Top 10 Backup Software Titles

Choosing a reliable piece of backup software is one of the most effective methods for protecting all of the valuable data which resides upon your electronic devices! In this Top 10 guide (which is fully updated for 2023) we will be listing 10 of our favourite backup software titles, as reviewed here on BestBackupReviews.com, in order to help make the process of choosing the best backup software much easier!

Remember, any data kept on your PC or Mac is always vulnerable to dangers including fire, theft, hardware failure and, in modern times, the dangers of ransomware and cybercrime! A well implemented backup solution will help in protecting your data against all of these dangers!

This is a Quick & Easy Guide!

This is a quick look at our top 10 best backup software titles! If you are looking for a more in-depth guide on choosing the best backup software, based upon you own requirements, then please be sure to check out full and detailed guide to choosing backup software!

Finding the Best Backup Software

Before getting into our list featuring the top 10 backup solutions (which is just below if you want to jump straight in), here are a few quick tips and things to look out for when choosing backup software for yourself:

File Level vs Disk Image backups

One of the first and most important backup related questions to ask yourself prior to obtaining backup software is whether to use of file-level backups or disk Image backups (or maybe even both, depending upon your own individual needs).

Simply put, file level backups will focus on backing up the individual files and folders residing upon your device whereas image-level backups will back up the entire device by taking an “image” (or 1:1 copy) of the entire hard disk (and in doing so it will be ensuring that everything on said disk including files, folders, software applications and the operating system itself are all included in the back-up).

Generally speaking, file level backups are faster and more convenient than disk image-based backups and the software supporting them is often more readily available as well. Image-based backups do, however, offer a stronger level of protection when in-use at the cost of often running slower than file-level backups and taking up more storage space in the process! For more detailed information on the differences between these two core methods of backing up data, please be sure to also read our guide to system image vs file level backups.

Making Use of Local, Network or Cloud Storage

Once you have decided what needs backing-up on your own device, the next important question to ask yourself is where to store this valuable data in order to keep it both safe and readily available in case it ever needs to be restored from.

Most backup software applications will allow for storing backed-up data either locally on an external hard drive or on a locally attached NAS device if you have one available. Other backup solutions will focus more on offering cloud only backup solutions with the cloud storage itself often included as a part of the software subscription fee in such cases (which can make such software very easy to initially get in place and working) whilst some backup software providers will take an “all round” approach and offer multiple storage options thus giving their users the option to choose.

Generally speaking, locally stored backups are often faster than cloud backups and, after the initial purchase of the storage device itself (e.g., an external hard drive), will require no ongoing fees to maintain. Cloud storage does have the benefit of being easy to set-up without the need to purchase additional hardware, but it can sometimes be much slower than for both backing-up and restoring large amounts of data depending upon the speed of the internet connection available!

NB – Cloud storage also has the additional benefit of making available a backup of your data off-site, this means it is better protected than data stored solely on the same site as the device being backed-up and can usually be accessed from anywhere in the world which has an internet connection available if this is ever required!

Free vs Premium Solutions

Whilst searching for suitable backup software, you might encounter both free to use and premium (paid for) options are available!

Generally speaking, premium backup solutions will tend to have more backup functionality built-in to them by default as well as better access to support resources should you ever need to make use of them. Free to use backup solutions are, in many cases, simply cut-down versions of premium backup solutions. Having said this, there are still available some very highly rated free-to-use titles in this space as well as open-source and community-driven choices which can provide a great set of backup functionality for zero initial cost!

If your backup requirements are fairly basic or your anticipated requirements for professional support whilst configuring your backup set remain low, then a free-to-use backup solution might be a suitable choice. On the other hand, the enhanced functionality and premium support often included with premium backup software offerings might more than justify any fees involved in some circumstances!

Other Features to Look Out for

When searching for the best backup software for your own personal needs, some other very valuable features which you might want to keep an eye out for might include:

Strong file encryption (ideally AES 256-bit or stronger)
Device / folder synchronisation options
Good backup scheduling and automation support
Recovery media building tools
Disk cloning & dissimilar hardware recovery
Built-in file sharing solutions
3^rd Party cloud storage support (the ability to use your own 3^rd party cloud storage)

Also be sure to keep a look out for backup solutions featuring multi-device licences when applicable to do so (which could significantly lower the cost of backing-up multiple devices if you have them). Check out our guide to backing-up multiple computers for more information on this particular topic.

Backup Software FAQs

What is the best way to back up an entire computer?

One of the best methods for ensuring all data on a device is backed-up is to make use of backup software supporting full system and disk imaging backup methodologies. Disk imaging backup focuses on making a 1:1 copy of any hard disks attached to the computer in question thus ensuring all data contained upon the device is included in the backup!

How can everything on a computer be backed-up to an external hard drive?

Professionally built backup software can often make for one of the easiest methods for backing up all data form a computer across to an external hard drive. Backup software which supports both secure data encryption and data compression technologies can also be useful in protecting such data once it is on the external hard drive as well as making the most of the external drive’s free disk space.

What are the 3-2-1 rules of backing-up?

The 3-2-1 backup rule helps to ensure the maximum levels of protection are provides for any data which has been backed-up. This rule works by ensuring that at least 3 copies of any important data are always kept available, across at least 2 different storage mediums, with at least 1 copy of the data stored off-site and away from the original device being backed-up.

For example, backing up a computer locally to an external hard drive whilst also backing-up a second copy of the data to a cloud storage service would meet the 3-2-1 backup rule and ensure the data is afforded a high level of protection!

Which is the most disk space efficient backup methodology?

Generally speaking, making use of an incremental backup methodology is the most disk space efficient method for making computer backups. Other backup technologies including data de-duplication of any previously backed-up files and data compression methods can also assist in reducing the disk space required to keep a backup set stored safely.

What is the cheapest way to back up a computer?

One of the cheapest possible ways to keep any important data backed-up might involve making use of one or more free cloud storage accounts and a piece of free-to-use or open-source backup software. Such an approach could include making use of cloud storage accounts featuring generous free storage allocations (e.g., Google Drive has 15GB free and pCloud has 10GB free) as well as some top rated free-to-use backup software such as ASCOMP Backup Maker.

Our Top 10 Backup Software Titles

Below is a top 10 list of our current favourite backup solutions as are tested and reviewed right here on BestBackupReviews.com!

Remember, any ratings given by us below are only intended as a guide and that the backup software with the highest rating might not necessarily be the best for your own personal needs. With this in mind, please refer to our detailed reviews of each entry on the list for more information on the software itself and how it might help with your own individual backup requirements.