Windows Backup Software: In our daily lives, we use computers to cut down on work and save time. The hard disk is where all of our important data is kept. We know that a computer is not something a device needs to live. It could fail at any point during our normal work. Data can be messed up by things like viruses and other harmful files. We usually prefer computers secure by using antivirus software for Windows. A disaster could also destroy our system. We sometimes lose our data by accident.
We can’t get our data back in those situations unless we back it up. So, we need Backup software for PC to make sure that our important data is safe. With the help of these tools, we can make a best windows backup software free of our whole system, including the OS and software, so that we can restore it later. Backup and restoration software for Windows lets you save copies of files in the cloud, on network devices, and USB drives. Today, we’ll tell you about the best free windows backup software that will keep your data safe and secure. Each one has a short explanation.
Is cloud storage a backup?
First, let’s clear up a common point. You might already use Google Drive, iCloud, OneDrive, or another cloud storage service. It’s important to understand that this is not the same as a free windows backup software. Most cloud storage services sync your files across all your devices. If you delete a file from one device, it will also be deleted from the cloud and all your other devices.
You might be able to change your cloud storage’s settings so that if you delete a file from your laptop, the same file doesn’t get deleted from your cloud storage. Cloud storage can also be used as a backup if your computer is lost, stolen, or damaged since copies of your files will still be in the cloud. The point is that you shouldn’t use cloud storage as a backup unless you know that the sync settings are configured up absolutely.
There are backup services in the cloud, like iDrive and Backblaze, which you can find below. Most cloud backup services don’t offer “entire PC” backups, so in the event of a disaster, you won’t be able to restore a working version of Windows, all your apps and settings, and all your files. On the other hand, backup software can usually.
What you should look for in a backup software
There are two main types of backup software: those that use images or those that use files. If you want to make a full backup of your hard drive so that you can restore the operating system and applications, look for a backup app that supports so-called “system images.”
Or, if all you care about are the files and documents you’ve put on the computer, you need a backup system that only backs up files and folders. Most backup software works with both, but be careful because not all of them do.
You’ll need some storage drive to hold these backups. This could be an internal drive, like the one in your PC or laptop, or an external device, like a USB drive, that plugs into your computer. You could also back up to a network drive, known as a NAS, with enough storage space for the data you need to back up.
To choose the right software, you have to make what kind of backup you want, how much you’re willing to spend, and whether you’re happy to pay a monthly subscription or want to pay once and use the software forever.
If you need to back up more than one device, you should look for software or a cloud service that can be used on more than one PC (or charges you per device). Look for backup software that encrypts the files if you have especially important files.
Some of these options work on Macs, but our sister site Macworld has a better backup guide.
The best backup software for 2022
1. Macrium Reflect
Without a doubt, Macrium Reflect is one of the best backup programs for Windows right now. It has so many features that it can be hard to know where to start. Y With Macrium Reflect, you can make a full backup image, clone a disc, plan backups, and do a lot more. Various versions are available of Macrium Reflect. However, the free version has all the main features, including differential backup, which is not available in many other free apps.
In case you didn’t know, most backup tools support full, differential, and incremental backup. It will just copy everything on your computer, including the backup of the operating system. It takes a long time and takes up a lot of space on the disc. You can use this backup method if you are switching computers.
You should use Differential or Incremental backup to set up a regular backup system for your PC on an external hard drive. Differential backup does a Full image backup, and then it stores all the changes made since the last Full image backup. This way of backing up your data takes less time and is just as easy to back. However, you should do a full image backup every week to keep the differential backup size as small as possible.
When it comes to incremental backup, it first creates a full backup, but it only stores the changes that have happened since the last incremental backup. Because of this, the incremental backup is very small, and the backup process takes almost no time. Also, you won’t have to do a Full backup as often, saving you even more time.
But restoring will take too long because you will have to restore incremental backups from each cycle. Macrium Reflect gives you all three options, but the free version gives you Full and Differential backups, which is a good start. Please read our full post on how to use Macrium Reflect to create a backup on Windows to learn more about how to set it up.
2. AOMEI Backupper
There are free and paid versions of AOMEI Backupper, which is good backup software. You can make a backup of Windows and all of its settings and then restore it whenever you want. You have full control over what you back up. Each file or folder, as well as partitions and drives, can be backed up. You can create a backup schedule and a full backup sync to ensure that all of your information is backed up.
