Hornetsecurity 365 Total Backup vs Restow: alternative and comparison 2026
Hornetsecurity 365 Total Backup is a managed backup and recovery service for Microsoft 365 from Hanover, sold mostly through partners. One fee per user covers the software, unlimited storage on Hornetsecurity infrastructure and support around the clock.
By Lucas Flores, IT Systeme Flores UG. Last updated
Hornetsecurity product pages checked on 2026-09-29. The product name, the page title and the absence of a published price re-checked on the English and German product pages on 2026-10-22.
The short answer
Hornetsecurity fits companies and MSPs in German-speaking markets who want a fully managed service that also covers Teams chats, SharePoint, Planner, OneNote and Entra ID, with storage in Germany.
Restow fits if you want to own the backup: a one-time license, storage you choose and operate, and a weekly restore test that proves each backup can be read back.
At a glance
| Aspect | Restow | Hornetsecurity |
|---|---|---|
| Price model | Community free. Business €595, Service Provider €1,950, one-time, net (pre-sale until release: €476 and €1,560). Pre-sale licenses include every 1.x update; from version 1.0, a license includes 12 months of updates, then an optional update year (Business €295, Service Provider €595 net per year). No per-user fee. | Per user, recurring, all-inclusive (software, unlimited storage, 24/7 support). No public price. |
| Where it runs | Self-hosted: one Docker Compose stack on a Linux server or VM you control. | Managed service run by Hornetsecurity. No self-hosted option. |
| Where backups are stored | Your choice: local disk, S3-compatible object storage or NFS, in the region you pick. Immutable backups (S3 Object Lock) can be switched on per repository. | Hornetsecurity infrastructure in a region you choose (Germany, USA or UK announced). |
| Microsoft 365 coverage | Exchange Online mail, calendar, contacts; OneDrive; SharePoint Online sites (document libraries and lists, new in 0.4.0); Microsoft 365 groups (calendar and conversations, opt-in, since 0.4.5); IMAP mailboxes; Linux and macOS servers and clients (file-level agent); SMB and NFS file shares without an agent; imported mail files. No Teams chats. | Mailboxes incl. in-place archives, Teams chats, Planner, OneNote, Entra ID, OneDrive, SharePoint. |
| Restore testing | Weekly sampled check: data is read back through the restore path and verified against the recorded hashes. File shares are checked after every new restore point, Proxmox VE (preview) guests within minutes of every new restore point, and Proxmox VE can also boot-test restore points. | Not described on the pages checked. |
| Source code and exit | Apache 2.0 core, Business and Service Provider modules under the Restow license terms, open documented storage format with a standalone restore tool. | Proprietary. Export format not described on the pages checked. |
Where Hornetsecurity is strong
- Broad coverage, including Teams chats, Planner, OneNote and Entra ID.
- Fully managed, with support around the clock included.
- Storage in Germany available.
- Self-service restore for end users.
Where Restow is different
- A one-time license: Business €595, Service Provider €1,950, and no fee per user; update years are optional (Business €295, Service Provider €595 net per year).
- Storage you run or rent yourself, including local disks and NFS.
- A weekly restore test per mailbox that reads data back and compares it.
- Open source core and an open storage format.
Hornetsecurity 365 Total Backup: backup and recovery for Microsoft 365
Hornetsecurity titles its English product page “Backup & Recovery for Microsoft 365”, and the product is called 365 Total Backup. Several times a day it backs up mailboxes including in-place archives, Teams chats, Planner, OneNote, Entra ID users and groups, OneDrive for Business and SharePoint document libraries, and it gives end users a self-service restore. The backups sit on Hornetsecurity infrastructure, independent of Microsoft, in a region the customer chooses.
