The best Microsoft 365 backup solutions for 2027 are Veeam Data Cloud for Microsoft 365, Afi, Keepit, AvePoint Cloud Backup and Druva. Veeam is the safest default for most businesses, Afi is the strongest value for small teams, and Keepit is the pick if you want your backup copy on infrastructure that has nothing to do with Microsoft.
This list was updated after the Microsoft 365 outage that began on November 12, 2026, when Exchange Online servers failed health checks and Outlook, Teams and Copilot went down for businesses worldwide for well over a day. A backup does not keep email flowing during an outage like that (that is the job of an email continuity service), but it does decide whether you can still reach and restore your mail, files and Teams data when Microsoft cannot, or when ransomware or a bad admin deletion gets there first.
Microsoft runs its cloud on a shared responsibility model. It keeps the service running; protecting and restoring your data is on you. Recycle bins and retention policies are not backups, and every tool below exists to close that gap.
Microsoft 365 Backup Solutions At A Glance
Company
Headquarters
Founded
Best For
Starting Price
Veeam Data Cloud for Microsoft 365
Seattle, WA
2006
Most businesses; existing Veeam shops
From $2.63 per user per month (251+ users)
Afi
Coral Springs, FL
2011
Small and mid-size businesses
$3 per user per month, billed yearly
Keepit
Copenhagen, Denmark
2007
Independence from Microsoft and AWS
Quote-based (about $3 per user per month reported)
Veeam built the most widely deployed Microsoft 365 backup product as self-managed software, then turned it into a fully hosted service. Veeam Data Cloud backs up Exchange Online, SharePoint, OneDrive and Teams with unlimited storage under fair use, and it runs on Azure, so restores are fast and setup takes minutes rather than a server build.
Pricing is published and tiered: Foundation starts at $2.63 per user per month for 251 or more users (about $3.50 for small tenants), Advanced at $3.33 and Premium at $7.00, all billed annually. The trade-off is that your backup copy sits on the same cloud as Microsoft 365. For most companies that is fine. For those who want full separation, look at Keepit or Afi.
2. Afi — Best Value For Small Teams, With Unlimited Retention
Afi is a lean, bootstrapped backup company that covers Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace from one console. Its standout features are immutable backup versions, ransomware anomaly detection and fast granular search, which matter most in the moments right after something goes wrong.
Pricing is simple at $3 per user per month billed yearly ($5 monthly) with a five-user minimum, and retention is unlimited. Smaller teams get enterprise-grade protection without a sales call. Larger regulated buyers may want the deeper compliance tooling of AvePoint or Druva.
3. Keepit — Your Backup Lives On Its Own Independent Cloud
Keepit is the only vendor on this list that runs its own dedicated data centers rather than renting space from Azure or AWS. If the lesson you took from this week was “do not keep every egg in Microsoft’s basket”, Keepit is the most literal answer.
It covers Microsoft 365, Entra ID, Dynamics 365 and other SaaS apps with long retention and an all-inclusive per-seat model across three tiers. Keepit does not publish list prices, but third-party trackers put Microsoft 365 coverage at about $3 per user per month. European data residency is a strong selling point for EU and UK companies.
AvePoint started in SharePoint management and still thinks like a governance company. Its backup offers per-user or per-GB licensing, bring-your-own-storage options and dozens of storage regions, which makes it a common choice for public sector, financial services and healthcare tenants with strict residency rules.
Pricing is quote-based, and public framework listings point to roughly $3 to $4 per user per month with a 500-user minimum on some plans. That minimum makes it a poor fit for small businesses, but large organizations get granular restores, strong role-based access and compliance reporting in the same platform.
5. Druva — Cloud-Native Backup That Also Covers Laptops
Druva runs a fully SaaS data protection platform on AWS that covers Microsoft 365 alongside laptops, servers and other cloud apps. Companies that want one place to protect user devices and Microsoft data, with one retention policy and one eDiscovery workflow, tend to shortlist it.
Druva is quote-based and sold mostly to mid-market and enterprise buyers. Its ransomware recovery tooling and legal hold features are strong, and because it sits on AWS rather than Azure it gives you some separation from Microsoft infrastructure.
6. Commvault Cloud — Enterprise Backup Veteran With A SaaS Arm
Commvault is one of the oldest names in enterprise backup, and Commvault Cloud (formerly Metallic) brings that heritage to Microsoft 365 as a hosted service. It protects Exchange, SharePoint, OneDrive and Teams with air-gapped storage options and plugs into the same console enterprises already use for databases, VMs and file servers.
It makes the most sense for large organizations that want a single vendor across on-premises and cloud workloads. Smaller teams will find it heavier than they need.
