N-able Cove Data Protection alternative and comparison 2026
Cove Data Protection is N-able's cloud backup for MSPs. It protects servers, workstations and Microsoft 365 in one console, prices Microsoft 365 per protected user and includes storage in N-able's own data centres.
By Lucas Flores, IT Systeme Flores UG. Last updated
N-able product and pricing pages checked on 2026-09-29.
The short answer
Cove fits MSPs who want one vendor for server, workstation and Microsoft 365 backup, with frequent backups, 7-year retention and storage in N-able's data centres included.
Restow fits MSPs who want a one-time Service Provider license for any number of tenants, backups on storage they control, and a weekly restore test per mailbox. Restow has an agent for Linux and macOS servers and clients, file-level, and backs up SMB and NFS file shares without an agent; a Windows agent is planned.
At a glance
| Aspect | Restow | N-able Cove |
|---|---|---|
| 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 unique protected user, recurring, storage included and pooled per tenant. No public price; quote or trial. |
| Where it runs | Self-hosted: one Docker Compose stack on a Linux server or VM you control. | Cloud service; management console by N-able. 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. | N-able's private data centres, region of your choice. No own-storage option found. |
| 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. | Exchange and Teams up to 6 times a day, OneDrive and SharePoint up to 4 times a day. |
| 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 for Microsoft 365 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 N-able Cove is strong
- Servers, workstations and Microsoft 365 in one console.
- Up to six Exchange and Teams backups a day.
- Retention of Microsoft 365 data for up to seven years.
- Storage included, pooled across the users of a tenant.
Where Restow is different
- One Service Provider license (€1,950 once, plus an optional update year at €595 net after the first 12 months) instead of a per-user price for every mailbox.
- Backups on storage you pick, not a vendor data centre.
- A weekly restore test per mailbox and OneDrive, shown per tenant.
- Open source core and an open storage format; no lock-in on exit.
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.
N-able Cove: the facts, with sources
Each line is taken from N-able Cove'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 |
|---|---|---|
| Priced per unique protected user for Microsoft 365, with cloud storage in N-able data centres included and pooled across users within each tenant. No price is published; quote or free trial. | N-able: Cove pricing | Official source |
| Covers Exchange and Teams up to 6 times a day, OneDrive and SharePoint up to 4 times a day. | N-able: Cove for Microsoft 365 | Official source |
| Microsoft 365 data can be kept for up to 7 years. | N-able: Cove for Microsoft 365 | Official source |
| Backups are stored in N-able's private network of data centres, in a region you choose. No self-hosted or own-storage option was found. | N-able: Cove for Microsoft 365 | Official source |
| Server, workstation and Microsoft 365 backups are managed in the same console. | N-able: Cove for Microsoft 365 | Official source |
| Data centres are certified for SOC 1 Type II, SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, ISO 9001 and PCI DSS, and HIPAA is listed. | N-able: Cove for Microsoft 365 | Official source |
| No automated restore verification and no export format for Microsoft 365 were described on the pages checked. | N-able: Cove for Microsoft 365 | Checked: not found |
Frequently asked
How much does Cove cost for Microsoft 365?
N-able publishes no price. Microsoft 365 is billed per unique protected user with storage included; you get a price through a quote or trial.
Can Restow replace Cove entirely?
Not today. Restow protects Microsoft 365, IMAP and, with its agent, Linux and macOS servers and clients at file level. A Windows agent is planned, not built, and Restow makes no disk images yet; both are planned.