Best Free Backup Program

Dear reader:  Having tested several dozen different backup utilities I have discovered there are a lot of different opinions among both developers & users about how backup programs should be built and function.  It is apparent that when it comes to backup programs there is no such thing as “one-size-fits-all,”  because everyone’s backup needs are different.  Because of this, the programs reviewed below will attempt to focus on what I believe the needs of the average user are.  The main things I am taking into account for the top recommendations are as follows.

• Ease of use.  (Simplified GUI -- Easy to understand terminology -- Wizards that help select commonly backed up files -- , etc.)
• Good balance of functionality and features without over burdening the user.
• Ability to “set it and forget it,” as much as is possible. (Must have a scheduler -- If jobs fail they should be automatically re-scheduled or the user should be notified -- Backups should automatically be verified for integrity.)

Note: There are a lot of free backup programs that have some unique features and excellent functionality that really deserve mentioning, but room here does not allow. If you are looking for more advanced programs, or some specific functionality, please check out the third links in the section directly below.

Recommended Reading:

• Types of Backup Software : What’s the difference between Disk Imaging, File Based Backup, or Synchronization, and which should I use?
• File Backup Terminology: What do terms like “Differential,” & “Incremental,” mean, and how will they help me?  (Includes other backup related terms.)
• More Free Backup Software Recommendations & Reviews (Advanced Backup Programs, Backup Programs with Unique Features, Reviews of Backup Software For or By Our Readers, etc.)

TIP — Can't Find What You Need in the Choices Below? Try Our Extended List of Backup Programs.

Backup Maker: Here is a personal backup software that  is easy to understand and use, while still offering a very good set of features.  It has a slick modern interface that makes it easy on the eyes, as well as to navigate.  It has setup wizard that takes you step by step through the job creation process, with the choice to show or hide advanced options.  Features include filters to exclude or include certain file types, or files with a maximum file size. It has a very easy to use scheduler with fine grain control over execution times, ans well as the choice to execute backup jobs at start up, shutdown, or upon insertion of a USB volume.   If a job time is missed it can automatically be rescheduled.  It offers the ability to run before and after job tasks, including mounting/un-mounting a network drive, powering down the computer, or rebooting, sending an email report, printing a hard copy of the backup log, or starting a subsequent backup job. Backup Maker did not balk on encountering long file names or foreign/unicode characters. Once backups are made each file is verified with a hash check. (CRC32)

It supports a variety of backup methods including incremental and differential zip archives which they call “partial backups” and they are presented in clear understandable terminology.  Each type of backup can be fine tuned with certain file property parameters, including archive “bit” set and reset. (bit is a type of attribute flag that indicates a file has changed since it was last backed up)  Archives can be encrypted if you need extra security.  Archives can be automatically named by date stamp and split to any desired size.  It supports to backing up to any local, network, or online storage that supports ftp,(SSL included) and it has the built in support for burning files directly to CD/DVD.

Backup maker supports restoring files to original or a new location.  You can restore a whole backup, or just a single file. A nice search feature is included for finding a desired file in the zip archive.

The my only complaints would be that the wizard does not include options for auto selection of commonly backup files and folders, and it does not support backing up open/locked files.   Also when I tried to restore a password protected archive, the password entry dialog popped up under the restore window, and for a while I thought the program had crashed or frozen.  I had to minimize the main programs windows to enter the password.   Another minor inconvenience is a popup nag screen that informs the user that the free version is for personal use only, and that it will be removed if you register it for commercial use.  Other than that there is no difference between the free and commercial versions.

In testing the program on Win 7, I found all features to work as advertised. It is easy enough for a beginner to use, but robust enough for a pro. It has a decent help file in pdf form that covers each aspect of the backup process if you encounter any problems.  I think Backup Maker is a great all around file backup program, and give it my top recommendation.

FBackup: Here is a simple file-based backup program with fairly limited features.  It has a very basic scheduler to run individual jobs at hourly, daily, weekly, and monthly intervals and only has two choices for backup styles, full and mirror -- no incremental or differential.  [Full is the term they use for a complete backup which is compressed into a zip archive with the choice of encryption, and mirror is simple cloning file to file from source to the destination without any form of compression.]   It supports copying locked and open files, as it makes use of the shadow copy service, and in testing it handled long file names, and files with Unicode characters without a problem.   It also has the ability to run pre and post job tasks which can come in very handy at times.  At the completion of the backup job, it does test the integrity of the files (CRC32)

The major reason I am recommending it here is because of a feature it has inherited from its commercial siblings in the Backup4all family, namely its ability to use application specific backup plugins to backup a variety of settings and databases for popular programs.  For example there are plugins that will help you set up automatic backups of popular email clients like Outlook Express, Windows Mail, or Mozilla Thunderbird.      

There is also a dedicated forum for FBackup and support for bugs, errors, and other problems seems quite decent. Overall it does what it does quite well, and while a little light on features, still offers some very desirable functionality.

Genie Timeline Free Edition:  This is a very nice looking simple backup solution that is more or less a “set it and forget it” type program.  It is very easy to set up using the built in wizard and once files and folders are selected for backup they will be continuously be monitored and backed up at intervals without any further user intervention.  When you first run the program you are presented with a file selection wizard. This wizard conveniently will scan your hard drives, and auto select a large variety of commonly backup program data and files  for you.  For example it can automatically select all your MS Office files, database files from popular financial software,  stored emails and contacts in several common email clients (No support for Thunderbird),  and the bookmarks from IE, Firefox, Chrome, Safari, and Opera. (Strangely it does not seem to backup the whole user profiles from these browsers, however.)  It also will auto select digital images, music files, and videos, as well as a large number of document types like PDFs and popular ebook formats.  Any other files or folders you wish to backup can also be manually selected of course.

The developers of Genie Timeline, call this software a Continuous Data Protection (CDP) solution.  However, with the free version, it would be better called a hourly CDP, as the automatic backup feature is locked in at 1 hour intervals. (Although you can manually run the backup at any time you wish.)  Still monitoring of file changes is done in real-time and your protection level is displayed by a percentage along with the time until the next automatic backup will occur.

Be aware that Genie Timeline is more that just a simple backup program, but as the name, Timeline, suggests it is also a versioning program.  That is, it keeps older versions of any files that change, so you can “go back in time” and get different revisions of the same file.   Unfortunately in the free version, the feature to consolidate and purge unnecessary old files is disabled.  This could lead to maxing out a hard drive fairly quickly if you work will a lot of larger size files, that change frequently, such as video files.  In order to avoid this problem, you might consider pairing this program with another backup solution,  and selectively using Genie Timeline’s features only on files and folders where frequent backups and versioning are desired.

Toucan - If you are looking for a light weight portable backup solution this little app has your number.  It features both backup and sync style operations.  It supports incremental and differential backups, zip or 7-zip compression, AES 256 bit encryption using ccrypt, and a simple restore feature.