NAKIVO Backup for Microsoft 365 alternative and comparison 2026
NAKIVO Backup & Replication is a self-hosted backup suite for virtual machines, physical servers and Microsoft 365. It runs on Windows, Linux or a NAS and writes to storage you own. Microsoft 365 backup is sold per user as a subscription.
By Lucas Flores, IT Systeme Flores UG. Last updated
NAKIVO Microsoft 365 backup page and pricing page checked on 2026-10-05.
The short answer
NAKIVO fits if you already run it for VMware, Hyper-V or Proxmox and want Microsoft 365 in the same console, including SharePoint and Teams, on storage you own.
Restow fits if you want the same self-hosted idea without a per-user subscription: a one-time license, IMAP mailboxes beside Microsoft 365, and a weekly restore test that proves each backup can be read back.
At a glance
| Aspect | Restow | NAKIVO |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | Subscription per user and month, from €0.80 (1-year term), billed annually upfront; minimum 10 users per order. A 3-year term saves 12 percent. |
| Where it runs | Self-hosted: one Docker Compose stack on a Linux server or VM you control. | Self-hosted on Windows, Linux or a NAS, managed in a web console. |
| 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. | Your choice: local folders, NAS, Amazon S3, Wasabi, S3-compatible, Azure Blob, SMB/NFS shares, deduplication appliances and tape. |
| 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 Online (user, shared and group mailboxes, archives), OneDrive, SharePoint Online, Microsoft Teams. |
| 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. No open storage format or standalone restore tool found. |
Where NAKIVO is strong
- One console for VMs, physical servers and Microsoft 365.
- Covers SharePoint and Teams.
- Many storage targets, including tape and deduplication appliances.
- Immutable backups on local Linux folders and S3 storage with Object Lock.
Where Restow is different
- A one-time license instead of a subscription per user and month; Community is free for one organization.
- IMAP mailboxes, imported mail files and an archive with a hash chain in every edition.
- A weekly restore check per mailbox and machine that reads data back and compares hashes.
- Open source core and an open, documented storage format with a standalone restore tool.
- No minimum order and no user count: Restow does not count mailboxes.
What 100 users cost over five years
At NAKIVO's published starting price of €0.80 per user and month, 100 users cost €4,800 over five years on 1-year terms, before storage and the server it runs on. A 3-year term lowers that by 12 percent.
Restow Business costs €595 once for one organization (pre-sale until release: €476). 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). Restow Community costs nothing. Storage and the server are yours in both cases.
Same idea, different licence
Both products run on your hardware and write to storage you choose, so neither holds your data in a vendor cloud. The difference is the licence: NAKIVO's Microsoft 365 backup stops when the subscription ends, a Restow license never expires.
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.
NAKIVO: the facts, with sources
Each line is taken from NAKIVO'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 |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft 365 backup is licensed per user in the organization's Microsoft 365 account and sold only as a subscription: per user and month, billed annually upfront, as a 1-year term or a 3-year term that saves 12 percent. Minimum 10 users per order. | NAKIVO Pricing | Official source |
| Price on the vendor's euro page: "Starting at 0,80 € per user/month". | NAKIVO Microsoft 365 Backup | Official source |
| Self-hosted on Windows, Linux or NAS appliances, managed in a web console. | NAKIVO Microsoft 365 Backup | Official source |
| Backup targets include local folders, NAS, Amazon S3, Wasabi, S3-compatible storage, Azure Blob, SMB/NFS shares, deduplication appliances and tape. | NAKIVO Microsoft 365 Backup | Official source |
| Protects Exchange Online (user, shared and group mailboxes, archives), OneDrive for Business, SharePoint Online and Microsoft Teams. Shared and group mailboxes need no license. | NAKIVO Microsoft 365 Backup | Official source |
| Immutable backups on local Linux folders, cloud storage with immutability settings, NEC HYDRAstor and tape. | NAKIVO Microsoft 365 Backup | Official source |
| No automated restore test for Microsoft 365 backups was described on the pages checked. | Same pages, absence checked directly | Checked: not found |
| Not open source; no open storage format found. | Absence checked across the pages above | Checked: not found |
Frequently asked
Is NAKIVO Backup for Microsoft 365 a one-time purchase?
No. NAKIVO sells Microsoft 365 backup only as a subscription per user and month, billed annually upfront, with a minimum of 10 users per order. Its VM backup is also available as a perpetual license.
Does Restow back up SharePoint and Teams like NAKIVO?
In part. Restow has backed up SharePoint Online sites since 0.4.0 (document libraries and lists); the feature is new and so far tested against a simulated Microsoft Graph. Teams chats are not backed up; NAKIVO covers Teams and Restow does not.
Can Restow back up virtual machines like NAKIVO?
Partly, as a preview. Since 0.3.1 Restow backs up VMs and containers on Proxmox VE 8.4 and newer; it is a preview and not yet recommended as the only backup. Since 0.4.0 you can also browse and download files from container restore points and, as a preview, VM restore points, and boot-test restore points. Restow backs up Linux and macOS servers and clients at file level with an agent. Image backup and a Windows agent are planned.