December 17th, 2018 | Updated on July 22nd, 2022
Often times we are stuck in a situation where we desperately need to back up our data. This could be due to any reason but the crux is that the situation should be solved in a manner that you do not lose any kind of valuable information.
Losing information is a problem that none of us would want to face as its repercussions can be really severe.
Back up software’s as the name suggests are equipped to safeguard the data that is present on your computer and transfer it to another important place like a hard drive, disc, flash drive etc.
Whenever we think of getting a back -up done the first thing that comes to our mind is that we trust software that does this work in a manner that reduces possibilities of any errors.
This is because even a small mistake while taking a decision in this context can cause a major setback to your initial purpose.
To avoid feeling confused we are bringing a compilation of 20 free backup software tools. The choice of any of these can help you in being smart with your choice and pick up one software that suits your need the most.
1. EaseUS Todo Backup
EaseUS Todo Backup is free backup software that supports automatically backing up the system drive, particular files and folders, whole hard drives, and even Android devices.
The restore function in EaseUS Todo Backup offers the easiest way to retrieve backed up files by mounting the backup image as a virtual hard drive.
More About EaseUS Todo Backup
- EaseUS Todo Backup is compatible with Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP
- Optionally split a backup into custom sizes for more manageable storage
- Toggle how much processor power EaseUS Todo Backup is able to use, between normal or medium, to ensure
- performance isn’t degraded too much while running backup jobs.
Review: Capterra
Pros: There is a free version, which I started with, and then moved to the paid version on multiple PC’s, after I discovered I liked the software. This software has multiple back up and restore options, from full backup, to incremental, to saving changes as they occur. It will allow me to save data just about anywhere, and schedule what I want to back up, when I want it done. It works with password protected network locations. I really like a lot of the information on their website and tutorials, because it has helped me out more than once, when I’ve needed information about restoring a PC, emails, etc.
Cons: The user interface is a little clunky and not the most user friendly, but, at the price point, I expect it to be functional and not fancy. I’ve had issues with the software not running backups when I want it to, off hours.
Overall: Handles my backup needs on my network, at a value price. There are lot of tutorials on their website to help get you started.
2. Cobian Backup
Cobian Backup is free backup software that can backup to compressed archives on a hard drive or FTP server.
There are so many settings in Cobian Backup that customizing a backup to your liking certainly won’t be an issue!
More About Cobian Backup
- Though only Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2008/2003 are officially supported, I was also able to run Cobian.
- Backup in Windows 10 and Windows 8 without any issues
- Both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows are supported
- Backup to more than one destination at once
- Cobian Backup shows hints for every option for more information on what it does
Review: Softpedia
Cobian Backup is a reliable software solution designed to back up your files either on the local computer or onto another system in the network.
Of course, just as expected, there are multiple backup modes supports, including full, differential, incremental and dummy, with dedicated settings for each of them.
But first, a few words on the interface. Although the application is supposed to address such an important task, Cobian Backup is pretty intuitive and sports a well-organized look.
3. FileFort Backup
FileFort Backup is easy to use, free backup software that can backup files to a cloud storage service, FTP server, and other locations.
More About FileFort Backup
- Can be used in Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP, as well as on Mac OS X 10.4 and higher
- Tiny setup file at around 400 KB
- Very quick install
- Backs us whole folders and/or individual files
- Can explicitly include and/or exclude files from a backup by their extension
Review: Amazon
Excellent automatic back up software, perform back up jobs at the scheduled time at the back ground. The only short comings is it only support, back up to google drive, drop box and amazon s3, does not support back up to amazon cloud
4. AOMEI Backupper Standard
AOMEI Backupper Standard is free backup software that supports backing up files and folders, hard drives, and even the system partition.
The program interface is probably the easiest I’ve used in a backup program even though I’d consider AOMEI Backupper pretty advanced.
