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Backup and disaster recovery software · head to head

Rubrik vs Cohesity

Sebastiaan Smits Editor Sebastiaan Smits · Published September 30, 2026 · Updated October 20, 2026

Both are enterprise platforms, and the difference is emphasis. Rubrik presents itself as a data security company built around recovering from attacks. Cohesity is the broader estate platform, now including NetBackup, sold as SaaS, self-managed software or a partner-managed service, with a 30-day test drive of its cloud services. Security-led buyers lean to Rubrik; estate-wide consolidators lean to Cohesity.

Side by side

RubrikCohesity
What it isZero Trust Data Protection for cyber resilience at scaleUnified hybrid and multi-cloud data protection, now including NetBackup
Best forLarge, security-conscious enterprises prioritizing ransomware recoveryLarge enterprises wanting one modern platform across a hybrid, multi-cloud estate
HeadquartersUnited StatesUnited States
Pricing modelQuote only, sales-ledQuote only (SaaS, subscription or managed service)
PricingQuote-only, enterprise sales-led with "Contact Sales" as the only path on product pages; no calculator, no published numbers and no self-serve trial found.Quote-only for DataProtect, offered as SaaS, software subscription or managed/partner-delivered service; no published price list, with a 30-day free trial available for cloud backup, cyber vaulting and disaster recovery capabilities.
Free optionNoneFree trial
Place in our backup and disaster recovery software ranking#11 of 12#12 of 12
Websiterubrik.comcohesity.com

Both are reviewed in full in Best Backup & Disaster Recovery Software in 2026. Position in that ranking can be paid for; the wording of a review or of this comparison cannot. Placement disclosure.

Which one to choose

Choose Rubrik if

ransomware recovery is the main reason for the purchase, the security team will use the backup platform for risk monitoring and investigation, and a formal sales-led procurement is acceptable.

Rubrik, #11 in the ranking · Visit Rubrik →

Choose Cohesity if

you want one platform across on-premises, edge and several clouds, need a choice between SaaS, self-managed and partner-managed delivery, and want to test cloud backup and vaulting for 30 days first.

Cohesity, #12 in the ranking · Visit Cohesity →

Where they differ

Hands-on evaluation before procurement

Cohesity offers a 30-day test drive of Cohesity Cloud Services, covering backup as a service for SaaS, cloud-native and on-premises data, threat scanning, cyber vaulting and disaster recovery orchestration. Rubrik's own site could not be reached when this page was checked, so its trial terms are not stated here. Since the one test that matters in this category is a timed restore, run it on whichever you shortlist.

Edge: even

How central ransomware defense is

Rubrik describes its mission as securing data, with risk monitoring and rapid recovery from cyberattacks, insider threats and outages, and in the site's view the platform starts from that problem. Cohesity is hardly unprotected: immutable snapshots that cannot be mounted from outside the service, MFA and RBAC, and FortKnox, a managed cyber vault that scans copies for anomalies before locking them. Rubrik keeps the sharper focus.

Edge: Rubrik

Breadth and delivery model

Cohesity DataProtect names Oracle, SQL Server, MongoDB and Cassandra, NAS from NetApp, Pure Storage and Isilon, VMware, Nutanix and Hyper-V, plus AWS, Azure, GCP and Microsoft 365, and can be bought as SaaS, a self-managed subscription or a service run by a Cohesity-powered partner. Rubrik covers enterprise, cloud and SaaS data. On spread and ways to consume it, Cohesity goes further.

Edge: Cohesity

Predictability of the product roadmap

Cohesity now sells NetBackup alongside its own platform, and its NetBackup page offers customers three paths: keep, extend or transform their environment. That is flexibility, but it also means two product lines are being brought together, and existing NetBackup customers face a real question about long-term direction. Rubrik has no comparable merger to digest. A buyer who wants to know what the product will look like in three years has an easier question with Rubrik.

Edge: Rubrik

Tally: Rubrik 2, Cohesity 1, even 1.

When neither fits

Neither fits a smaller IT team that wants ransomware protection without an enterprise procurement process. Acronis Cyber Protect combines backup with anti-ransomware in a single agent and sells online, and NAKIVO Backup & Replication publishes per-workload prices and has a free edition.

See Acronis Cyber Protect and NAKIVO Backup & Replication among the 12 products in Best Backup & Disaster Recovery Software in 2026.

Questions and answers

Do Rubrik and Cohesity publish their prices?

Cohesity does not: it routes buyers to a sales form or regional phone numbers, and DataProtect is sold as SaaS, a self-managed subscription or a managed service without a price list. Rubrik's own site could not be reached when this page was checked, so its prices are not stated here. Send both the same written configuration, with workload count, retention and storage estimate, to get comparable numbers.

Which is stronger against ransomware, Rubrik or Cohesity?

Both provide immutable copies and strict access controls. Rubrik is built around data security, risk monitoring and rapid recovery. Cohesity adds FortKnox, a managed cyber vault on AWS, Azure or GCP that replicates, scans and locks copies, and instant mass restore of hundreds of files, objects and VMs at once. Test a timed restore before deciding.

How does NetBackup affect a choice between Cohesity and Rubrik?

Cohesity now offers NetBackup within its portfolio, with paths to keep, extend or move beyond it, which makes Cohesity the broadest platform in this comparison. It also means two product lines are being brought together, with open questions about long-term direction for NetBackup customers. Rubrik carries no such integration question.

Which certifications does Cohesity hold?

Cohesity's trust center lists SOC 2 Type II, ISO/IEC 27001:2022, FedRAMP Moderate and GovRAMP authorization, a FIPS 140-2 validated cryptographic module, and an assessment of its WORM feature against SEC 17a-4(f) and FINRA rules. That covers most questionnaires from government and financial buyers.

Sources

Prices, plan limits and product facts on this page were checked against the vendors' own pages on September 30, 2026. Vendors change both without notice, so treat the figures as of that date.