Acronis Cyber Protect Review 2026: Unified Backup & Security

Acronis Cyber Protect 17 is a B2B unified platform that combines backup, anti-malware, and endpoint management into a single agent and console. Our testing across multiple business environments shows this integration delivers operational efficiency for MSPs and SMBs, though specialized solutions may outperform it in individual categories.

The platform targets organizations with 10-100 endpoints seeking to consolidate vendor relationships while maintaining comprehensive data protection and security capabilities. Version 17 introduces XDR integration with Microsoft 365, enhanced ransomware rollback features, and agentless backup for Proxmox VE and Nutanix AHV—critical for MSPs managing diverse virtualization environments following the Broadcom/VMware pricing changes.

---

At a Glance

---

What Is Acronis Cyber Protect?

Acronis Cyber Protect is a B2B unified platform that combines backup, anti-malware, and endpoint management into a single agent and console.

Unlike traditional stacks that require separate antivirus and backup vendors, Cyber Protect (currently Version 17) centralizes these functions. It is distinct from the consumer-grade Acronis True Image (formerly Cyber Protect Home Office), targeting MSPs and SMBs with features like vulnerability scanning, patch management, and immutable cloud storage.

The platform uses a single lightweight agent deployed across endpoints that handles image-based backups, real-time malware detection, vulnerability assessments, and automated patch deployment. This architecture eliminates the coordination overhead of managing multiple security vendors while reducing the risk of backup data becoming infected with malware.

Acronis True Image vs. Cyber Protect: What's the Difference?

Acronis operates two distinct product lines that often confuse buyers:

Acronis True Image 2026 (Consumer):

• Rebranded from "Cyber Protect Home Office" in late 2025
• Designed for individual users and home offices
• Focuses on personal computer backup and basic security
• Simpler feature set with consumer-friendly pricing

Acronis Cyber Protect 17 (Business):

• B2B platform for MSPs, SMBs, and enterprises
• Multi-tenant management console for service providers
• Advanced features: XDR integration, patch management, vulnerability scanning
• Per-workstation/server licensing with separate cloud storage costs

Key Distinction: If you're managing multiple business endpoints or need MSP capabilities, you need Cyber Protect. True Image is exclusively for personal use and lacks the centralized management, compliance reporting, and advanced security features required for business environments.

Key Features

Backup and Recovery:

• Image-based backups for complete system protection
• Universal restore capabilities across different hardware
• Support for physical servers, virtual machines, and cloud workloads
• Agentless backup for Proxmox VE and Nutanix AHV (new in Version 17)
• Incremental and differential backup options to minimize storage usage

Integrated Security:

• Real-time anti-malware protection with behavioral analysis
• Ransomware protection with backup validation and AI-powered rollback
• XDR (Extended Detection and Response) integration with Microsoft 365
• Patch management with automatic pre-patch backups
• Vulnerability assessments and security monitoring
• WinRE-based recovery for Windows environments

Management and Storage:

• Unified web-based management console
• Flexible storage options, including local, cloud, and hybrid
• Automated backup scheduling with policy-based management
• Compliance reporting and audit trail capabilities

---

Performance and Reliability

Acronis Cyber Protect demonstrated solid performance across various backup scenarios during our testing. Initial full backups completed efficiently, though resource consumption was noticeable during peak operations. Subsequent incremental backups showed minimal system impact, making them suitable for operation during business hours.

Recovery Performance: File-level recovery proved straightforward through the web interface, with individual documents restored in seconds. Full system recovery to dissimilar hardware, including driver injection and configuration adjustments, took approximately 2 hours for a typical office workstation.

Security Effectiveness: The integrated antivirus component successfully detected and blocked malware samples during our testing, though detection rates weren't quite as high as specialized security solutions like Bitdefender Business or Malwarebytes for Business. However, the backup scanning feature adds a valuable layer of protection by preventing the restoration of infected data.

---

How Much Does Acronis Cyber Protect Cost in 2026?

Business licenses use a per-workstation annual model starting at approximately $85/year for the Standard tier.

Acronis has adjusted pricing for 2026 to reflect expanded security features:

Server Licenses: Jump significantly, ranging from $595 to $925 per year depending on the edition.

Note: Cloud storage is billed separately, typically starting at $69/year for 250GB.

Total Cost Planning: For a typical 25-workstation deployment using Advanced Security tier with 1TB cloud storage, expect annual costs around $3,500-$4,000. This represents a 15-20% increase from 2025 pricing but includes new XDR capabilities that previously required separate security tools. Many organizations opt for hybrid approaches, using local storage for primary backups and cloud storage for disaster recovery to control costs.

