Best Windows backup software 2021: Free and paid options reviewed

Your PC storage drives won’t last forever — which is why a backup strategy is so crucial for keeping your data safe. The best Windows backup software is your cover if/when your primary drive fails.

While Apple’s Time Machine provides users with an effective, set-it-and-forget-it recovery system, Microsoft users aren’t so lucky. Instead, users are stuck deciding the best way to keep their data safe with a patchwork system of restore points, recovery discs, and file backups. Thankfully, there are a number of great third-party backup options for Windows.

Why you should trust us: It’s in our name: PCWorld. Our reviewers have been testing PC hardware, software, and services for decades. Our backup evaluations are thorough and rigorous, testing the promises and limitations of every product — from performance to the practicalities of regular use. As PC users ourselves, we know what makes a product stand out. Only the best backup software makes this list. For more about our testing process, scroll to the bottom of this article.

R-Drive Image – Best Windows backup overall

Pros

• Super-reliable, fast, disk and partition imaging with replication
• File and folder backup with differential copies
• Dropbox, Google Drive, and OneDrive support
• Lean-and-mean Linux and WinPE boot media

Cons

• Minor interface quirks
• No support for S3-compatible online storage

R-Drive Image has long been a favorite of ours—a low-resource-consuming product that’s unparalleled in its reliability. Its ability to back up disks, partitions, folders, and files made it a one-stop shop for data preservation and recovery.

Now, with version 7.2, R-Drive Image goes even further with direct support for online storage services, so you can not only back up to a local drive, but also to your preferred cloud storage, be it Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, etc. You can also replicate images across multiple destinations, adding redundancy that’s so critical to a good backup strategy.

It’s hard to think of anything R-Drive Image is lacking, other than support for S3-compatible online storage. But given its track record of continuous improvement to an already-good thing, we wouldn’t be surprised to see that in the future.

Read our full

R-Drive Image review

Acronis True Image – Best Windows backup with malware protection

Pros

• Imaging, backup, and disaster recovery
• Actively protects against viruses and ransomware
• Integrated cloud storage available

Cons

• Heavy installation footprint
• Subscription only
• Lots of telemetry

Acronis well established itself as a trusty stalwart of backup software many years back with its renowned Acronis True Image program. Since then, the program’s name has changed to Cyber Protect Home Office, and now back again to True Image. But throughout that, its reputation as a capable, flexible, and rock-solidly reliable backup solution continues. Indeed, it’s easily the most comprehensive data safety package on the planet.

While Cyber Protect Home Office doesn’t offer the same support for third-party cloud storage as R-Drive Image, it does allow you to back up to local, networked, or its own cloud storage (available at select tiers). Besides offering unparalleled backup functionality that’s both robust and easy to navigate, it integrates security apps as well, which protect against malware, malicious websites, and other threats using real-time monitoring. 

As our reviewer said, “If you’re looking for a comprehensive, set-it-and-forget-it data-safety solution, I know of nothing better, or comparable for that matter.”

Read our full

Acronis True Image review

Retrospect Solo – Best for added ransomware protection

Pros

• Easy to use (once learned)
• Copious feature set
• Good performance
• New anti-ransomware backup protection

Cons

• Somewhat steep learning curve

The latest version (18.5) of this stalwart Windows backup program is every bit as feature-packed as we’d expect. It even adds an interesting pre-backup file scanning to root out anomalies before overwriting your previous backup—a nod to the emergence of ransomware as a concern. It’s got a bit of a learning curve, but once familiar, Retrospect Solo delivers the goods.

Read our full

Retrospect Solo review

Fbackup 9 – Best free Windows backup

Pros

• Easy, friendly interface
• Backs up local files as well as files on Dropbox and Google Drive
• Rock solid performance
• Supports versioning

Cons

• Some advertising nags
• Doesn’t support other online destinations.
• Backs up to, but not from network locations

Fbackup 9 provides you with excellent backup options at no cost, and there’s no better price than free. Fbackup 9 is both more stable and easier to use than many of the premium options for Window’s backup software. It allows you to back up files to or from any local storage, to network locations, and to Google Drive or Dropbox. It does have some ads that you’ll need to put up with, but fortunately they are generally kept out of the way while using the software. Most users looking for an easy and free way to securely store their important data need look no further.

Read our full

Softland FBackup 9 review

Windows File History backup – Best free Windows backup runner-up

Pros

• Excellent continuous data protection with versioning
• Easy, timeline browsing of backed-up files
• Integrated into Windows
• Backs up user-created libraries

Cons

• Easy “Add folder” function removed from Windows 11

Among the free programs we tested, Windows File History backup is one of the easiest continuous data protection software for Windows. It’s unfortunate that the latest version removed the “add folder” function from File History, but otherwise it continues to improve upon an already solid backup program. Also, it provides many of the features and functions of other third-party paid backup programs, all for free. And you can’t argue with free. It would’ve taken the top spot for free options if not for the fact that FBackup offers more versatility in terms of where you can back up your data, such as cloud storage.

