Acronis vs Rippling

Acronis is a Swiss-headquartered cyber protection company founded in 2003, known for its True Image disk imaging software and, today, mainly for a multitenant platform that managed service providers use to back up, secure and manage their clients' systems. EQT agreed in 2024 to take a majority stake, and Acronis says more than 20,000 service providers and 750,000 businesses use its platform.

The business offering, marketed as the Acronis Cyber Platform and sold to service providers as Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud, combines backup of servers, PCs, VMs and Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace with disaster recovery, EDR and MDR, email security, data loss prevention, patching, RMM and PSA-style billing and service desk tools. MSPs pay per workload for actual usage; IT departments buy one to three year terms. The consumer line, Acronis True Image, is sold per year: Essentials for local backup and cloning, Advanced with cloud storage and anti-malware, and Premium with 1 TB or more of cloud storage.

Acronis fits MSPs that want one console for backup, security and RMM, and home or small-office users who need full-disk images and cloning. Backblaze is simpler and cheaper for plain cloud backup, Afi.ai focuses on SaaS backup for Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace, and Veeam is the usual choice for large virtualized data centers.

Buying tip: True Image prices rise with each extra computer and terabyte, so a 3 or 5 computer pack is better value for households. MSPs should check which security modules they already license elsewhere.

Rippling is a workforce management platform founded in 2016 by Parker Conrad, who previously co-founded Zenefits, and based in San Francisco. It unifies HR, IT and finance around a single employee record, so that one change, such as a hire, promotion or departure, flows automatically into every connected system.

When someone joins, Rippling can run payroll, enroll benefits, provision apps like Google Workspace, Slack and Microsoft 365, ship and manage a laptop, set permissions and issue a corporate card. When they leave, access is revoked everywhere. Modules include US and global payroll, employer of record (EOR) and contractor payments, benefits administration with a PEO option, time and attendance, performance management, device and identity management, and spend management with cards, expenses and bill pay. Workflow Studio and custom reports work across all of this data. Pricing is modular: the core platform starts from $8 per employee a month plus a base fee, and each module is quoted on top.

Rippling fits fast-growing companies from roughly 50 to several thousand employees that want to replace multiple point tools. Implementation takes planning, costs rise with every module, and contract terms deserve careful negotiation. Gusto is simpler and cheaper for small US businesses, Deel is strong for global hiring, and Workday or HiBob suit larger HR organizations.