Rubrik vs Cohesity

Quick verdict

Rubrik Security Cloud (RSC) is the platform sold by Rubrik, Inc., which files with the SEC under the ticker RBRK. Its annual report describes RSC as a cloud-native SaaS platform covering enterprise, unstructured, cloud and SaaS data protection, data threat analytics, data security posture, identity resilience and cyber recovery. On premises, data lands on Rubrik clusters built from Rubrik-branded appliances (Supermicro servers loaded with Rubrik software by contract manufacturers) or commodity servers; RSC manages them and cloud workloads from one console. Rubrik sells RSC in four subscription editions and names Foundation, Business and Enterprise in the 10-K.

Cohesity DataProtect is Cohesity's backup and recovery software, built on the Cohesity Data Cloud and its scale-out file system with global deduplication and compression. It runs on Cohesity-certified hardware or as a virtual edition, in public clouds, or as DataProtect delivered as a Service, which Cohesity runs. Helios, Cohesity's SaaS control plane, manages DataProtect clusters and NetBackup domains. Cohesity completed its combination with Veritas's enterprise data protection business on 10 December 2024, so it now sells two backup products: DataProtect and NetBackup.

Side by side

Key differences

Security-led platform versus storage-led platform

Rubrik positions RSC as a security product that includes backup. Its 10-K describes an append-only file system that "protects data from unauthorized modification, encryption, or deletion", native immutability, a logical air gap, data threat analytics and identity resilience that monitors human and non-human identities. Higher editions add ransomware monitoring (Business) and data risk monitoring and orchestrated cyber recovery (Enterprise). If your board-level question is "how fast can we recover after ransomware", Rubrik frames its whole product around that answer.

Cohesity starts from a scale-out data platform. DataProtect runs on the Cohesity Data Cloud with global deduplication and compression, so backup software and backup storage are one system, managed through Helios. It also offers immutable backups and ransomware-focused recovery services, but the architectural pitch is consolidation: fewer separate backup servers, media servers and storage arrays. For database teams, that matters mostly in how much capacity long retention needs.

Database coverage you can verify before talking to sales

For Rubrik, the most specific public evidence is its official RSC PowerShell SDK on GitHub, whose changelog lists cmdlets for SQL Server (instances, databases, availability groups, linked availability groups, exports and log shipping), Oracle, IBM Db2, MongoDB and SAP HANA. Rubrik's AWS Marketplace listing adds EC2, RDS, Aurora, DynamoDB and S3, and the 10-K says cloud protection covers databases in Azure, AWS, Google Cloud and Oracle Cloud. PostgreSQL and MySQL do not appear in the public sources checked.

For Cohesity DataProtect, the datasheet lists Oracle and Oracle RAC, SQL Server, SAP HANA, SAP on Oracle, SAP Sybase ASE, PostgreSQL and MySQL, MongoDB with continuous data protection, Cassandra, Hive and HBase, and Azure SQL and Cosmos DB; Cohesity's marketplace listing adds IBM Db2. DataProtect delivered as a Service lists EC2, RDS and S3. Cohesity's per-engine documentation is behind a login, so we could not confirm log backup frequency or point-in-time options per engine. If PostgreSQL, MySQL or Sybase matter to you, Cohesity publishes more on paper; confirm the details in a proof of concept either way.

Cohesity's two products: DataProtect and NetBackup

Since 10 December 2024 Cohesity owns NetBackup, NetBackup appliances and Veritas Alta data protection. NetBackup keeps its own architecture (primary server, media servers, clients), its own agents for Oracle, SQL Server, SAP HANA, PostgreSQL, MySQL and MongoDB, and its own licensing by front-end terabyte; version 11.2 was announced on 2 June 2026, and its documentation now lives on docs.cohesity.com. Helios manages both products, and HPE resells both under a May 2026 alliance.

This gives existing NetBackup customers a path inside one vendor, but it also means a new Cohesity buyer chooses between two products. Rubrik has a single platform, which is simpler to evaluate. If you are a NetBackup customer comparing Rubrik and Cohesity, ask Cohesity which product it proposes for each workload and how licences move between them.

SQL Server protection in practice

Rubrik's SDK exposes availability groups, log shipping secondaries, live mounts and recoverable ranges for protected SQL Server databases, which means point-in-time restores within the range covered by log backups. Cohesity lists SQL Server protection in its datasheet, and its NetBackup line documents SQL Server transaction log backups with point-in-time and log mark restores. Whichever platform you choose, check that no other job is also taking log backups of the same database, and confirm the recovery model first:

-- T-SQL (SQL Server): point-in-time restore needs FULL or BULK_LOGGED
SELECT name, recovery_model_desc, log_reuse_wait_desc
FROM sys.databases
WHERE database_id > 4
ORDER BY name;

Pricing and licensing

Rubrik Security Cloud. Rubrik publishes no price list on the official sources we could read; its 10-K describes four subscription editions and spending tied to the data protected and workloads secured. Rubrik's own AWS Marketplace listing (seller Rubrik Inc.) shows a 12-month contract with a Rubrik Cloud Cluster dimension, described as including RCDM, archive, centralized management and premium support with 6 back-end TB, at 50,000 USD per 12 months. Longer 24 and 36-month contracts are offered without listed prices, AWS infrastructure is billed separately, and the listing states no refunds. This is one packaged marketplace offer, not a general rate card.

Cohesity DataProtect. Self-managed DataProtect is quote-based through Cohesity or partners such as HPE. Cohesity's own AWS Marketplace listing for DataProtect delivered as a Service charges by back-end terabyte (backup storage used after deduplication and compression): 29,100 USD per 12 months for a 10 TB block, with a 10 TB minimum, premium support included and a 30-day retention policy by default (other retention by contacting Cohesity). Note that Cohesity's own service page has described front-end terabytes instead, so confirm the meter in your quote. NetBackup is licensed separately by front-end terabyte. Because both marketplace offers meter back-end capacity, deduplication rates on your data change the effective price; ask both vendors to size the same data set.

Pricing checked on the vendors' official pages on 7 November 2026. Prices change; confirm before buying.

Where each one leads

Limitations

When to choose each

When neither is right

• Your databases are all AWS managed services: AWS Backup covers RDS, Aurora and DynamoDB without extra platforms.
• You need the broadest published database and cloud service list, self-managed or SaaS: see Veeam vs Commvault.
• You mainly protect virtual machines on a smaller budget: price Veeam Backup & Replication or NAKIVO.
• You run self-managed PostgreSQL and only need native physical backups: see pgBackRest vs Barman.

Final recommendation

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Rubrik Form 10-K, fiscal year ended 31 January 2026 (SEC)
• Rubrik Security Cloud PowerShell SDK (official GitHub)
• Rubrik Security Cloud PowerShell SDK changelog
• Rubrik SDK for PowerShell (CDM, official GitHub)
• Rubrik Security Cloud on AWS Marketplace (seller Rubrik Inc.)
• Cohesity DataProtect delivered as a service on AWS Marketplace (seller Cohesity, Inc.)
• Cohesity DataProtect datasheet
• Cohesity press release: combination with Veritas enterprise data protection business (10 December 2024)
• NetBackup 11.2 Administrator's Guide: how capacity licensing works

Checked November 2026.

How we research comparisons: our editorial method.