While making a backup, the software won’t get in the way of anything, so you can keep using all of your apps and the system without worry. You can back up your data on external storage devices or your PC’s hard disk or save it to a NAS (Network-Attached Storage).
Its free version has all the backup and restores features, but it doesn’t have some extras like managing disc space, system cloning, Command Line backup, and merging Backup Images. All of these features, which are not available in the standard version, are in the professional version. There is also a Server version that lets you backup data from data servers, which is great for businesses. Check out Data Recovery as well.
Free backup options cover everything • Full control over backup and restore • Create a copy of the whole system.
Pricing: There is a free version with limited features and a Professional edition that lets you use it on two PCs for life for $49.95.
You can download and install some of the best backup software on your computer from the list above. But since online storage is becoming more and more popular, the list wouldn’t be complete without a few useful and feature-packed cloud storage options. Most of these services give you small storage of free storage, but you can upgrade to get more. Cloud storage lets you access files from any computer or mobile device, so you don’t have to carry around backup discs.
3. Google Sync and Backup (Works with Google Drive)
The Google Drive cloud storage service is a popular one. It’s already on your computer if you have a Google Account, which most people do, and it works well with other Google services. You can manage your Google Drive files from your desktop with a program called Backup and Sync, which you can download. You can also access your Google Drive files from your browser.
Backup and Sync have the same features as Google Drive, and the free account lets you save up to 15GB of files of any type. To get more storage, you can start by paying $1.99 per month for 100GB of storage, which includes other Google products like Google Docs and Google Photos.
There are also other options, like plans that range from 1TB to 30TB and cost $299.99 per month. Back to Google Backup and Sync makes a dedicated folder on your computer where you can access all of your data in a folder format. The tool will also add quick links to Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides.
15 GB of storage for free • Interface that is easy to use and integrates with Google services
Pricing: There is a free plan with 15 GB; paid plans start at $1.99 per month for 100 GB.
4. Dropbox
Dropbox is a cloud storage service that is easy to use and has a wide range of capabilities and compatibility. You can drag and drop files into the Dropbox folder on your computer, and they will be uploaded and synchronized across all of your devices. You get 2 GB of free storage; if you tell other people about Dropbox, you can get up to 18 GB more.
It works with many systems so that you can access your data from almost anywhere. If the free space isn’t enough, you can upgrade to 2 TB for $9.99 per month or pay an extra $20 for unlimited storage.
Characteristics:
Support for many platforms and easy use are essential.
Prices: 2GB is free, and premium plans start at $9.99 monthly for 2TB.
It works on the Web, Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, and iOS 10.
5. Microsoft OneDrive
Google Drive works with Google products the same way that OneDrive works with Microsoft products. It comes with Windows 8, 8.1, and 10, and you can use it to save all of your Office Online documents.
You get 5 GB of free storage space, and the paid plans are affordable. For example, 50 GB of storage costs only $1.99 per month. You can also buy Office 365 plans with the Office 365 online suite for $69.99 annually. You should try Microsoft OneDrive if you use Windows and have at least one other Windows-based device.
It works with Microsoft products, is cheap, and gives you 15 GB of free storage space.
Pricing: You get 5 GB of free storage, and premium storage costs $1.99 per month for 100 GB, $3.99 per month for 200 GB, and $6.99 per month for 1 TB.
The app works on the Web, Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, and Windows Phone 11. Box was made with businesses in mind. Individual accounts are supported, but the capabilities are best used for business purposes. Their main focus is on privacy and working together. You can easily share uploaded files with other people (ideally workers), add comments, and choose who has access to data.
6. Box
Your Box account gives you 10 GB of free storage space, and you can pay $6 per month to upgrade that to 100 GB. For people, it’s a bit pricey, but unlimited storage for up to three users costs only $17 per month for businesses. Box is the best way to backup your data and work together on it simultaneously.
More security for collaboration tools; features for business; package with unlimited storage
Pricing: 10 GB of storage is complimentary, while 100 GB costs $10 monthly. For businesses, 100GB of storage costs $5 per user per month, and at least three people must use the service.
