Acronis Cyber Protect is Acronis’s backup, recovery and endpoint protection product for organizations that run it themselves, either with an on-premises management server or with the management server in an Acronis data center.[3] It is available with subscription licences.[1] Each licence protects a defined unit: one workstation, one server, one hypervisor host with its VMs, three public cloud VMs, or Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace seats.[1] The licence terms are the Acronis Software License Agreement and the Acronis Licensing Policy, which the EULA incorporates.[2] For the overall picture see Acronis licensing.
Editions
Acronis Cyber Protect 16 is available in Standard, Advanced and Backup Advanced editions.[4]
| Edition | Scope (Licensing Policy) | Store guidance and “From” price |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | Backs up and protects five physical machines, with unlimited virtual machines, in a single protection plan; backup, AI-based malware and ransomware protection, remote desktop and security tools[1] | Recommended for up to five devices; from EUR 70.99 per year[3] |
| Advanced | Centrally manages an unlimited number of machines; adds backup scanning during recovery and forensic mode[1] | Recommended for more than five devices; from EUR 106.99 per year[3] |
| Backup Advanced | Centrally manages an unlimited number of machines with backup and vulnerability assessment[1] | The only edition supporting Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace backup in the store; from EUR 89.99 per year[3] |
Catalog: Standard, Backup Advanced, Advanced. The store shows a single “From” price per edition and offers yearly, three-year and five-year terms; the prices above were displayed in euros on the global English page.[3] Some features, including Google Workspace backup, Email Archiving for Microsoft 365 and EDR, are available only in cloud deployment.[3]
Within each edition the Licensing Policy lists licence types by unit, for example the Advanced Workstation, Advanced Server, Advanced Virtual Host, Advanced Public Cloud VM and Advanced Universal subscription licences, the Standard Windows Server Essentials licence, and the Backup Advanced Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace licences. Advanced and Backup Advanced licences add central storage deduplication and tape support, and Server licences add advanced application recovery.[1] Catalog: Advanced Server, Advanced Virtual Host, Advanced Public Cloud VM, Backup Advanced Microsoft 365.
Metrics
| Licence type | Catalog row | What one licence covers |
|---|---|---|
| Workstation | Device | One supported physical or virtual machine; in the store, Windows desktops and macOS[1][3] |
| Server | Device | One supported physical or virtual machine, with advanced application recovery; in the store, Windows Server and Linux[1][3] |
| Windows Server Essentials | Device | A device running Windows Server Essentials[3] |
| Virtual Host | Hypervisor Host Server | One Hypervisor Host Server and an unlimited number of VMs on it[1] |
| Universal (Advanced) | Device or Hypervisor Host Server | Either one physical or virtual machine, or one Hypervisor Host Server with unlimited VMs[1] |
| Public Cloud VM | Public Cloud VM | Three supported VMs in Microsoft Azure or Amazon Web Services[1] |
| Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Email Archiving | Microsoft 365 seat; Google Workspace seat | Seats, sold online in packs of five[3] |
The store FAQ allows a higher-tier licence to be used where a lower one would do; for example, a Server licence can be applied to a Windows 11 workstation.[3]
Counting / floors
Devices. A licence is required for each protected device, even when the software is not installed and the device is backed up with bootable media.[1] Catalog: One licence is required per protected device, even without installation. The store FAQ puts it as one licence for every machine or physical host backed up, with each cluster node licensed.[3] Catalog: Each cluster node must be licensed.
Microsoft 365 seats. One seat is a Microsoft 365 user or a shared mailbox, and one seat covers all the Microsoft 365 apps a user has. Licensed items include mailboxes, shared mailboxes, OneDrive and public folder mailboxes, and backing up SharePoint Online alone needs one seat. A seat that is backed up and also has access to backed-up SharePoint sites or Teams is charged once. External users, and users without mailbox, OneDrive or a Microsoft 365 licence who only access backed-up sites, are not licensed.[3] The store gives worked examples: five Exchange Online and OneDrive users plus one shared mailbox need six seats, and 100 users plus one SharePoint site and one shared mailbox need 101 seats.[3]
Seat packs. Microsoft 365 backup, Google Workspace backup and Email Archiving are sold online in packs of five seats on one-, three- or five-year terms, so 12 Google Workspace users need three licences (15 seats).[3] Catalog: Online store Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace seats come in packs of five.