Value Assessment

Compared to purchasing separate backup and security solutions, Cyber Protect offers reasonable value for organizations with 10-50 endpoints. A comparable setup using alternative backup solutions like IDrive Business plus a business antivirus solution would typically cost 20-30% more while requiring additional management overhead.

For larger organizations or those with specialized security requirements, dedicated solutions may provide better functionality per dollar spent. However, the operational savings from unified management often justify the integrated approach for smaller IT teams.

Start Your 30-Day Free Trial

---

User Experience

Management Console: The web-based management interface provides centralized control over all endpoints from a single dashboard. Setting up backup policies requires minimal technical expertise, though advanced features like custom retention rules require familiarity with backup concepts.

Dashboard widgets display backup status, security alerts, and system health in real-time. The mobile-responsive design supports monitoring from tablets and smartphones, though detailed configuration tasks require desktop access.

Installation and Setup: Centralized deployment tools enable rapid agent installation across multiple endpoints. Group policies allow batch configuration of similar systems, reducing initial setup time to minutes per endpoint.

The configuration wizard covers essential settings including backup schedules, retention policies, and security scanning parameters. Review default policies before deployment to ensure alignment with business requirements.

Daily Operations: Cyber Protect operates autonomously after initial configuration. Automated backup scheduling and security scanning run according to defined policies, with alerts triggered only for failures or detected threats.

The notification system delivers actionable alerts via email or console notifications. Some administrators report needing more granular control over alert thresholds and delivery methods.

---

Compared to the Competition

Acronis Cyber Protect vs. Veeam: Which Is Better?

Acronis is the superior choice for MSPs requiring unified security and backup, while Veeam remains the gold standard for pure virtualization environments.

Acronis Wins On:

• Simplicity and unification. A single agent handles patching, AV, and backup.
• Supports a wider range of legacy hardware and diverse endpoints (mobile, workstations) without complex per-socket licensing.
• Integrated security stack eliminates the need for separate antivirus vendors.
• Better value for mixed physical and virtual environments.

Veeam Wins On:

• Granular virtual machine control and enterprise-scale recovery.
• Superior performance in large VMware/Hyper-V environments.
• More advanced features for complex virtual environments.
• However, Veeam requires a separate security stack and often demands higher technical overhead to manage effectively.

Acronis vs. Traditional Antivirus Plus Backup

Comparing Cyber Protect to separate solutions reveals interesting trade-offs. The separate approach using dedicated cybersecurity software plus backup solutions often provides superior performance in each category but requires coordinating between multiple vendors for support and management.

Cyber Protect's integrated approach shines during incident response scenarios, where backup and security teams can access the same data and tools. This coordination becomes valuable when investigating security incidents or recovering from ransomware attacks.

Acronis vs. Cloud-Native Solutions

Modern cloud-based solutions like Microsoft 365 Advanced Threat Protection plus Azure Backup offer compelling alternatives for organizations already committed to cloud infrastructure. These solutions often provide superior integration with cloud productivity tools.

However, Cyber Protect's hybrid approach works better for organizations with significant on-premises infrastructure or those requiring local backup storage for compliance reasons.

Compare Plans and Pricing

---

Security Analysis

Acronis Cyber Protect includes AI-enhanced behavioral heuristic antivirus, anti-malware, anti-ransomware, and anti-cryptojacking technologies for real-time protection. The platform scans backup data for malware and can remove threats during recovery to help prevent reinfection.

Advanced Protection Features:

• XDR Integration with Microsoft 365: Version 17 introduces extended detection and response capabilities that integrate with Microsoft 365 environments, providing unified threat visibility across email, endpoints, and cloud workloads. This integration allows security teams to correlate threats across multiple attack vectors from a single console.
• AI-Powered Ransomware Rollback: The platform can detect ransomware encryption in real-time and automatically roll back affected files to their pre-encryption state. During our testing, this feature successfully reversed simulated ransomware attacks within minutes, minimizing data loss and downtime.
• Vulnerability assessments and patch management with automated pre-patch backups
• Forensic backup mode for compliance and investigation needs
• Immutable backup storage to prevent ransomware encryption
• URL filtering and endpoint detection capabilities
• WinRE-based recovery for Windows environments

NIST Framework Alignment

Govern: Centralized policy management and compliance reporting through a unified console

Identify: Asset inventory, vulnerability scanning, and security posture monitoring

Protect: Data encryption, access controls, patch management, and anti-malware protection

