Recovery (2nd), Cloud Migration (4th), Cloud Backup (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the Disaster Recovery (DR) Software category, the mindshare of VMware Live Recovery is 14.4%, down from 18.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zerto is 15.3%, down from 20.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Disaster Recovery (DR) Software
 

Featured Reviews

Siva Kuppala - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers simplified management and automated recovery process, which reduces the need for manual intervention during a disaster
Automated recovery is one good feature, SRM also offers simplified management. It has a centralized interface for configuring, testing, and executing disaster recovery plans across multiple sites. This means management from a single point, even for many sites. Recovery plans can be different for customers. So, another important feature is the policy-based protection within SRM. Recovery plans can be customized based on business requirements, including Recovery Point Objectives (RPO) and Recovery Time Objectives (RTO). These objectives might differ between industries – healthcare might need a more aggressive RPO, for instance. Additionally, SRM offers failback capabilities and reporting features for compliance.
Shri Sharan - PeerSpot reviewer
Is user-friendly, saves us time, and costs
We encountered some issues during Active Directory recovery. When we implemented Active Directory, we provided feedback to Zerto regarding the challenges of recovering AD from the on-premises environment to the disaster recovery site. Unlike other virtual machines, AD recovery presents unique difficulties due to its active-active nature. It's unclear whether these challenges stem from Zerto itself or limitations within Microsoft Active Directory. However, in our experience using Zerto for AD recovery compared to other technologies, we faced data discrepancies that necessitated workarounds to bring AD online at the DR site. Certain applications we migrated from production relied on Active Directory authentication. To ensure successful application functionality at the DR site, a functional AD environment was a prerequisite to application migration. Therefore, our initial step involved copying and guaranteeing a running AD instance on the DR side before application recovery. However, upon attempting application authentication on the DR side, data inconsistencies prevented successful authentication. To address this, we created an isolated clone of the AD environment and conducted tests. Through trial and error, we were able to develop workarounds to resolve the issue. Notably, these challenges were specific to Active Directory; other VMs didn't exhibit similar problems.
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Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Disaster Recovery (DR) Software solutions are best for your needs.
831,158 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Comparison Review

it_user159711 - PeerSpot reviewer
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…
 

Answers from the Community

AD
Jan 2, 2025
Jan 2, 2025
Hi Abhishek, That's a great question. In Europe/Austria most of the companies run Veeam - so do we. There a lot of advantages if you use Veeam as it's designed. Also, Zerto (more for Data migration) we use - but not for Backup. VM SRM is good for 1:n replication if you already use VMWare. There is a good comparison: https://community.veeam.com/vu... It's on the website from Veeam but still goo...
See 2 answers
Msc Schober - PeerSpot reviewer
May 22, 2023
Hi Abhishek, That's a great question. In Europe/Austria most of the companies run Veeam - so do we. There a lot of advantages if you use Veeam as it's designed. Also, Zerto (more for Data migration) we use - but not for Backup. VM SRM is good for 1:n replication if you already use VMWare. There is a good comparison: https://community.veeam.com/vu... It's on the website from Veeam but still good. Cheers,  Martin
JH
Jan 2, 2025
Zerto = VM near-synchronous replication (RPO in seconds), Multi-site and Multi-Cloud, Migration-only licensing available, Options for Backup-like long-term retention of VM snapshots, Application-centric DR workflows, Super easy to set up and run DR workflows, RTOs usually = mins, Built-in real-time ransomware detection, Options for HPE integrated Cyber Recovery Vault SRM = Asynchronous VM replication, relies on Storage platform snapshots and replication, RPOs will vary depending on storage platform. RTOs usually = hours depending on the size and complexity of the environment, VMware to VMware only, Comprehensive DR workflows for recovery, complicated to setup and run. Veeam = Many options for VM and VM data protection. Options for VM replication or VM backup with backup replication for DR. Can support Multi-Site and Multi-Cloud, Extensive backup and archive options for long-term retention, Ransomware detection by scanning backups, RPO – hours or days depending on backup and replication scheduled. Simple setup, DR recovery workflows are more manual than Zerto or SRM unless you leverage a 33rd party automation solution, RTOs usually = hours or days depending on dataset sizes and environment complexity.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
22%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Healthcare Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about VMware Cloud Disaster Recovery?
Setting up VMs can be done quickly. It is easy to use.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VMware Cloud Disaster Recovery?
The solution is pretty expensive after the changes, and it depends on the size of the customer if it's worth it. Larger enterprise customers can automate several features, making it cost-effective.
What needs improvement with VMware Cloud Disaster Recovery?
The licenses need to be easier to quote. At the moment, it is complicated with all the changes. The pricing structure is pretty expensive, especially after the recent changes, and it's important fo...
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 do you like most about Zerto?
Its ability to roll back if the VM or the server that you are recovering does not come up right is also valuable. You have the ability to roll back a few seconds or a few minutes. The rollback feat...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zerto?
I would rate the pricing, setup cost, and licensing around a seven on a scale of one to ten. The pricing model could be more flexible to accommodate startup companies with lower budgets.
 

Also Known As

VMware Cloud Disaster Recovery, Datrium DRaaS , VMware SRM
Zerto Virtual Replication
 

Learn More

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Certainty Home Loans, VPay, ZEON
United Airlines, HCA, XPO Logistics, TaxSlayer, McKesson, Insight Global, American Airlines, Tencate, Aaron’s, Grey’s County, Kingston Technologies
Find out what your peers are saying about VMware Live Recovery vs. Zerto and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
831,158 professionals have used our research since 2012.