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Zerto Review

Depends

Should I use Zerto?

Ransomware resilience, disaster recovery, and data mobility for on-premises and cloud. Experience true continuous data protection with a scalable solution. - zerto.com

· 1 month ago

Buy if you run VMware at midsize-to-enterprise scale and need near-zero-RPO disaster recovery or ransomware resilience. Don't if you're small or just need backups — per-VM pricing is called prohibitive and simpler tools suffice.

Confidence

Medium. Based on ~30 public sources; most review snippets were truncated.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Feature depth
  • Support qualityOnly vendor marketing claims in evidence
  • Security posture

Pricing

Zerto Virtual Replication

Per protected VM, 1-year subscription

ModelPer protected VM
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Zerto MigrationPer-VM license
Enterprise packagesMulti-VM, multi-year bundles

Best for

  • VMware-heavy midsize and enterprise IT
  • Ransomware/DR with near-zero RPO
  • Regulated sectors: healthcare, gov, finance
  • Cloud DR to AWS/Azure

Not for

  • Small orgs — pricing called prohibitive
  • Anyone who just needs simple backups
  • Homelabs and micro-budgets
  • Teams without dedicated virtualization admins

Gotchas - check before you buy

high

HPE price list shows $5.43M for a 2,500-VM, five-year enterprise package

medium

No transparent public pricing; quotes come via CDW, Insight, or HPE resellers

medium

1-year subscription licenses mean re-pricing risk at every renewal

medium

VRAs need patching when ESXi/vCenter CVEs drop; watch MyZerto field notices

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Considered among the best real-time replication tools for disaster recovery
  • 4.7/5 on G2; users consistently praise ease of use
  • Continuous data protection journal enables granular point-in-time recovery
  • Proven in regulated deployments including healthcare and government
  • Multi-cloud mobility: DR into AWS, Azure, and VMware Cloud Director

Cons

  • Repeatedly called expensive; per-VM costs add up fast
  • Pricing model described as prohibitive for smaller organizations
  • Requires ZVM appliance and VRAs deployed across your estate
  • HPE-owned since 2021; purchased via HPE/reseller channels

Sources & method

- 11 sources - No Zerto breaches found; vendor runs proactive vulnerability management and ships a pre-hardened ZVM appliance.

official x2review x5security x2news x2
  • CVE-2023-48795 on VRAs, Zerto published remediation for the OpenSSH 'Terrapin' flaw on Virtual Replication Appliances.
  • CVE-2019-11477 response, HPE advisory addressed the Linux kernel SACK vulnerability; stated Zerto components are prevented from exploitation.
  • VMware CVE-2025-22224 compatibility, Zerto reported testing compatibility amid critical 2025 VMware ESXi/vCenter vulnerabilities.

Key stats

  • Value for money: 2/5

    Rating

  • Per protected VM, 1-year subscription

    Starting price

  • 11

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 2/5. Called 'not cheap'; prohibitive for small orgs
  • Ease of use: 4/5. Users praise ease of use; usability-index leader
  • Feature depth: 5/5. Best-in-class real-time replication plus CDP journal
  • Support quality. Only vendor marketing claims in evidence
  • Security posture: 4/5. Pre-hardened appliance, proactive vulnerability management, no breaches found
  • 4.7/5 G2 rating 75 verified reviews
  • Per protected VM Pricing model 1-year subscription terms
  • $374M HPE acquisition (2021) Reported deal value
  • $216M Total funding Across 8 rounds pre-acquisition

Pricing

Zerto Virtual Replication

Per protected VM, 1-year subscription

  • Per-VM licensing
  • Quoted via resellers/HPE

Zerto Migration

Per-VM license

  • One-time migration use case

Enterprise packages

Multi-VM, multi-year bundles

  • e.g. $5.43M list for 2,500 VMs over 5 years

Security

No Zerto breaches found; vendor runs proactive vulnerability management and ships a pre-hardened ZVM appliance.

  • CVE-2023-48795 on VRAsZerto published remediation for the OpenSSH 'Terrapin' flaw on Virtual Replication Appliances.
  • CVE-2019-11477 responseHPE advisory addressed the Linux kernel SACK vulnerability; stated Zerto components are prevented from exploitation.
  • VMware CVE-2025-22224 compatibilityZerto reported testing compatibility amid critical 2025 VMware ESXi/vCenter vulnerabilities.

What users say

Reddit admins and reviewers call Zerto the best real-time replication for DR, praising ease of use while repeatedly flagging cost.

“We switched to Zerto and have never looked back”
Reddit, r/vmware
“Big fan of Zerto. It's not cheap…”
Reddit, r/vmware
“Zerto is probably the best real time replication…”
Reddit, r/sysadmin

Alternatives

Compare Zerto with each alternative.

  • Veeam

    Backup-first, cheaper, simpler if you skip real-time replication

  • Rubrik

    Backup plus ransomware recovery; a common Zerto alternative

  • Cohesity

    Large-scale data security platform; heavier but broader

  • Azure Site Recovery

    Cheaper Azure DR; less featured but fine for basic needs

Companies that use it

  • Boeing11
  • Sytner Group11
  • UnitedHealth Group
Full analysis

Based on ~30 public sources; most review snippets were truncated.

Top-tier real-time DR for midsize/large VMware shops; pricey overkill for small teams needing simple backups.

Methodology

Based on ~30 public sources; most review snippets were truncated.

Read how a report is made.

Sources

  1. Zerto Products | 75 Reviewsg2.com
    review
  2. Cohesity vs Zerto (2026)rfp.wiki
    review
  3. Zerto anyone? — r/sysadminreddit.com
    review
  4. Zerto Deployment — r/vmwarereddit.com
    review
  5. Zerto pricing may be prohibitive for smaller orgshr.mcleanco.com
    review
  6. HPE Acquires Zerto For $374 Millionforbes.com
    news
  7. HP/HPE Zerto Price Listitprice.com
    official
  8. Zerto Virtual Replication — CDW listingcdw.com
    official
  9. Zerto Security Policy Q&Ahelp.zerto.com
    security
  10. Security and Hardening With Zertohelp.zerto.com
    security
  11. List of Zerto Customersappsruntheworld.com
    news

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