Best Backup Software for Windows

Best Backup Software for Windows: Picking the right backup software is super important for keeping your important stuff safe and easy to manage. Whether you use your devices for work or fun, you’ve probably collected lots of important files like documents, photos, and videos that you don’t want to lose.

Keeping all your files in one place is risky. If something happens to that device, like it breaks or gets stolen, you could lose everything. Imagine losing a file you needed for work with a tight deadline! That’s why it’s so important to choose good backup software. It helps you make copies of your important stuff, so even if something bad happens to one device, you’ll still have your files safe somewhere else. This way, you can access your files from another device if you need to and make sure you never lose any of your important files again.

For folks working with computers, keeping backups is really important. Some important certifications for working in tech actually require having a good backup system. But if you’re not so tech-savvy or looking for better software to help with backups, this guide is for you! It has a bunch of great backup software options, some free and some you have to pay for, to give you lots of choices.

But just having good backup software isn’t enough to keep your stuff safe. You need to use it the right way. For instance, if you only save your backup on one external device, what if that device stops working? Or if you keep moving your backup from one place to another and something goes wrong, you could lose everything. That’s why it’s a good idea to follow something called the 3-2-1 backup strategy.

3-2-1 backup: what is it and what is it for?

The 3-2-1 backup rule, which was made famous by a photographer named Peter Krogh, is a really good way to keep your data safe. It’s pretty simple: to have a really reliable backup, you should have three copies of your data, stored in two different places. One of those places should be somewhere outside of where you usually keep your stuff.

The reason for this rule is basic but really important: don’t keep all your important stuff in just one place. If you only have one backup, it could be risky. But if you have one main copy and two backups in different places, it lowers the chances of losing all your backup copies. It might sound unlikely, but what if something bad happened, like a flood or theft, to the place where all your backups were kept?

Having backups on two separate devices is super important to lower the risk of losing your important stuff. Just copying data from one type of storage to another, like from a RAID system to a NAS, isn’t enough. Even if they have multiple disks, they’re not completely separate. You need two different devices or locations, like a portable drive and another system (like tapes, USB drives, DVDs, etc., depending on what you use).

Lastly, it’s smart to keep one of your backups somewhere far from where you usually keep your stuff. This could be a drive in a different building, a place far away, or using a cloud backup service.

You might think these steps are too much, but unexpected things can happen. You can’t predict everything. And if your files are super important, like your work or school stuff, not having enough backups can be a big problem. Taking good care of your data isn’t being too careful, it’s just being smart and careful.

What types of backups can be made?

There are three main types of backups, but not all free backup software can do all three:

Full Backup: This type copies all the files on your system at a specific time, making an exact replica of everything.

Differential Backup: This kind of backup only saves files that have changed or are new since the last backup. It saves space because it doesn’t copy unchanged files.

Incremental Backup: This backup only includes files that have changed since the last backup, whether it was a full backup or an incremental one. These backups are quicker and use less space than full backups. But when restoring, it might take longer because it needs to gather data from different incremental backups.

There’s also something called an “image.” It’s a complete copy of a whole disk or part of it, including all the programs and system files. Images are handy if you need to reinstall your operating system. But remember, it’s best not to use an image on a different computer than the original one.

Creating full images or backups takes a long time and needs a lot of storage space. But doing differential or incremental backups is quicker because they only copy new or changed files. However, every time you do these types of backups, they use more space as they save the new stuff.

But, if something goes wrong and you need to recover everything on your system, you’ll always need a full backup or image. Restoring everything could take a while, maybe hours, depending on how much stuff you need to bring back.

Best Free Backup Software

Before we start talking about paid tools, we’d like to share information about the top free backup software. These tools can be really helpful if you don’t have strict needs or if you’re on a tight budget.

EaseUS ToDo Backup Free

Supported backup types: full, incremental, differential, system, files, disks, and partitions
Supported Systems: Windows 11 | 10 | 8.1 | 8 | 7 | View | XP

EaseUS ToDo Backup Free is considered one of the best free backup tools out there. It has many options to manage your backups, although it might not have all the extras that the paid version offers. With this software, you can schedule when your backups start, choosing the type of backup you want—whether it’s incremental, differential, or full—based on what you need. However, there’s a catch: it only works on Windows computers. Some features, like transferring data between PCs or backing up Outlook data, are available in the paid version. But even with these limitations, EaseUS ToDo Backup Free is a great program that we highly recommend because it’s reliable and has good features.