It works on the Web, Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS 12. iDrive IDrive is an online storage service with a good balance of low cost, client apps with many features, and an easy-to-use interface. With the free plan, which gives you up to 5GB of storage, you can use iDrive on as many devices as you want.
Using the desktop client, you can automatically create folders that need to be backed up to the cloud and set a schedule for automatic backups.
7. Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office
Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office, which used to be called True Image, is about the most complete backup software you can find. It is powerful, has many features, and is easy to use. It’s the only package we know of that includes backup, disk imaging (cloning a hard drive), and antivirus. The company thinks that backup software that doesn’t protect your files from cyberattacks isn’t complete. So, it thought it needed to change its name from True Image to something that better reflects what it does now.
Even though backup is still the main focus, the new antivirus feature offers real-time scanning and on-demand scanning, and it can also block malicious websites. In the Advanced package, there is even security for Zoom, Cisco WebEx, and Microsoft Teams that stops people from spying on video calls.
Even if you choose the Essentials plan, which is the cheapest, you still get a lot of backup tools. You can pick and choose which files and folders to back up, or you can be extra safe and back up everything, including Windows. Recovery options also let you choose which files to restore by hand if you don’t want to recover everything.
Customizable backup plans let you decide how often you want to back up everything and how often you want to back up the most important files. Also, the backup will run in the background so that it doesn’t get in the way of your work. End-to-end encryption keeps these files safe and secure, and you can look for backed-up files on both your local hard drive and in the cloud.
Other standard features include:
- Backup status notifications.
- Backing up only on certain Wi-Fi connections.
- Protection against ransomware.
- Active disk cloning.
- Backup Statistics.
- Activity logs.
- A recovery tool called Survival Kit that does everything.
Cyber Protect is a subscription service, so you can no longer buy the software all at once. That means you’ll have to pay every year to keep using it, and not everyone wants to add another subscription to the ones they already pay for. Plus, the Essentials Package, which costs £55.99/$79.99, doesn’t include any cloud storage, so you’ll need to provide your storage in the form of a hard drive, external USB drive, shared folder, or NAS device.
If you like the convenience of cloud backup options and want to protect Office365 data online, you’ll need the Advanced or Premium packages, which cost £90.99/$129.99 or £132.99/$189.99 for a year. Those prices are for three computers, so you’ll save a lot if you only have one. A limited-time offer of 50% off (which ends on April 11, 2022) made Cyber Protect more appealing. The Cloud storage that comes with Advanced and Premium is 500GB and 2TB, respectively. You can add more storage space and computers to your package for an extra cost. See how the three tiers compare here.
8. Ashampoo Backup Pro 16
Ashampoo is a brand name that sounds a little strange. It is made by a German company that has been steadily improving its Backup Pro app for many years. The interface is clean and easy to understand and has wizards that walk you through the backup process. That’s very helpful since there are a lot of options. Backup Pro 16 lets you back up individual files, a whole disk partition, or the whole system, including Windows. This way, you can fully restore a PC after a crash or some other disaster.
With background backups, you don’t have to stop using your PC while the process is running, and there is now better support for places to store backups. It works with your local drive, external storage, and a wide range of cloud-based solutions like OneDrive, Dropbox, Google Drive, any NAS, and OneDrive Business and Office365. Other important features include encryption, versioning, compression (7Zip/LZMA), automatic backup verification, and a scheduler to make sure backups run when it’s most convenient.
Ashampoo Backup Pro 16 costs £44.99/$49.99, but it is often on sale for less. At the time of this writing, the company was selling the software for £26.99/$29.99.
Ashampoo also offers something called Backup Pro 2021 for half of those prices. It’s a cut-down version that only backs up whole Windows systems or parts of a hard drive. That means you can’t choose which files or folders to back up, but it’s very easy to use and gives you peace of mind that you’ve backed up everything. You won’t get the new interface or some of the better support for cloud services, but it’s still a powerful tool.
9. EaseUS Todo Backup Free
As the name suggests, EaseUS Todo Backup Free is a free backup app that gives step-by-step instructions to help you back up and recover your files quickly and easily.
You can back up individual partitions, even the one that Windows is on, or you can back up files and folders if you prefer. There are also options to back up only the changes made since the last backup. This saves time and storage space (incremental and differential). You can set up backups to run when you aren’t using your computer.