What does Hornetsecurity 365 Total Backup cost? Prices and licensing
Hornetsecurity publishes no price for 365 Total Backup on its product pages. It describes one all-inclusive fee per user that covers the software, unlimited storage and support around the clock, and it offers a free trial; prices come from partners. Restow's license is paid once instead: Community is free, Business costs €595 and Service Provider €1,950, each once and net, with no fee per user; update years are optional (Business €295, Service Provider €595 net per year). What Microsoft 365 backup costs per user and month lists the assumptions.
What Restow does not do (yet)
- Restow does not back up Teams chats. It backs up SharePoint Online sites since 0.4.0, without attachments of list items, site design, navigation and workflows; permissions are kept as information and never restored.
- Immutable backups (new in 0.4.0) are off until an administrator turns them on per repository. S3 Object Lock was tested against a simulated S3 service only, directories and NFS get only a deletion delay, which is not immutability, and the installation's default repository cannot be made immutable.
- In Business, the audit log viewer ships since 0.1.0 and the audit log export since 0.3.1; since 0.3.1 every edition has several administrators with roles. Sign-in with Microsoft and single sign-on (SSO) are planned, and so are four-eyes approval and a signed restore proof.
- The archive is filled by mail import with archiving and, from Business, by capture from the mailboxes (Microsoft Graph, IMAP sync), Exchange Online journal receipt and forwarded copies. Capture from the mailbox is near-time and not complete, and was tested against simulated services only.
- The automated Microsoft 365 backup and restore check against a real tenant is not active yet: check 4 of the release pipeline was skipped in every release so far; Microsoft 365 is covered by tests against a simulated Graph API.
- Licenses include no support, setup, operation or SLA.
- The server and endpoint agent runs on Linux and macOS, file-level; a Windows agent and image backup are planned.
- Restow is a beta: do not use it as your only backup.
Hornetsecurity: the facts, with sources
Each line is taken from Hornetsecurity's own documentation unless the rating says otherwise. "Checked: not found" means we looked in the named sources and did not find it, which is not proof that it does not exist.
| Fact | Source | How solid |
|---|---|---|
| The product is called 365 Total Backup. Hornetsecurity's English product page is titled "Backup & Recovery for Microsoft 365 | 365 Total Backup" and the German page "365 Total Backup | Backup & Recovery für Microsoft 365". Neither lists prices, plans or minimums; the page offers a free trial. | Hornetsecurity: 365 Total Backup, Hornetsecurity: 365 Total Backup (de) | Official source |
| Backs up Microsoft 365 mailboxes including in-place archives, Teams chats, Planner, OneNote, Entra ID users and groups, OneDrive for Business and SharePoint document libraries. | Hornetsecurity: 365 Total Backup | Official source |
| Backups run automatically several times a day; retention periods can be customised. | Hornetsecurity: 365 Total Backup information | Official source |
| One all-inclusive fee covers software, unlimited storage and 24/7 support. No price is published on the product pages. | Hornetsecurity: 365 Total Backup | Official source |
| Backups are stored on Hornetsecurity infrastructure, independent of Microsoft, in a region you choose. No self-hosted or own-storage option was found. | Hornetsecurity: 365 Total Backup information | Official source |
| Announced regions: Germany, USA and United Kingdom, chosen per customer by the partner; more regions were planned. | Hornetsecurity blog, 20 April 2022 | Moderate |
| Backup data is encrypted with an individual AES-256 key. | Hornetsecurity: 365 Total Backup | Official source |
| End users can restore their own mailbox, OneDrive and OneNote data through a self-service portal. | Hornetsecurity: 365 Total Backup | Official source |
| No automated restore verification and no export format were described on the pages checked. | Hornetsecurity: 365 Total Backup | Checked: not found |
Frequently asked
How much does Hornetsecurity 365 Total Backup cost?
Hornetsecurity publishes no price on its product pages. It describes one all-inclusive fee per user for software, unlimited storage and 24/7 support, and offers a free trial. Prices come from partners.
Can Hornetsecurity keep backups in Germany?
Yes. Hornetsecurity announced Germany, the USA and the UK as backup regions, chosen per customer. Restow stores backups wherever you run it.