Best Windows backup software 2026: Free and paid options reviewed

Unlike Google Drive’s automatic folder syncing tied to your software for low-end PC account, SugarSync grants you the flexibility to manually select specific files or folders for syncing instead of relying on a preset default. Regardless of your location, the Android and iOS apps ensure seamless file access and modifications away from home. With a free plan, you gain 2GB of storage—ideal for basic documents, short videos, and images—and the software syncs automatically when your computer is idle or during scheduled intervals. The app’s clean, blue-panelled interface keeps your files neatly organized and easily reachable online, while the mobile version mirrors this efficient layout. Consider exploring the Android and iOS app if you seek convenient file access from your smartphone or tablet.

File versioning—preserving multiple iterations of a document—can be invaluable when reverting to an earlier draft. MiniTool ShadowMaker serves as a robust backup utility tailored for Windows users, addressing everything from simple backups to complex system restoration needs. This free tool covers all backup bases, from individual file saves to full system imaging, making it a top-tier option for Windows. EaseUS Todo Backup Free stands out as a widely adopted backup solution, praised for its extensive features and intuitive design, catering equally to individuals and small businesses. Its intuitive layout and powerful capabilities ensure broad appeal, from tech experts to non-technical users alike.

For users who want basic data backup software with solid features, NovaBackup can be a great option. We have compiled a list of the best backup software for Windows 11/10. Alas, when versioning or even plain backup are involved, there may be limits on how long older versions and deleted files are retained.

Historic Versioning & Ransomware Protection

We cross-referenced EaseUS Todo Backup’s licensing terms with official vendor documents and EULAs to confirm commercial usage permissions. KopiaUI deviates from traditional Apple app design, requiring users to grasp concepts like repositories, password policies, and restoration testing. Running on macOS, it provides both a graphical desktop interface and command-line tools, supporting local, network, and cloud storage—including S3, Backblaze B2, Azure Blob, Google Cloud, SFTP, and WebDAV. Outdated backups are automatically purged when storage capacity is exhausted, though native cloud or object storage support is lacking.

Windows 10 Backup and Restore

antivirus software for windows

With automatic backup scheduling, versioning support, and fast restore points, Cyber Backup ensures your data remains accessible and safe—whether you’re dealing with local drives or remote systems. I was impressed by how quickly I could perform a full system restore after testing its incremental and differential backup settings on a server that had crashed during updates. I appreciated how its encryption and differential backup processes ran quietly in the background while I worked, ensuring that my most critical data was always protected. Its disaster recovery and ransomware protection features make it a solid choice for anyone serious about data resilience. For those seeking a secure, user-friendly, and collaborative cloud backup platform, pCloud combines convenience with confidence. When I used pCloud’s account rewind after a project file got overwritten, it instantly restored the earlier version — proof that its restore points feature genuinely delivers.

Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows

The platform emphasizes security and offers video guides to simplify workflows. Services like Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive qualify as cloud storage due to their lack of local backup clients, instead syncing via virtual drives or web interfaces. Some providers maintain multiple file versions, while others do not.

After dedicating over 175 hours to evaluating 35+ backup solutions, we compiled a list of the 12 best performers. Whether recovering deleted files or checking version histories through its incremental system, OneDrive’s performance remains exceptional. It delivers full-system imaging, live file backups, and advanced disk cloning, supporting SSDs, UEFI setups, and VHD/VHDX formats. Cyber Backup merges data protection, system imaging, and full disaster recovery into one secure framework.

MiniTool ShadowMaker is a dependable Windows backup and disaster recovery tool that I use to protect everything from a few important folders to a complete system image, disk, or partition. The paid pricing below is the annual subscription for 100 workstations with single-technician support. ManageEngine OS Deployer is a comprehensive OS imaging and deployment tool that doubles as a dependable system backup solution. It’s designed with a strong focus on collaboration, giving teams shared “Team Folders” with role-based access controls. Zoho WorkDrive has become my go-to choice for team-based cloud storage, secure file sharing, and centralized data backup across multiple devices. The experience reinforced how dependable its disaster recovery and encryption layers truly are.

free alternatives to paid software

Once downloaded and installed, the program runs discreetly in the background, offering full, incremental, or differential backups navigable from the feature-packed interface. The built-in program secures copies of your most important files on an external hard drive or DVD, whether you pick the individual folders or rely on the Windows-curated suggestions, and it even touts the option of backing up your files to your computer’s network. Again, we suggest checking out our guide on how to choose an external hard drive and our picks for the best external hard drives to make your shopping tasks a bit easier. Both old and new versions of the two systems feature built-in software utilities for completely backing up your entire system automatically with minimal setup and little in the way of prior experience. Take a look at the Android and iOS mobile apps if you want to access, edit, and view files on the go.

A few more features and it could end up at the top of this list. While the service doesn’t offer anything particularly fancy, there is both a local virtual drive à la Dropbox, etc and a client for backup jobs. Currently, the standard Backup plan for one PC is approximately $124 per year (being a UK-based company, prices are listed in pounds and the conversion to dollars will fluctuate). Though it’s not the cheapest, it’s still competitive price-wise and offers backup clients for nearly every PC/device operating system. Besides typically lacking a desktop client, and offering limited, if any, automatic backup functionality, online storage syncing involves mirroring — where any deletions or changes are reflected on the other end. That being said, enterprise users often have up to 1TB of OneDrive storage through their Office365 licence, and in this circumstance are unlikely to run into problems if using the service for basic backups.

Its free edition matches paid versions in core features—imaging, file backup, sync, and disaster recovery—with the latter being particularly robust. Todo Backup encompasses everything from imaging and disaster recovery to compressed/uncompressed file backups, real-time sync, and continuous backups, covering nearly every backup feature imaginable.

Related Posts