Read our full

Windows File History backup review

Arcserve ShadowProtect SPX – Best Windows backup for SMBs

Pros

• Fast and reliable continuous data protection
• Super easy restores to real or virtual hard drives
• Handy timeline overview
• Excellent disaster recovery

Cons

• Slightly daunting login dialog
• Image-based backup only
• Pricey for end users

If you are looking for something more robust than just file and folder backup for your business, then Arcserve ShadowProtect SPX has you covered. It comes loaded with a full feature-set that allows you to quickly and easily restore your data and it has support for third-party virtual hard drives. It is also an excellent choice not just for Windows users, but also Linux users or those in mixed Windows/Linux environments. ShadowProtect is a bit pricey, but it is an extremely reliable backup software with foolproof continuous data protection.

Read our full

Arcserve ShadowProtect SPX Desktop review

Other Windows backup software reviews

• Ashampoo Backup Pro 26: Overarching support for myriad backup chores with easy-to-understand wizards, but no backup from the recovery disc or option for “differential” backups.
• Zinstall FullBack: This software is unique among backup programs by offering full migration of backed up data and apps to a new OS installation — for a relatively steep price.
• Macrium Reflect Home: If not for its higher price, Macrium could make our favorite backup software, R-Drive Image, nervous about its top standing. Seriously, Macrium has an exceptional program that offers all the features we want from backup software — full drive/folder backup, ease of use, reliability, etc.
• Wondershare UBackit: A simple, easy-to-use backup program that’s marred somewhat by its lack of a perpetual license and boot disc disaster recovery.
• Aomei Backupper Pro: Like our two top picks above, Aomei now integrates cloud storage with its local backup offerings, making it a complete backup solution capable of preserving your important data both locally and remotely, as any good backup strategy should do.
• NTI Backup Pro 7: NTI offers the full array of backup functions, such as file/folder, image, continuous, and cloud backup, making it a very tempting option, if not for the pricey cloud storage and some annoying glitches.

How we test

We run each program through the various types of backups it’s capable of. This is largely to test reliability and hardware compatibility, but we time two: an approximately 115GB system image (two partitions), and a roughly 50GB image created from a set of smaller files and folders. We then mount the images and test their integrity via the program’s restore functions. We also test the USB boot drives created by the programs.

How to pick a backup software

As with most things—don’t over-buy. Features you don’t need add complexity and may slow down your system. Additionally, if you intend to back up to a newly purchased external hard drive, check out the software that ships with it. Seagate, WD, and others provide backup utilities that are adequate for the average user.

File backup: If you want to back up only your data (operating systems and programs can be reinstalled, though it’s mildly time- and effort-consuming), a program that backs up just the files you select is a major time-saver. Some programs automatically select the appropriate files if you use the Windows library folders (Documents, Photos, Videos, etc.).

Image backup/imaging: Images are byte-for-byte snapshots of your entire hard drive (normally without the empty sectors) or partition, and can be used to restore both the operating system and data. Imaging is the most convenient to restore in case of a system crash, and also ensures you don’t miss anything important.

Boot media:  Should your system crash completely, you need an alternate way to boot and run the recovery software. Any backup program should be able to create a bootable optical disc or USB thumb drive. Some will also create a restore partition on your hard drive, which can be used instead if the hard drive is still operational.

Scheduling: If you’re going to back up effectively, you need to do it on a regular basis. Any backup program worth its salt allows you to schedule backups.

Versioning: If you’re overwriting previous files, that’s not backup, it’s one-way syncing or mirroring. Any backup program you use should allow you to retain several previous backups, or with file backup, previous versions of the file. The better software will retain and cull older backups according to criteria you establish.

Optical support: Every backup program supports hard drives, but as obsolete as they may seem, DVDs and Blu-Ray discs are great archive media. If you’re worried about optical media’s reliability, M-Disc claims its discs are reliable for a thousand years, claims that are backed up by Department of Defense testing.

Online support: An offsite copy of your data is a hedge against physical disasters such as flood, fire, and power surges. Online storage services are a great way to maintain an offsite copy of your data. Backup to Dropbox and the like is a nice feature to have.

FTP and SMB/AFP: Backing up to other computers or NAS boxes on your network or in remote locations (say, your parent’s house) is another way of physically safeguarding your data with an offsite, or at least physically discrete copy. FTP can be used for offsite, while SMB (Windows and most OS’s) and AFP (Apple) are good for other PCs or NAS on your local network.

Real time: Real-time backup means that files are backed up whenever they change, usually upon creation or save. It’s also called mirroring and is handy for keeping an immediately available copy of rapidly changing data sets. For less volatile data sets, the payoff doesn’t compensate for the drain on system resources. Instead, scheduling should be used.

Continuous backup: In this case, ‘continuous’ simply means backing up on a tight schedule, generally every 5 to 15 minutes, instead of every day or weekly. Use continuous backup for rapidly changing data sets where transfer rates are too slow, or computing power is too precious for real-time backup.

Performance: Most backups proceed in the background or during dead time, so performance isn’t a huge issue in the consumer space. However, if you’re backing up multiple machines or to multiple destinations, or dealing with very large data sets, speed is a consideration.

Further reading: Check out PCWorld’s roundup of best external drives for recommendations on reliable storage options — an important component in a comprehensive backup strategy.