Imagine you are tirelessly working to achieve results on an important project deadline, and you lose all data just before finalization. Chaotic, right? You can avoid such chaos with backup software that will sync and retain your data indefinitely, even in case of accidental deletion, hardware failures, and cyberattacks.
Many free backup software promise great results, but identifying the best ones for your business can be time-consuming. In this article, we highlight six top-rated free backup products, in alphabetical order, based on verified software reviews. Read more.
1. Altaro VM Backup
Altaro VM Backup provides data backup and protection against ransomware using features that assure any unauthorized user cannot erase, modify, or delete your data. It encrypts your data using 256-bit AES encryption, making it unreadable to those who don’t have the correct passphrase to access the encrypted backup data.
A key differentiator of this backup solution is the data cloning feature that allows you to create an exact copy of your system for complete system restoration (including operating system, application, and data). The feature is available in the free plan and can also help copy your data on multiple servers.
Free featuresBackup retention: Allows you to manually specify how long you want to keep an individual backup file before it is automatically deleted to save space.
Live backups: Lets you create a backup of a system or application while it is still running so that business operations remain unaffected.
Data compression: Reduces file backup size by compressing the data being backed up so that less storage space is used and the backup process is faster.
Customer support options: Knowledge base, e-books, live chat, email, and phone support.
Who should consider Altaro VM Backup?
As a business manager, if you want to avoid getting stuck in complex configurations and steep learning curves, you can consider Altaro VM Back. The tool takes less than 15 minutes to install and run the first virtual machine backup, allowing you to start quickly.
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Cost to upgrade
$115.80 per virtual machine, per year
Device Compatibilty
2. IDrive
You can consider IDrive if your data is spread across multiple devices and you have a hard time syncing it. You can install this application on all your devices using the same IDrive account, and the tool will create a folder for each device to separate all data. This also enables you to access, share, and manage your data from any web browser, computer, or mobile device.
You can use the free plan on IDrive to store up to 10GB of data and leverage the paid plans to avail up to 5TB of storage space. In the paid plans, you can also avail of priority customer support via live chat, email, or phone call, if you need technical help.
Free featuresEncryption: Enables you to protect the backed-up data by encoding it in a way that allows access to only authorized parties.
Reporting: Provides detailed information about the backup process so that you can monitor the status of your backups.
Weblogs: Logs every browser-based activity of your account. You can check the activities’ date, time, and IP addresses of the user in a single place.
Customer support options: FAQs, video tutorials, email, 24/7 live chat, and phone calls.
Who should consider IDrive?
If you cannot afford a plan with a higher storage capacity, then you could benefit from IDrive’s versioning feature. It saves up to 30 versions of a file and calculates the storage only for the most recent version, allowing you to store multiple data versions without exhausting available storage capacity.
Assess your business needs, including current data size and the rate of data increase, to understand your future storage space needs. You can then choose a backup software that cost-effectively offers the right amount of storage.
3. MSP360 Managed Backup
MSP360 Managed Backup is a backup and disaster recovery software solution. Its ‘deep instinct integration’ feature differentiates it from other data backup solutions on the market. It’s an AI-powered cybersecurity tool that can learn and self-improve to stop advanced cyberattacks. It features automated patch management, encryption, and two-factor authentication.
In the free version, MSP360 Managed Backup lets you create an access control list (ACL) to control users’ data access, including their access type (view, comment, or edit). The list helps to prevent unauthorized users from accessing your data.
Free featuresCommand line interface: Lets you automate backup and restore operations through a text-based interface rather than a graphical user interface (GUI).
Resumable upload: Enables you to resume an interrupted backup upload from where it was left off rather than starting the upload process from the beginning.
Capacity reports: Provides information on the amount of storage capacity used by your backup data, allowing you to monitor storage usage and plan for future space needs.
Customer support options: Community support
Who should consider MSP360 Managed Backup?
If you have a remote team and need a method to share backup data with them quickly, this tool could be your solution, as it lets you generate unique URLs. These URLs can be used to access or share backup data from a web browser, enabling remote users to access the shared data easily.
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Cost to upgrade
$59.99 per computer, one-time [free]
Device Compatibilty
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4. Storj
Unlike any other backup software on this list, Storj offers decentralized storage. It splits your data into 80 smaller units and stores it on a global network of storage nodes. Out of those 80 units, only 29 are needed at the time of data recovery, ensuring your data is secure and available at all times.
In its free version, Storj offers a 25GB storage limit for you to consume. However, if you need more storage, you’ll have to pay $4 per TB to go beyond the free limit. This pricing model is cost-effective as you only pay for what you use.
Free featuresVideo cloud storage: Lets you store raw video files in an encrypted format and share them globally with a maximum transfer speed of 2,500MB/s.
Access controls: Empowers you to grant access rights to users, ensuring only authorized users can access the data.
Data encryption: Encrypts the data using AES-256-GCM symmetric encryption to prevent data breaches and unauthorized access.
Customer support options: Webinars, e-books, case studies, tutorials, community forums, FAQs, email.
Who should consider Storj?
You can go for Storj if you’re looking for a customizable backup solution. Storj is an open-source tool licensed under GNU Affero General Public License V3. This means you can download the code and have your software developer customize it per your business needs. For instance, you can alter the code to remove features you don’t need or modify the tool’s interface.