When you download this program, you might also get a chance to try the Home version for free. This version has more features and comes with 250 GB of cloud backup space. So, if you want to explore more advanced options and need more storage, this could be a good choice for you.

Paragon Backup & Recovery Community Edition

Supported backup types: files, folders, disks, operating system
Supported Systems: Windows, macOS

Paragon Backup & Recovery Community Edition is a free version of Paragon’s popular backup software. It’s made in a way that even if you’re not familiar with how to back up your computer, this tool makes it easy for you.
With Paragon Backup & Recovery, you can make backups of specific files and folders or even the whole system. This is great because you can choose what to back up, focusing on the stuff that matters most to you.

But, if you want to copy entire sections of your computer like partitions and volumes, you’ll need to get the paid version, called Hard Disk Manager for Business. It has more advanced options and is better for businesses or professionals who need those extra features.

FBackup

Supported backup types: automatic, zip compression, wizard mode
Supported Systems: Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, Vista, Server 2022/2019/2016/2012/2008

FBackup is a free backup software that might work well for you, although its design might not look very fancy or easy to use when you first open it. But even if it doesn’t look great, it’s actually a useful tool with a lot of helpful features.
With FBackup, you can make a schedule for your backups, so you don’t have to remember to do them yourself. This makes it really easy to keep your important stuff safe. However, unlike some other software, it doesn’t have things like fancy security options or the ability to save only the changed parts of files. But if you don’t need those extra things and just want a simple way to backup your stuff, FBackup could be good for you.

One thing to keep in mind is that FBackup shows advertisements for its paid version, Backup4All. These ads might bother you while you’re using it, so it’s something to think about before you choose this software.

Cobian Backup

Supported backup types: multiple, automatic, folders and files, with compression and encryption, local, on FTP servers, and external drives
Supported Systems: Windows XP, 2003, Vista, 2008, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10, Windows 11

With Cobian Backup, you can plan many different backups all at once and keep them on different places like hard drives or even FTP servers. This means you can backup lots of different types of files at the same time, depending on what you need.

Besides these cool things, Cobian Backup also lets you squish your files to make them smaller and save space. It also keeps your stuff safe by making sure no one can read it without a special key. But, it’s important to know that getting your files back if something goes wrong can be a bit tricky, especially if the files got messed up somehow.

Macrium Reflect

Supported backup types: Removable media images and cloning, OS image, system restore, boot backup to VM
Supported Systems: Windows

Macrium Reflect is a really good software that helps people save and manage their computer backups. It has a free version that works well for everyday use, but it has some limits compared to the paid ones. One cool thing about it is that it keeps your data super safe using a strong security system. This makes sure that your stuff is protected when you’re saving or getting your files back.

However, there are a couple of things to keep in mind. First, it only works with Windows computers, so if you use a different type of computer, you can’t use this software. Also, it doesn’t let you save your backups in the cloud, which could be a problem if you like keeping your stuff there.

Even though Macrium Reflect has some limits, it’s still a really strong tool for Windows computers when it comes to making backups. It’s great at creating exact copies of your whole system and the files in it. This is super helpful when you need to fix your computer and get it working like before.

This software also lets you do lots of things like setting up automatic backups, checking if your data is good, and even copying entire disks. It’s pretty easy to use too, with a nice layout on the screen. Overall, Macrium Reflect is a good tool even though it doesn’t work with other operating systems and can’t save backups in the cloud. Now, let’s talk some of the Paid Best Backup Software for Windows.

Best Paid Backup Software

Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office (Acronis True Image)

Key features: image backup, disk cloning, cloud restore, Microsoft 365 backup
Supported Systems: Windows, macOS, iOS, Android

Once known as True Image, Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office has become an all-in-one solution for keeping your data safe. With this tool, you can make copies of your data on both your computer and the internet cloud, giving you extra security.