Acronis combines backup, anti-malware and endpoint management, and most small businesses meet it through their managed service provider rather than buying direct. Microsoft 365 protection sits in the same agentless console MSPs use for client devices and servers.
If you already have an MSP, ask whether they run Acronis before buying anything separately; you may be one checkbox away from coverage. Pricing runs through partners, so expect it to be bundled into a monthly IT services fee.
Hornetsecurity, now part of Proofpoint, sells 365 Total Backup on its own or as part of its 365 Total Protection suite, which also covers spam filtering, email encryption and an email continuity service. That bundle is rare: one vendor protects your data and keeps mail flowing when Microsoft goes down.
Backup alone is listed at about $2.75 per user per month, making it one of the lower published prices here. It is especially popular with European SMBs and the MSPs that serve them.
9. Datto SaaS Protection — Three Daily Backups With Unlimited Retention, Via Your MSP
Datto, owned by Kaseya, sells SaaS Protection exclusively through managed service providers. It backs up Microsoft 365 several times a day with unlimited retention and point-in-time restores, and it is one of the most common products in MSP stacks across North America.
You cannot buy it direct, so it is most relevant when you are choosing or reviewing an MSP. If your provider already runs Kaseya tools, Datto is usually the path of least resistance.
Microsoft now sells its own backup for Exchange Online, SharePoint and OneDrive, billed at $0.15 per GB per month through an Azure subscription. Its strength is restore speed: because the copy stays inside Microsoft’s boundary, large restores can run very quickly.
Its weakness is exactly what this week exposed. The backup lives inside the same platform it protects, so it does nothing for you when Microsoft 365 itself is unreachable, and it does not cover Teams chats. Treat it as a fast restore layer, not your only copy.
How We Evaluated
We compared each product on what it actually protects (Exchange Online, SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams and Entra ID), where the backup copy is stored, how restores work at both the single-email and whole-tenant level, retention limits, immutability and ransomware detection, and whether pricing is published. We checked vendor pricing pages and recent third-party price trackers in October and November 2026. Rankings are editorial and no vendor paid for a position. Our full method is on our research and ranking page.
How To Choose A Microsoft 365 Backup Solution
Where should the backup copy live?
If your main worry is accidental deletion or a rogue admin, a backup on Azure is fine. If your worry is Microsoft itself being unavailable or compromised, choose a vendor that stores your data outside Microsoft, such as Keepit (its own cloud) or Druva and Afi (outside Azure).
Does it cover Teams and Entra ID?
Exchange and OneDrive are covered by everyone. Teams chats, channel files and Entra ID (Azure AD) objects are where products differ. If your company lives in Teams, test a Teams restore during the trial.
How fast can you restore at scale?
Restoring one deleted email is easy. Restoring an entire mailbox set or SharePoint site after ransomware is the real test. Ask each vendor for restore throughput figures and run a large test restore before you sign.
Is the pricing predictable?
Per-user plans with unlimited storage are easy to budget. Per-GB pricing, like Microsoft 365 Backup, can be cheaper for light users and much more expensive for heavy ones. Model your actual data volume before you choose.
Will your MSP manage it?
Many small businesses get backup through their IT provider. If you work with an MSP, ask which tool they support, because a backup nobody monitors is not much better than none. Our list of managed IT services companies for small business is a good starting point.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Microsoft back up my Microsoft 365 data?
Microsoft keeps the service running and replicates data for its own resilience, but under its shared responsibility model, protecting and restoring your business data is your job. Recycle bins and retention policies help, but they are not independent backups.
Would a backup have helped during the November 2026 Microsoft 365 outage?
A backup stored outside Microsoft would have let you search and read existing email and files while Microsoft 365 was down. It would not have let you send or receive new mail. For that you need an email continuity service in front of Microsoft 365.
How much does Microsoft 365 backup cost?
Published prices run from about $2.63 to $7 per user per month for Veeam, $3 for Afi and about $2.75 for Hornetsecurity. Microsoft 365 Backup charges $0.15 per GB per month instead of per user. Enterprise tools like AvePoint, Druva and Commvault are quote-based.
What is the best Microsoft 365 backup for a small business?
Afi is the strongest value for small teams thanks to flat $3 per user pricing and unlimited retention. If you already use an MSP, ask whether their Acronis or Datto stack covers Microsoft 365 before buying separately.
Conclusion
Veeam Data Cloud is the safe default for most businesses, Afi is the best value for small teams, and Keepit is the right call if this week convinced you to keep your backup copy completely away from Microsoft. Whichever you choose, run a real restore test in the first month.