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Cost to upgrade
$4 per TB
Device Compatibilty
Evaluate the ransomware protection capabilities of a backup tool. Backup tools with ransomware protection auto-detect suspicious files in data and alert you immediately about any potential threat, enabling you to take necessary actions to mitigate risks.
5. SyncBackPro
Like most other backup tools, SyncBackPro lets you back up your data files, including pictures, emails, music files, documents, spreadsheets, and movies. But what differentiates this tool from others is its capability to store data in multiple languages without disrupting it. It also lets you synchronize backup files and folders between multiple devices, including external hard drives, network shares, and cloud storage services.
SyncBackPro’s free version, SyncBackFree, runs on Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, and Vista (32/64-bit). It allows you to recover data in case of loss due to any reason.
Free featuresInternal and external hardware support: Supports internal (local drive, solid-state drives, etc.) and external hardware (USB hard drive, thumb drive, external hard drive, etc.) for storage, offering you multiple data storage options.
Ransomware detection: Monitors the backup process for any sign of ransomware activity, including unusual file changes or known ransomware file extensions, to keep your data safe and alert you quickly in case of an attack.
File verification: Verifies whether the data stored in the backup matches the original data that was backed up to ensure successful file backup without corruption.
Customer support options: Feature articles, tutorials, knowledge base, and discussion forums.
Who should consider SyncBackPro?
If your business operates in multiple locations and uses different data languages, SyncBackPro’s multilingual support feature might benefit you. It will allow you to save file names in languages other than English. The tool’s one-time purchase license will save you the hassle of monthly or yearly payments.
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Cost to upgrade
$39.95 (one-time license)
Device Compatibilty
6. Uranium Backup
If you’re looking for a solution that helps create a backup of not just your computers but also virtual machines, servers, disk images, and exchange databases, then Uranium Backup is the solution. It also offers multiple storage options, including hard disks, network-attached storage (NAS), tapes, FTP servers, and cloud destinations, letting you choose the best-suited storage location for your business.
Uranium Backup’s free plan allows you to take a full backup of your systems or servers, assuring file restoration even in case of a disaster. The tool’s multiple pricing option lets you choose a higher-priced plan if you need more features as per your business needs.
Free featuresScheduler: Lets you create an automatic backup routine by defining how often the tool should backup data (Example: daily, weekly, or monthly backup schedule).
Logs: Generates reports containing information about the backup process, including start time, end time, backup type, backup destination, and any errors encountered during the process.
Email notifications: Sends automated alerts to your designated email address to inform you about your backups' status (success, failure, or errors).
Customer support options: Knowledge base, video tutorials, phone calls.
Who should consider Uranium Backup?
Along with full backup, Uranium Backup supports incremental backup and differential backup in the free version. An incremental backup backs up data that has changed or been added since the last backup, regardless of the backup type. Differential backup copies just the data that has changed since the last full backup. Since both these backup methods help save storage space, you can consider this backup tool if you are looking for a cost-effective solution offering additional storage.
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Cost to upgrade
$87 per month [Price given in Euros on vendor website of €80]
Device Compatibilty
Analyze your growth plan to assess your business's future needs. Then review the pricing models and advanced features each backup software offers to select a tool that fulfills both your current and future requirements.
What is the cost to upgrade from free backup software to a paid one?
A backup software upgrade can be as low as $3 per user per month or rise to $34+ per month, depending on various factors—features, number of users, storage capacity, types of backups supported, and number of storage options. Most backup software typically include the following pricing plans based on the number of users:
Free trial: No-cost trial plans ranging from 15 to 30 days, giving users an option to test out the functionality based on either all or limited features.
Free version: Free software plans offer basic features and limited premium feature access, ideal for small businesses or individuals with a limited budget.
Entry-level: Starts at $3 per month and offers limited features; good option for small businesses or teams who need basic features, such as data encryption and backup scheduling.
Mid-tier: Mid-range pricing for backup software ranges from $4 to $17 per month, offering advanced features such as drive image backup and tape backup.
High-end: Advanced plans go up to $34 per month, offering single-sign-on, business compliance, and priority customer support along with entry and mid-level features.
Hidden costs associated with backup software
Besides the software license, there may be additional costs associated with backup software. These may include the cost of increasing the storage capacity, adding more business locations, or getting the mobile app of the tool.
Frequently asked questions when selecting free backup software
It’s important to ask the product support team the right questions to determine if the free backup software is a good fit for your business. Some common questions include:
File versioning allows you to track changes made to a file over time. Each time a file is saved with some changes, the tool automatically creates a new version, allowing you to view the change history. It is a good-to-have feature since it allows you to access older versions of the same file in case of accidental deletion, file corruption, or unintended changes.
When looking for a backup tool, check the type of backup options (full, incremental, and differential backup) it offers and analyze functionality differences and benefits. Full backup creates a backup of all the files. Incremental backup only backs up the data since the last backup, regardless of whether it was a full or incremental backup. Differential backup takes a backup of all the data that has changed since the previous full backup. Since incremental and differential backups only update the altered files, they save additional storage space.
Reporting capabilities help you track the status and performance of backups. The tool generates reports with details such as the time taken to complete the backup, the backup speed, and the amount of data backed up. These reports also include details of errors that may have occurred during the backup process. As this can help you identify potential issues and bottlenecks in your backup process, having reporting capabilities in the backup tool you select will be a plus.
