Last Updated on February 20, 2023 by lukesguide
Having the best backup software at your fingertips can take the stress and worry out of navigating your business through a crisis involving your precious business data. Backup software can help you get your business back up and running fast in the event of a ransomware attack or other disaster involving data loss. So don’t wait another minute – check out our list of the best backup software for yourself!
Let’s get into it!
What are the best backup software programs for 2023?
Acronis Cyber Protect
Best overall
Since launching in 2003, Acronis has become a market leader in backup software.
Acronis now has over 20,000 service providers using Acronis Cyber Protect products to protect 750,000 businesses in more than 150 countries.
The company claims to have created the only all-in-one cyber protection solution for environments of any size.
The Acronis all-in-one solution combines automation and integration of capabilities and safeguards to protect your data.
Acronis offers three core products:
- Acronis Cyber Protect – for businesses
- Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office (formerly Acronis True Image) – for individuals
- Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud – for service providers
The Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office (formerly Acronis True Image) product is typically used by individuals at home, so we will focus on the Acronis Cyber Protect product reserved for businesses.
Key features
- Anti-malware and anti-virus
- Fail-safe patching
- Forensic backup
- Backup and recovery
- Continuous data protection
- Threat monitoring
- Compliance reporting
- Global and local allowlists from backups
User experience
Acronis Cyber Protect has a clean and easy-to-navigate user interface. While some backup software can be intimidating to new users, the dashboard is very approachable and allows users to keep track of their backups efficiently and effectively.
Acronis often run live demo’s via their webinar series so if you are interested in seeing Acronis Cyber Protect in action, register for a webinar.
Privacy / security
Being a cybersecurity software provider, you would expect that Acronis would be all over the privacy and data security aspects of their product. Not surprisingly, Acronis has an extremely comprehensive Privacy Policy that sets out tons of information about their data handling practices.
From a security perspective, Acronis has a standalone Security Page which sets out information about the security measures and safeguards adopted by Acronis, including security infrastructure, access controls, data storage security, personnel security, and data protection agreements with third parties.
Pricing
Acronis offers four plans:
- Acronis Cyber Protect Essentials – from $59 per machine
- Acronis Cyber Protect Standard – from $79 per machine
- Acronis Cyber Protect Advanced – from $119 per machine
- Acronis Cyber Protect – Backup Advanced – from $99 per machine
Plans can also be purchased on a per server or per-host basis as well. Pricing will differ depending on which plan you choose. Various add-ons and services can also be purchased by users for an additional fee.
Likes / Dislikes
Like:
- Powerful cloud backup
- Easy-to-use backup solution
- Well priced for a quality backup tool
- Supports other OS including Mac
Dislike:
- No lifetime license
EaseUS ToDo Backup
Best for new users
EaseUS was founded in 2004 and has over 5 million users worldwide.
EaseUS offers personal and business products under their EaseUs ToDo backup software for Windows (including a free backup version).
For this article, we will be focusing on the EaseUs ToDo backup enterprise backup software for Windows which comes in four editions:
- Workstation
- Server
- Advanced Server
- Technician
Key features
- System backup
- Disk and partition backup
- Files and folders backup and data backup
- Mail backup
- Smart backup
- Schedule backup
- Command backup
- SQL backup
- Exchange backup
- Disk cloning and backup and restore features
User experience
The ease of use of the EaseUS ToDo system is one of its major advantages.
The backup software supports windows and the interface sits nicely in the background. The EaseUS ToDo backup software for Windows will feel very familiar to Windows 10 and Windows XP users.
If you are not sure whether EaseUS ToDo is for you, check out the demo video above, sign up for a free trial, or take advantage of the 30-day money-back guarantee.
Privacy / security
For a company focused on providing backup software, the EaseUS Privacy Policy is a bit light on in terms of detail about their information handling practices. There are a lot of general statements and no information about how personal information is disclosed or to whom it is disclosed.
Similarly, concerning security, the policy makes some broad statements about the physical, electronic, and administrative safeguards adopted by EaseUS but not in much detail.
Pricing
EaseUS offers three plans for individual workstations or servers:
- Workstation – $49 per year
- Server – $199 per year
- Advanced Server – $299 per year
Volume-based discounts of 20% to 40% are also available.
Likes / Dislikes
Like:
- Familiar interface for ease of use
- Free trial
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Well priced
- Volume discount
Dislike:
- Only supports windows backup
Paragon Backup Recovery
Best for local hard disk backup
Paragon backup recovery backup software has been around since 1994.
Paragon backup recovery does not offer a cloud backup solution so it is best for businesses looking for local hard disk storage.
In this article, we will be focusing on the Paragon Hard Disk Manager for Business product.
Key features
- Merge/split disks partitions
- Backup recovery
- Backup and restore
- Disk cloning
- Erase hard drive
- Connecting virtual disks
- Disk management system
User experience
The Paragon backup recovery Hard Disk Manager user interface is super clean and easy to use. The buttons and menus in the main view are large and very simple to navigate.
Paragon provides a Product Tour for their Hard Disk Manager so you can check out the program before committing to a purchase.
Alternatively, you can also take advantage of a free 30-day workstation trial to take the Paragon windows backup software for a test run.
Privacy / security
Being a German-based company, Paragon has adopted a fairly comprehensive Privacy Policy which sets out plenty of detail about the way Paragon backup recovery handles personal data.