The free version doesn’t have absolutely everything (and some features which appear to be available are not when you click on them). Because EaseUS wants you to pay for the Home version, which costs money. For one year, it costs £36.56/$39.95, or you can pay £80.70/$79.95 for a perpetual license that gives you updates for the rest of your life. This lets you move a system to a different PC hardware. It also has 250GB of cloud storage and tools for backing up and restoring Outlook emails (though you can pay extra to upgrade to 1TB).
The Free version has enough tools to make local backups for people who only need to do simple backups. You can back up to your computer’s hard drive (not recommended), an external drive, a NAS drive, or even your Dropbox, OneDrive, or Google Drive account.
10. iDrive
IDrive is cloud-based, which is different from some of the other backup software here. That means a copy of your files is backed on an internet server. This is safer and more convenient than keeping backups on your hard drives at home. iDrive gives you 5GB of free storage space that you can use for as long as you want. This lets you try the service and decide if it’s right for you. 5GB isn’t enough to back up much data, but that’s because the whole point is that you’ll want to upgrade to iDrive Personal, which costs £60/$79.50 per year for 5TB or £76/$99.50 for 10TB, which should be enough for even the biggest data hoarders.
IDrive can be used on multiple PCs, Macs, iPhones, iPads, and Android devices without extra licensing. This is because you pay for the cloud storage, not to use it on a specific device. There is also a Teams option for small businesses. It lets five users connect five devices each and costs £71.99/$99.50 for 5TB of storage. If you have a family, you could use a single account on your devices to secure everyone’s files for a very reasonable price. Another benefit is that iDrive works a lot like Apple Time Machine in that you can go back and restore a file from any point in its history. If possible, before malware changed or encrypted.
You can also set up a Sync folder that will automatically send files you put into all of your devices. You can also use the iDrive web client to get to these. When you’re not at your computer, you can use the iDrive web client to manage your backups, schedule them, or restore them from any web-connected device. This is great if you forget to backup up something or if someone at home needs older files. If you want to make a copy of your entire drive, including the operating system, you can use the Disk Clone tool in the iDrive desktop client, which also has many other features.
Suppose you want a simpler life without all the configuration options that the powerful desktop client has or the different online adventures. In that case, the new iDrive Basic is a stripped-down interface that lets you set up backup schedules, restore older versions, and share files with friends with just a few clicks.
IDrive is best for people with high-speed, unlimited bandwidth broadband, as with all cloud backups. People with limited connections should probably stay away from IDrive. IDrive does have an Express service that lets you back up to storage drives that IDrive sends to you and then sends back to you. Data recovery can be set up in the same way, but it’s mostly for people in the US. People from other countries have to pay for shipping.
11. Backblaze
Backblaze calls itself the “world’s easiest cloud backup,” so it will appeal to anyone who wants to simplify the boring task of backing up files as easily as possible. And it’s true: as soon as you sign up, the service will back up a copy of any files you create or store on your computer, including documents, photos, music, movies, and more. No file is too big to backup, and your subscription gives you access to unlimited cloud storage. That’s about as simple as it gets. There is one problem: Backblaze doesn’t backup up the operating system, applications, or any temporary data created by running apps.
But it does copy away any documents, images, videos, or other file types on your system. It also works with Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, and iPad OS. File versions are automatically saved for 30 days so that you can get back to older versions of files within that time. For an extra $2 (£1.40) per month, you can extend this so that it goes back up to 12 months. Very helpful if you realize you’ve changed a document and lost something important. If something bad happens to your computer, you can download your files for free in zip format, or you can pay BackBlaze $189 (£144) to put them on an 8TB drive and send them to you. If you send it back afterward, you can get a full refund.
Backblaze is great, but it can’t rebuild your computer from scratch if your hard drive fails. And, if you have a lot of files, it will take some time and broadband bandwidth to back it all up (and, indeed, restore it, though most people have much faster download speeds than upload). People with slow Internet or a limit on how much data they can use would do better to use an app and make backups locally. If you don’t have any limits on your Internet speed, a flat fee of $70 (about £53) per year per computer for almost unlimited Cloud storage seems like a great deal. Backblaze can also be bought for a monthly fee of $6 (about £4.50) or $110 (about £83) for 24 months.