More About AOMEI Backupper
- AOMEI Backupper can be installed on 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP
- Can be installed on an unlimited number of computers in a commercial or home setting
- You can exclude custom subfolders and file types from a backup using wildcards
- A backup can be encrypted and password protected
Review: Tecoreviews
- Pros:
variety of backup solutions; - free version operates as well as the paid version;
- great speed of backup process;
- user-friendly interface;
- 30-day free trial of Professional Edition;
- the paid version offers a variety of additional features.
Cons:
Professional edition barely differs from the Standard version. The only difference is additional features that might not be necessary for the regular users.
Conclusions:
AOMEI Backupper Standard Edition offers great backing up solutions for free.
5. BackUp Maker v7.303
BackUp Maker is free backup software that supports a variety of backup destinations.
There are unique settings in BackUp Maker that I haven’t seen in similar programs, like running a backup using conditional settings and system events, like USB detection.
More About BackUp Maker
- Compatible with all versions of Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2012, 2008, and 2003
- Can switch between expert and simple mode to add or remove advanced options while setting up a backup job
- Simple selection lets you add common locations to a backup, like music, videos, and Internet browser bookmarks
- Conditions can be required for a backup to run, like if a certain file or folder does or doesn’t exist anywhere on the computer
- BackUp Maker can add custom folders and/or single files to a backup job
- Exclude files and folders from a backup by location, file type, or size
Review: Techsupportaler
Backup Maker opens with a clean console inviting the user to start with a backup or restore. Click backup to start the restore wizard. Choose presets or specific files and folders, scheduling, full or partial backups, a target location and a backup name; those are the basic wizard features.
The advanced features include the ability to catch up missed backups, creating settings for not overwriting older backups, security options, back up condition options, actions to occur before/after backup, and splitting the backup.
The wizard did a good job of walking me through the options. The developer has fixed the system slowing or freezing when drilling down directory trees that one of our users’s pointed out. I’ve tested this feature again and cannot recreate the issue.
The software has one of the most extensive sets of options for customizing backups. Unfortunately imaging, cloning or system boot backups are not supported.
Backup Maker does not limit any of the functionality versus the paid version. The omissions from the paid version are commercial use and technical support.
6. DriveImage XML v2.60
DriveImage XML is free backup software that can backup an entire hard drive to an image file.
You can also use DriveImage XML to backup, or clone, one hard drive directly to another as well as schedule a backup of the system partition.
More About DriveImage XML
- DriveImage XML can be used on Windows 10 through Windows XP, as well as with Windows Server 2003
- Backup one hard drive to another without creating an image file
- Create a backup of the system partition
- Backups create a single XML file and DAT file
- Automatic backups can be scheduled using Windows’ Task Scheduler utility
- Can choose split a backup into files that are less than 4 GB each Option to compress a backup
Review: Softpedia
DriveImage XML is a lightweight application designed to help you backup a drive and restore the files later. It is a useful tool that can be used to restore important files when you encounter a disk failure.
To protect yourself from the experience of losing important data due to a faulty hard drive you need to create a backup of your information. This program enables you to store the exact image of a disk partition onto another disk. If you want to save disk space, the app can easily compress the image.
7. Redo Backup
Redo Backup is free backup software in the form of a bootable Live CD.
You can use Redo Backup to backup an entire hard drive or a single partition to an image file which can then be easily restored via the bootable disc.
More About Redo Backup
- Completely free for any use (commercial or personal)
- Can backup and restore a Windows or Linux operating system
- An easy to follow wizard guides you through a backup or restore
- Runs at full speed because it’s working outside of the OS
- A volume’s name and its total storage is shown to help identify the correct hard drive to backup or restore
Review: Spiceworks
It is the easiest, most complete disaster recovery solution available. It allows bare-metal restore. Bare metal restore means that even if your hard drive melts or gets completely erased by a virus, you can have a completely-functional system back up and running in as little as 10 minutes.
8. Yadis! Backup
Yadis! Backup is free backup software that backs up folders in real time without using any scheduling preferences.
Any number of file versions can be kept and there are specific conditions that can be required to be met before a backup is carried out.