One of its cool features is disk cloning. It lets you make a perfect copy of your hard drive. This can be super useful if you need to change your hardware or fix your computer’s system. Also, you can create mirror images of your computer’s main drive, giving you more ways to get back your data.

Another good thing about it is the anti ransomware. It stops any unauthorized attempts to lock up your files. This makes your data safer from ransomware attacks, which can cause a lot of problems. This protection is already in the Essentials plan.

If you want to save your backups in the cloud, you’ll need to get the Advanced plan. It gives you 500GB of space in the cloud. For businesses, the Premium plan offers even more benefits, like eSignatures, up to 5TB of cloud space, and automatic backup of your data to the cloud. This extra backup in the cloud adds more security and makes it easier to get your data back if something goes wrong.

Available Plans:
Essentials | €49.99 per year (1 computer)
Advanced | €54.99 per year (1 computer, 50 GB cloud storage)
Premium | €124.99 per year (1 computer, 1 TB cloud storage)

EaseUS ToDo Backup

Key features: full and incremental backups, partition management, hardware RAID, cloud backup
Supported Systems: Windows, macOS

The paid version of EaseUS ToDo Backup offers more features compared to the free one. It allows you to set up regular backups so that your data stays safe without you having to remember to do it yourself.

There are two plans: Home and Business. The Home plan is for people using it at home. It lets you copy everything from a whole hard drive, which can be really handy if you need to completely fix your computer. The Business plan is for protecting business data. With this plan, you can back up data from Windows servers, Exchange, and SQL databases, which are really important for businesses to keep safe.

The paid plan works with macOS too. This means Mac users can use the software as well. Also, there are extra features in the paid version that are made to help both home and business users.

Available Plans:
Home – Annual subscription | $39.95 per year + (optional 1 TB in cloud for $59.95)
Perpetua – One-Time Purchase | $59.95
Lifetime Updates | $79.95

Paragon Backup & Recovery (Hard Disk Manager)

Key features: APFS volumes, data and OS migration, partition management
Supported Systems: Windows, macOS

The paid version of Paragon Backup & Recovery is a part of a bigger package called Hard Disk Manager. This package doesn’t only help with backing up and recovering data but also helps in managing various parts of your hard drive.

Talking about backing up, Paragon offers a lot of options. You can make copies whenever you want, so you have control, or you can set up automatic backups. With these backups, you can decide how often you want them to happen, which files to copy, and other settings.

The Hard Disk Manager package has many advanced features that are really helpful. For example, it helps in moving data and operating systems from one computer to another securely and efficiently. It also helps in managing different parts of your hard drive, like changing their size or formatting them, which is useful if you want to use multiple operating systems on the same computer.

One cool thing about this software is that it lets you use Apple File System (APFS) volumes on Windows computers, even though normally they can’t work together. Also, when you buy the Hard Disk Manager, you can use it on up to three computers, which makes it even more useful.

Available Plans:
Paragon Hard Disk Manager 17 – 3 PC License | 79,95€ incl.

Genie9 Timeline

Key features: Fast backup, Turbo and Smart mode, Games/Movies mode
Supported Systems: Windows, iOS

Genie9 Timeline is a backup program that’s all about being easy to use and not causing any slowdowns on your computer. It works quietly in the background, so you might not even notice it’s there except for a small icon in the taskbar.

This program has two ways it can work: Turbo and Smart. Turbo makes backups happen really fast, while Smart adjusts how much of your computer it uses based on what else you’re doing. This means it won’t get in the way of your work or slow down your computer.

But while Genie9 Timeline is simple and doesn’t bother your computer much, it doesn’t have some of the fancier features other backup programs might have. It mainly focuses on making copies of your files on your computer and doesn’t do things like backing up to the cloud. However, it does have a cool feature that stops messages from popping up while you’re watching movies or playing games in full-screen mode. This keeps things smooth and interruption-free.

For iPhone and iPad users, Genie9 Timeline has an app so you can check and control your backups right from your Apple device. Sadly, there’s no app yet for Android users. And before you decide if you want to pay for the program, you can try it for free for a while to see if you like it.

Available Plans:
Genie Timeline Home 10 | $49.95
Genie Timeline Pro 10 | $69.95

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