Detect: Continuous monitoring, anomaly detection, and threat hunting capabilities

Respond: Automated incident response, forensic backups, and threat investigation tools

Recover: Rapid restore capabilities, attack rollback features, and disaster recovery planning

---

Implementation Analysis

Requirements

• Windows Servers: Windows Server 2003 SP1 through Server 2025 (all installation options except Nano Server)
• macOS: macOS 10.12 (Sierra) through macOS 26 Tahoe
• Memory: 150 MB minimum per Windows agent (typical backup operations use ~350 MB, peak up to 2 GB)
• Disk Space: 850 MB to 1.7 GB, depending on components installed
• Network: Internet connectivity for cloud storage and security updates
• Access: Administrative privileges for agent deployment and management

Implementation Timeline

Week 1-2: Agent deployment across endpoints, initial backup policy configuration, baseline security scans

Week 3-4: Security policy setup, vulnerability scanning configuration, backup validation testing

Month 2: Policy optimization, monitoring procedure establishment, and staff training completion

Trial and Evaluation

Acronis offers a 30-day free trial that allows users to evaluate core features before purchasing. This trial period provides sufficient time to test backup and restore procedures, security scanning capabilities, and management console functionality across different workload types. The trial also includes access to cloud storage for testing cloud backup scenarios.

Start Your Free 30-Day Trial

Common Challenges

• Resource consumption during initial backup creation can impact system performance
• License complexity when managing mixed physical and virtual environments
• Support responsiveness has received mixed feedback from users, according to reviews

---

Real-World Applications

---

Pros and Cons

What We Like

Areas for Improvement

---

Should You Choose Acronis Cyber Protect?

Best Fit Scenarios

You should consider Cyber Protect if:

• Your organization manages 10-100 endpoints with limited IT staff
• You currently use multiple vendors for backup and security
• Compliance requirements demand both backup validation and security monitoring
• Your environment includes mixed physical and virtual systems
• Operational simplicity outweighs specialized functionality in your priorities

Alternative Solutions Make Sense When

Look elsewhere if:

• Budget constraints require the absolute lowest cost solution
• Your security requirements demand cutting-edge threat detection
• You have dedicated staff who prefer specialized best-of-breed tools
• Your environment consists primarily of cloud-native applications
• Enterprise-scale features and performance are essential

Decision Framework

Evaluate your current vendor management overhead. If you coordinate between multiple backup and security providers, Cyber Protect's integration benefits may justify its cost premium over separate solutions.

Consider your technical expertise level. Organizations with experienced IT teams may prefer specialized tools that offer more control and optimization options. Smaller teams typically benefit from integrated solutions that reduce complexity.

Assess your growth trajectory. Fast-growing organizations may eventually require more specialized tools as they scale. Stable organizations with 10-100 endpoints often find long-term value in simplified vendor relationships.

For organizations evaluating comprehensive security strategies, Cyber Protect integrates well with business password managers like 1Password Business and other security tools. Organizations with on-premises infrastructure may also benefit from combining Cyber Protect with NAS-based backup solutions for additional redundancy.

---

Final Verdict

Acronis Cyber Protect 17 delivers operational efficiency through its unified agent architecture. Organizations managing multiple security vendors can benefit from consolidated backup, antivirus, patching, and XDR capabilities in a single platform.

The 2026 version includes Microsoft 365 XDR integration and enhanced ransomware rollback features. These capabilities previously required separate security platforms costing $50-100 per endpoint annually, which helps offset the 2026 price increases for organizations that would otherwise purchase those tools separately.

Customer support inconsistency and resource consumption during initial backups are areas to consider during evaluation. The platform's combination of backup functionality with integrated security features addresses requirements for most MSPs and SMBs with 10-100 endpoints. Organizations facing advanced persistent threats may want to supplement with dedicated EDR solutions for additional protection layers.

Try Acronis Cyber Protect with a 30-day Free Trial

---

Related Resources

• Best Cybersecurity Software for Small Business – Compare endpoint security solutions
• NIST CSF 2.0 Cybersecurity Tools – Framework compliance tools
• Best Business Password Managers – Secure credential management
• IDrive Business Review – Cloud-only backup alternative
• Synology Snapshots Explained – Local NAS backup strategies
• Small Business Security Assessment Guide – Evaluate your security posture
• Cybersecurity Services – Professional IT security support

This review reflects our testing and analysis as of February 2026. Product features and pricing may change. Consider reading the official CISA backup recommendations alongside your vendor evaluation process for comprehensive guidance on building a secure backup strategy.