More About Yadis! Backup
Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP users can use Yadis! Backup
Option to backup files only if they are newer than those in the destination folder
Specific conditions can be met before a backup is launched, like if a file or folder is created or modified, the name changes, and/or one of its attributes is modified
A description can be added to a backup job for reference
Option to preserve the structure of the source folder
Review: Softpedia
Yadis! Backup is a reliable tool designed to help you backup and protect your important files in an easy and intuitive fashion.
Comprehensible interface
The graphic user interface of Yadis! Backup is constituted of a simple non-resizable window where you can open other tasks in new tabs.
The process of backing up your files is meant to help even the inexperienced users, by offering a step-by-step sequence of actions.
9. Everyday Auto Backup
Everyday Auto Backup is free backup software that can backup folders to and from a local hard drive, network folder, or external hard drive.
The interface is free from clutter and the settings are very easy to follow and understand.
More About Everyday Auto Backup
- Works with Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003, and older versions of Windows.
- Small setup file
- Quick installation
- A global setting can be used to exclude certain file names and/or file types from being included in any backup
Review: Softpedia
Everyday Auto Backup is a lightweight Windows application built specifically for helping you carry out automatic backup operations.
Important information can be easily deleted or lost due to various system malfunctions, such as malicious threats and restart operations. This is why, it is important to back up your data to a file for making sure you can restore it in case your computer crashes.
Everyday Auto Backup sports a clean and intuitive layout that allows you to schedule multiple backup projects by providing details about the name, source folder, and destination directory, including subfolders, and selecting the time (e.g. hourly, daily, weekly, monthly) or specifying a custom value.
10. Genie Timeline Free
Genie; is a commercial developer of backup and cloud software solutions that was established in 2010. It has since been an internationally renowned company with the introduction of simple yet robust backup solutions winning many awards. Since then, Genie9 has been one of the top leaders in its industry. The company was founded by Muayyad Shehadeh and is privately held.
Genie9’s Local backup: Award winning backup products; providing seamless data and disaster recovery for home, pro and SMBs desktop, laptops and servers to local storage.
Review: Pcmag
Pros
Clear, simple interface. Easy to set up backups. Good set of backup options. File versions saved. Free trial.
Cons
No encrypted backup option. Disaster recovery download prompted a security warning. Weak mobile app.
Bottom Line
Genie Timeline Home is easy-to-use, capable backup software that lets you get back to previous file versions and folders.
11. Disk2vhd v2.01
Disk2vhd is a utility that creates VHD (Virtual Hard Disk – Microsoft’s Virtual Machine disk format) versions of physical disks for use in Microsoft Virtual PC or Microsoft Hyper-V virtual machines (VMs).
The difference between Disk2vhd and other physical-to-virtual tools is that you can run Disk2vhd on a system that’s online. Disk2vhd uses Windows’ Volume Snapshot capability, introduced in Windows XP, to create consistent point-in-time snapshots of the volumes you want to include in a conversion.
Review: Spiceworks
Disk2vhd is a utility that creates VHD (Virtual Hard Disk – Microsoft’s Virtual Machine disk format) versions of physical disks for use in Microsoft Virtual PC or Microsoft Hyper-V virtual machines (VMs). The difference between Disk2vhd and other physical-to-virtual tools is that you can run Disk2vhd on a system that’s online.
Disk2vhd uses Windows’ Volume Snapshot capability, introduced in Windows XP, to create consistent point-in-time snapshots of the volumes you want to include in a conversion. You can even have Disk2vhd create the VHDs on local volumes, even ones being converted (though performance is better when the VHD is on a disk different than ones being converted).
12. GFI Backup
GFI Backup’s innovative combination of company-wide data backup with synchronization via the user agent provides:
- Traditional file backup and restore of data contained on servers and workstations
- Backup of files located on servers and workstations which meet a specific group set (e.g., financial files, productivity files, images and designs)
- Synchronization of files or folders across several workstations, servers and laptops
- Synchronization of files between backup servers, enabling the creation of redundant backups.
Review: Softpedia
GFI Backup is powerful, yet comprehensive backup and synchronization application designed to help you store your files securely in order to prevent data loss. It can perform incremental or differential backups to local folders and provides you with intuitive options that make it suitable for beginner and advanced users alike.