From a security perspective, since the Paragon Hard Disk Manager is a local hard disk storage product and not a cloud storage solution, there isn’t a huge amount of information about security protocols as Paragon wouldn’t ordinarily be collecting personal information (unless you visit their website). In this case, Paragon’s website uses secure socket technology together with 256-bit encryption protection.
Pricing
Paragon backup recovery offers four Hard Disk Manager for Business plans:
- Workstation – from $99 per machine
- Server – from $499 per machine
- Technician – from $599 for multiple devices
- Enterprise – from $899 for multiple devices
The Workstation and Server licenses are both perpetual licenses whereas the Technician and Enterprise licenses are issued on a subscription basis. Each plan has at least 1 year of technical support included.
Likes / Dislikes
Like:
- Perpetual license for smaller plans
- 30-day free trial
- Easy to use, even for beginners
Dislike:
- Only supports Windows backup
R-Drive Image and Backup
Best for the budget conscious
R-Tools Technology, the creator of R-Drive Image and Backup, is a Canadian-based company that was founded in 2001.
The company states that its mission is to give its customers around the world the system tools to bring about a visible and substantial increase in viability, production, and ease of use at the lowest possible cost.
R-Drive Image and Backup is certainly a tool that achieves most (if not all) of these outcomes.
Key features
- Simple wizard interface
- Multi-language support
- S.M.A.R.T. warnings (Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology)
- Rotation schemes
- Advanced logging capability
- Mass system deployment
- System recovery OEM
User experience
Similar to Paragon Hard Disk Manager, R-Drive Image and Backup user interface is simple and clean. The design is well laid out and the menu/buttons are within easy reach.
It is worth signing up for the free 30-day trial so that you can get a feel of the backup software and see all of the advanced features for yourself.
Privacy / security
The R-Tools Technology Privacy Policy is a great source of information about the data handling practices of R-Tools Technology.
Because R-Drive Image and Backup is a local hard disk storage product and not a cloud storage solution, there isn’t a lot of information about security safeguards as R-Tools Technology wouldn’t normally collect personal information (unless you visit their website or email them). In this case, R-Tool Technology’s website uses secure socket technology along with encryption protection.
Pricing
R-Tools Technology offers five R-Drive Image and Backup payment options:
- Standalone – from $44.95 per license
- Corporate – from $189 per license
- Technician – from $299 per license
- Commercial – from $499 per license
- OEM kit – from $399 per license
The prices set out above are for one license but there are volume discounts available.
Likes / Dislikes
Like:
- 30-day free trial
- Well priced when compared to competitors
- Easy to use backup software
Dislike:
- No support for other operating systems
What is backup software?
Backup software is a computer program or application that enables the backup of your data stored on your device. Backup software works by creating a replica of the data on your device which allows for the backup and recovery of that data in the event of data corruption, loss, or as a result of disaster.
Backup software allows you to backup your data locally (i.e. via a hard disk) or in the cloud (i.e. cloud backups).
What is the best backup system and what to look for when choosing backup software?
The best backup system for you will depend on your needs but our list of the best backup software in this article is a good place to start your search.
When looking for the right backup software, there are a few things that you should consider:
User-friendliness
Data backup and restore is not always front of mind for businesses so it is vital that the backup software they choose is simple to use. Some of the things to look out for:
- The user interface is simple and easy to use (even for people with limited experience)
- There are only a few steps to take to initiate a backup
- The speed of the backup software when initializing the online backup or backup through a hard drive
Flexibility
Check whether the backup software you are looking at has the flexibility to customize the backup tools to suit your needs. For example, are you able to choose whether the file backup occurs as a local backup on a hard drive or if you can instead choose cloud backups?
Security and Compliance
Check how secure the backup is and query what security measures and safeguards are in place – this is especially important for cloud backups.
Consider what laws and regulations apply to your business and check to ensure the backup service or backup tools are sufficient from a compliance perspective.
For example, some regulations require that the holders of data provide the data subject certain rights to their data, such as access, portability, correction, and erasure. You need to be sure that the backup software you choose allows you to fulfill these obligations under any applicable data protection laws.
Rapid recovery
Check to make sure that in the event of a disaster, how quickly can you access and recover your data. Is there the ability to search and recover small data sets that you need right away rather than have to recover everything at once?
Scalability
Check if the backup is scalable and your system resources can be backed up sufficiently even as your business grows.
What is the best free backup software?
One of the best free backup software programs available is Aomei Backupper. The only downside to Aomei Backuper and most of the free version backup solutions is that the license is usually limited to personal use and cannot be used for business purposes.
Free backup software usually has other limitations in the free version, such as lower speeds, smaller capacity, less features, and may be less reliable (e.g. if there are outages due to overloaded data centers)
Final Thoughts
Backup software is vital for all businesses, no matter the size. Having the ability to backup data and recover your files and folders in the event of a disaster is critical for your business.
Backup software is the tool you need to help you do this. While other software, like accounting software is important, backup software should be one of the first things on your list!
If you want to try out some of the best backup software for yourself, check out our list of comparisons above.
There you have it – the best backup software!
We hope you have found this guide helpful. Hopefully, you leave us not only have a better idea of the best backup software programs on the market today but a better understanding of backup solutions in general.
What backup solutions have you used to backup files? Let us know in the comments below!
Leave a Reply