Backblaze has solutions for personal storage, but they also have options for businesses that cost as little as $6 per month per terabyte. Not only can the Business model protect documents, but it can also secure virtual machines (VMs) and database structures. Also of interest is the B2 Cloud storage service, which offers enterprise-level service and will even help you move your data from Amazon S3.
12. Paragon Backup & Recovery
Like its drive cloning tool, Backup & Recovery is now part of Paragon Hard Disk Manager Advanced. Before, you could buy it separately at a lower price, but now Paragon makes you buy HDM Advanced, even if you don’t want its extra features. But if you use features like moving and resizing disk partitions and securely wiping data from drives, it could be better than other packages. Plus, you only pay once and can use it on up to three PCs. There is no subscription.
The interface is clear and easy to understand, and it guides you step-by-step through the different backup tasks you need to do at the times you set. If that’s all you need, you can do regular or one-problem backups. If your backup destination doesn’t have enough space, you can split the backups into smaller pieces. The combination of defined scenarios and ad-hoc backups is very flexible and works well for people who use their computers in many different ways and need just as flexible software.
It is also one of the few tools that can back up virtual disks, such as VMDK, VHDX, VHD, and pVHD files made by major hypervisor vendors (like VMware, Hyper-V, VirtualBox). And if you want to look at what’s in these backups quickly, you can use virtual machines to mount them. If you use that technology, it can even secure encrypted Microsoft Bitlocker volumes.
You can buy Paragon Backup & Recovery from the company’s website for £67.25/US$79.95.
After criticizing Paragon for including Backup & Recovery in Hard Disk Manager Advanced, it’s important to point out that there’s a free version called Paragon Backup & Recovery Community Edition that’s worth downloading and trying, especially if you only need essential backup and restore features.
13. O&O AutoBackup 6
O&O has a quick and easy application that automatically sync and back up copies of your files and folders to a hard drive or USB stick. This solution is different because it starts when you insert the backup media, such as a disc or USB drive. You can also set a backup schedule to ensure your files are safe at a certain time. A real-time mode also watches for changes to files in the highlighted folders and then copies them to the backup location.
The backup on insertion feature of O&O AutoBackup is neat, but the program isn’t very powerful otherwise. But it’s easy for people who aren’t tech-savvy to use because there aren’t many options. At £19.99/$27.99, it’s also a good deal for people who don’t need a lot of extra features.
The AutoBackup method works well for someone who takes data every day and wants to secure sure they are safe at the end of the day. But it won’t secure a PC with a catastrophic hard drive failure because it can’t restore an operating system that is running or boot partitions. For this, O&O has a system imaging tool called DiskImage 16 that can be bought for £35.99/$49.95.
O&O also sells DiskRecovery 14 Professional for £65/$99, a tool for recovering lost files and damaged partitions. It also sells specialized software for handling SSD migrations, cash mitigation, and secure erasure of systems.
14. Bvckup 2
Bvckup 2 is a backup tool for Windows that is fast and small. It is made for power users and IT professionals. If you don’t know much about technology, its interface can be scary. That’s not a problem, though, because this list has a lot of options for home users. Alexander Pankratov, the main person who worked on it, said it was like a chef’s knife: it looks simple, but it takes skill to use it correctly. In the right hands, though, it’s the best tool for the job.
The app can back up your files on-demand, incrementally, or on a schedule, but it can’t do disk imaging or full system backups. For those, you’ll need a different app. Because of this, Bvckup can focus on speed. The app is written to run as close to the hardware and use as few resources as possible. When certain external drives are plugged in, certain backups can be set to happen automatically. Hierarchical logs that show each step of the backup process also let you see what happened.
Some of these features are included in the Basic tier, which costs £21.50/$29.99. For the more advanced features, you’ll need either Pro for Workstations £35.99/$49.99 or Pro for Windows Servers £108/$149.99, which is for the enterprise. If you move up to the Pro tier, you can use things like Delta copying, which offers backups faster than full file copies and is more reliable because it handles errors smartly and keeps detailed logs.
It’s also great that Pro uses Windows shadow copy mode, which lets it copy a file that’s open for editing without crashing or throwing an exception. You can run the program as a regular app or a system service in the background, with or without admin level access. You can also control everything from the command line if that’s your thing.