Designed with ease of use in mind, the application features a wizard-based interface that assists you in creating and running new tasks. The main window enables you to setup a new backup job, restore a backup, manage existing jobs and synchronize files and directories in two different locations.
13. EASIS Drive Cloning
EASIS Drive Cloning helps you cloning or copying hard drives, partitions or other storage devices bit-wise. Often you need to copy bytes from one hard drive to a second for upgrade your computer or laptop. Sometimes you need to copy the the bytes from the hard drive for data recovery reasons.
Byte-wise copies have the advantage that all original information (hidden or not hidden) are copied to a second hard drive or drive image. Although hidden license information can be copied if you make byte-wise copy of you hard drive or partition. To make consistent copies you need to stop working on the source drive because EASIS Drive Cloning will copy the bytes accessing sectors.
EASIS Drive Cloning allows you to create high compressed hard drive images for batter storage handling. For high compressions, the software will use a refined zlib algorithm. RAW image formats are supported too.
Review: PcSoftwaresBay
Often you need to copy bytes from one hard drive to a second for upgrade your computer or laptop. Sometimes you need to copy the the bytes from the hard drive for data recovery reasons. This software will help you do this job easy.
EASIS Drive Cloning will help with the copying or cloning of partitions or hard drives. If you need a complete copy (perhaps for an upgrade on your laptop or computer), everything needs to be the exact same way it was. This means that all the information, including hidden files, is copied to a drive image or hard drive. Even though there are easier alternatives on the market, the fact remains that EASIS Drive Cloning does a very good job at making an exact duplicate.
14. AceBackup
AceBackup has five different encryption algorithms to protect your data against unauthorized access.It can encrypt even the file names.A unique feature of AceBackup is the ability to store backup files on FTP servers as well as on any local storage device.Enter the desired dates in the Scheduler and the program backs up your data at the dates and time selected.
You can back up files with without compression or you can select the highest possible compression level to keep backups as small as possible.Apply filter to exclude defined file name extensions. Or define a filter to only back up files containing the selected file name extension.
Review: Cloudwards
You’re ready to backup your data, but you’re not sure about using one of our best online backup solutions. Maybe the cloud isn’t your thing or you’re just old school. No matter, because we’ve put together a list of the best offline backup apps.
If you want something that can work online and offline, you should check out our CloudBerry Backup review.
15. FBackup
FBackup is a backup software free for both commercial and personal use. This means that you can save some money by not having to buy another backup program.The main functions of a backup program are backing up and restoring. These are very easy to run with FBackup by using the included backup wizard. Just start the wizard, select What, Where, How and When to run the backup and you’re all set. For restoring you just need to open the restore wizard and you’ll be asked where you want the restore data to be saved.
With FBackup you can back-up your files and folders in the Cloud to your existing Google Drive or Dropbox account. Simply connect your account with FBackup and you’ll be able to use it as a Cloud destination. This lets you combine the best of both worlds, your favorite free backup program with world-renowed free cloud storage.You define a backup job, set it to run automatically, and forget about it. FBackup will automatically run the backup at the scheduled date, so you have the benefits not only of having your data protected, but you’ll also save precious time.
Review: Cloudwards
You’re ready to backup your data, but you’re not sure about using one of our best online backup solutions. Maybe the cloud isn’t your thing or you’re just old school. No matter, because we’ve put together a list of the best offline backup apps.
If you want something that can work online and offline, you should check out our CloudBerry Backup review.
Whatever route you take, creating a backup is a good idea because you can’t know when your hard drive will rotate its last cycle or experience a crash or malfunction.
16. Ocster Backup: Freeware Windows Edition
This is the free edition of Ocster Backup, a fast and intuitive tool designed for users looking to periodically back up their important documents, photos and other types of files in case of data loss or corruption. Gearead toward all user levels, it supports scheduled and automatic tasks, in addition to a backup manager and other features.