Included cloud storage. Every subscription licence includes Acronis Cloud Storage: 250 GB per server or virtual host licence, 50 GB per workstation, 40 GB per public cloud VM, 150 GB per Windows Essentials licence, and unlimited storage for Microsoft 365, Google Workspace and Email Archiving. The free storage is tied to its licensed device and cannot be shared across devices.[3] Catalog: Included cloud storage is tied to each licensed device. Acronis Cloud Storage bought separately is a shared capacity for an unlimited number of machines and requires a valid Cyber Protect licence.[1] Catalog: Acronis Cloud Storage Subscription License. Microsoft 365, Google Workspace and Email Archiving licences include Acronis Hosted Storage subject to the Acronis fair usage policy.[1]
Virtualization & partitioning
A virtual machine is a device, so it can be licensed individually with a Workstation or Server licence. The alternative is a Virtual Host licence, which covers one Hypervisor Host Server and an unlimited number of its VMs, limited only by system configuration, and allows unlimited VM migrations to or from that host.[1] Catalog: Virtual Host licences cover unlimited VMs on one hypervisor host. In a cluster each node needs its own licence.[1] The comparison is arithmetic: a host with many VMs is usually cheaper on one Virtual Host licence, while a host with few VMs may be cheaper per VM. A physical machine with several installed operating systems counts as one device.[1] Catalog: Several operating systems on one hardware unit count as one device. See virtualization and partitioning.
Cloud / BYOL
Server and Workstation licences protect machines “running on an End User’s premises or in anyone’s cloud”, so a VM in any public cloud can be licensed like an on-premises machine.[1] Public Cloud VM licences are an alternative unit for Azure and AWS, at three VMs per licence.[1] Catalog: Public Cloud VM licences cover three VMs in Azure or AWS. All Cyber Protect licences work for both cloud and on-premises deployment, but cloud deployment of the management server needs subscription licences.[3]
Programs
- Add-ons. The Disaster Recovery Add-on (DR Cloud Server, Compute Points and IP Address licences) works only with Standard, Advanced or Backup Advanced subscriptions and cloud deployment. Physical Data Shipping sends one hard disk to an Acronis data center and needs a Cyber Protect and a Cloud Storage subscription. An Onboarding Service fee covers one setup session on a single machine and one mobile device.[1] Catalog: DR Cloud Server.
- Acronis Advantage. The first year of Acronis Advantage support is included with corporate products and renewed by subscription.[5]
- Trial license. All features are available for 30 days after activation.[4]
Subscription lifecycle and perpetual licences
Subscription licences include updates and technical support during their validity period, which starts on the purchase date. When the period ends, existing protection plans stop working and new ones cannot be created.[4] Catalog: Expired subscriptions stop protection plans. The Licensing Policy confirms that both the activation and expiry dates are calculated from purchase, not from key registration, and that early renewals extend from the current expiry date.[1] Catalog: Subscription terms start on the purchase date, not on registration.
Perpetual licences are legacy. Use is not time-limited, but support and free updates to newer versions are available only during a renewable maintenance period, and cloud deployment and features such as cloud-to-cloud backup are not available.[4] Catalog: Perpetual licences are legacy; updates and support need maintenance. The older Cyber Protect 15 perpetual licences are listed in the Licensing Policy’s discontinued-products section.[1]
Audits and compliance
The EULA’s Cyber Protect terms let Acronis request written certification that the licensee is using the product for the agreed number of servers and copies, on the agreed configuration and site. Acronis, its licensors or an independent auditor may audit during business hours after reasonable advance written notice, limited to one audit per year.[2] Catalog: Cyber Protect licensees may be audited once a year. The same section makes the licensee responsible for obtaining the rights needed to monitor protected devices, and authorizes patch management to accept third-party patch licence terms on the licensee’s behalf.[2] Catalog: Patch management accepts third-party terms on the licensee's behalf. The licensee also may not let third parties benefit from functionality that Acronis licenses from third parties.[2] See software license audit.
Out of scope
- Partner and distributor prices, volume discounts and regional currency differences.
- Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud, which uses tenant-level licensing modes; see Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud licensing.
- Feature-by-feature edition differences, which Acronis publishes in a separate editions comparison.