More About Ocster Backup
- Can store backups on Ocster Secure Storage
- Multiple copies are kept in different locations
- The data is transmitted to the data centers via a highly secured internet channel
- Backups are strongly encrypted and protected with a user password
- Backups are compressed intelligently to save space
- Backups are performed automatically at scheduled times
Review: Softpedia
it’s possible to create as many backup plans as you want, edit their properties using the built-in manager, as well as remove plans and delete data from the computer or just their entries from the list to keep and later import the files. Backups can be updated on the spot with new or modified files and folders, as well as restored by pointing out their location or entry in the list.
It’s not mandatory to restore backups to the original location on the hard drive, since Ocster Backup Freeware gives you the possibility to create the files and folders anywhere. However, it doesn’t integrate features for extracting only those parts you’re interested in, so it’s necessary to unwrap the entire bundle.
17. HDClone Free Edition
The Free Edition is real freeware without any obligation to buy. It is intended for temporary and free use cases. For more frequent or professional use, recommend you to use one of the higher editions, as they offer higher speed, broader hardware support and further options for regular and professional usage.
Review: Download3k
HDClone is also a bootable application, which comes in very handy if you are using it to restore a backup copy of your drive. Even if you haven’t made a backup, the bootable HDClone system now has a revised graphical user interface, which you can use to try and recover data from a corrupted disk. Another great use for HDClone is if you’re purchasing a new computer, but you want to keep the set-up of your old computer, you can clone the hard drive of the old machine and restore it to the new machine. If your’ new machine has a larger hard drive, HDClone can allocate the additional space.
HDClone offers a variety of editions to fit your needs. The commercial editions of HDClone include HDClone Basic Edition, HDClone Standard Edition, HDClone Professional Edition, and HD Enterprise Edition. Each offer additional features. There is also an HDClone Free Edition which is free for non-commercial use and provides enough basic features to make it a worthwhile download.
18. Macrium Reflect
With Macrium Reflect, partitions can be backed up to an image file or copied directly to another drive.
If saved as an image, the program will produce an MRIMG file, which can only be opened and used with Macrium Reflect. This file can be saved to a local drive, network share, external drive, or burned directly to a disc. You can even add more than one backup location to build a fail-safe in the event that a destination becomes invalid.
More About
- Disk Imaging
- Disk Cloning
- Access images in Windows Explorer
- Schedule backups
- Linux Rescue CD
- Windows PE 3 Rescue Media (RAID support)
Review: Softpedia
The main menu screen for HDClone is fairly easy for even beginners to get the hang of it. You’re greeted with several options in the Free Edition that run under three categories, Backup, Recovery, and Cloning. Each offers a different solution for backing up and restoring drives. There is also a classic view option which doesn’t differ much from the startup screen, but it simplifies the process by reducing the selection of choices.
Pros
- Able to copy the entire contents of a drive.
- Has its own bootable system.
- Works with cloning a drive to a separate drive
Cons
- None listed.
19. ODIN
ODIN is a utility for easy backup of hard drive volumes or complete hard drives under Windows. A disk image can be created or restored. Only used clusters can be backuped, compression on the fly is possible. It runs under 32-Bit Windows Operating Systems. How many hours did you spend in setting up your Windows system? Setting up the operating system, installing programs, customizing to your personal needs. Do you want to be protected against hard disk failures, viruses or other malware? Just restore your system within minutes. Why spend money for a commercial solution? ODIN supports snapshots can be run from command line or with a GUI and runs on 32-Bit and 46-Bit operating systems.
- Backup/restore of volume or complete hard disk
- Backup used blocks or all blocks
- Compress data on backup
- Verify backup image files for damages
- Support of all Windows file systems
- Split image files to chunks (e.g. for burning to CD/DVD)
- Does not require installation, just start odin.exe
20. Freebyte Backup
Freebyte Backup can back up multiple folders at a time to any local, external, or network drive.
A backup can not be compressed or encrypted with Freebyte Backup. Scheduling isn’t built-in either, but you can make a few changes to how the program launches as well as use an external scheduling program to make it work. See more in the Freebyte Backup Manual.
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