7 Top-Rated Backup Software
Backup software enables recovery of the data stored in your business systems and apps in case it gets lost, stolen, corrupted, or infected by malware such as viruses or spyware.
In this article, we alphabetically list the seven best backup software for IT teams, based on verified software reviews. Read more.
We’ve categorized these products into two groups: backup software specifically designed for virtual machines such as those running on VMware or Hyper-V platforms, and general data backup software for various scenarios, including computer data, cloud-hosted data, and specific applications such as Salesforce.
1. Altaro VM
Altaro VM is a virtual machine backup and recovery solution for Microsoft Hyper-V and VMware environments. It offers immutable cloud storage that ensures data backups cannot be erased, modified, or copied by anyone. In addition, it protects all offsite backup copies with 256-bit AES encryption, which requires users to key in a secure passphrase to access backups.
A key differentiator in this tool is its granular backup and recovery option, which enables the backup and restoration of entire virtual machines as well as specific files and folders. It allows for more precise data recovery and faster backups. Other product features include continuous data protection (CDP) and ransomware protection.
Customer support options: Chat, email, and phone
Who should consider Altaro VM?
Altaro VM Backup is suitable for businesses using Hyper-V or VMware virtualization technologies. It provides enterprise-level functionality for data backup, replication, and deduplication. Additionally, its centralized backup management dashboard enables businesses to monitor multiple virtual machines and create backups from a single centralized tool.
*Analysis accurate as of May 2023
Starting price: $579 per year for five virtual machines
2. G Cloud
Compared to the other backup products in this article, G Cloud is more specific to mobile data backup and recovery. It allows users to migrate data from multiple mobile devices with a single account. Users can migrate their call logs, contacts, messages, and media to any Android or iOS device.
The software securely stores all backed-up data on Amazon AWS Cloud and uses 256-bit AES encryption to protect it. It encrypts data before forwarding it to cloud storage. The data remains in an encrypted format even when it is stored on the G Cloud servers. Other key product features include automated backup and vendor-neutral data centers.
Customer support options: Chat, email, and phone
Who should consider G Cloud?
Businesses that have a BYOD policy, which allows employees to use their personal mobile devices for work purposes, should consider G Cloud. The software can back up and encrypt the data stored in employee devices as well as offer businesses a centralized backup dashboard to monitor all devices.
*Analysis accurate as of May 2023
Starting price: $1.67 per month for 100GB (billed annually)
Pro tip
Before starting your software search, define your business’s backup needs to narrow down the best software options. This involves considering the type and amount of data you need to backup, frequency of backups, retention policy, and recovery time objectives.
3. HYCU Protege
Similar to Altaro, HYCU Protege is a virtual machine backup and restoration platform. However, it specializes in Nutanix environments, offering integrated management of Nutanix backups. It offers full-stack protection for Nutanix environments, including virtual machines, files, applications, and databases, with no additional infrastructure or licensing requirements.
Recovery time objective (RTO) and recovery point objective (RPO) for Nutanix environments are the key differentiators of this tool. In the event of a hardware loss or cyberattack, these features provide almost immediate recovery of applications, databases, and virtual machines. A few other capabilities of this software are disaster recovery, data migration, and ransomware protection.
Customer support options: Chat, email, and phone
Who should consider HYCU Protege?
HYCU Protege’s ideal user base includes IT teams that use Nutanix infrastructure for their virtual machines. The software is particularly well suited for businesses that require full-stack protection for Nutanix environments but don’t wish to buy additional licenses.
*Analysis accurate as of May 2023
Starting price: Available upon request from the vendor
4. Keepit
Keepit is a cloud-based data backup solution that provides protection for various cloud storage applications, including Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, and Zendesk. Due to this compatibility, it enables businesses to store data on multiple cloud platforms and manage it through a centralized Keepit dashboard.
The software stores data backups in a vendor-neutral cloud instead of any public platform. Its blockchain-based storage and file system ensures the backed-up data remains immutable and undeletable.
Customer support options: Chat, email, and phone
Who should consider Keepit?
Keepit is worth considering for businesses that use multiple third-party cloud storage platforms and need a centralized data recovery and backup solution. Thanks to its integrational support, Keepit is capable of creating independent backups that are unaffected by server outages or cyberattacks on third-party data centers.
*Analysis accurate as of May 2023
Starting price: $2.95 per user, per month
5. Salesforce Backup
Salesforce Backup by CloudAlly is a cloud-based data backup and recovery solution for Salesforce tools. It offers automated and on-demand backup of all Salesforce data, metadata, and chatter feeds. This data is protected with AES-256 encryption at rest and in transit.
A differentiator of this software is its three recovery modules: point in time, granular, and cross organization. The first lets businesses recover Salesforce data from any point in time in the past, the second allows recovery of individual items or specific components, and the last one helps recover data between different Salesforce organizations. Additionally, you can identify backup issues with its anomaly detection feature.
Customer support options: Chat and email
Who should consider Salesforce Backup?
Salesforce Backup by Cloudally is a good option for organizations that use Salesforce solutions to manage their business and client data. The software seamlessly integrates with all Salesforce plans and enables businesses to use a single CloudAlly account to backup data from all instances of Salesforce.
*Analysis accurate as of May 2023
Starting price: Available upon request from the vendor
Pro tip
Shortlist a backup tool that’s compatible with your existing hardware, network infrastructure, and software systems. Software compatibility will not only allow you to leverage the full range of functionality of the backup tool but also ensure that it can handle backups for various data formats, databases, and file systems.
6. SyncBackPro
SyncBackPro is another data backup solution, but it’s specifically built for the Windows platform. It allows businesses to choose what they want to back up in their database, set a storage point in a third-party storage center, and create a schedule to run recurring backups.
The software automatically backs up data from portable devices, such as hard drives, and monitors the hardware if new profiles get created by users. It also detects drive failures due to electronic faults or firmware corruptions. Its advanced compression feature reduces the file size of backups to save storage space.
Customer support options: Chat and email
Who should consider SyncBackPro?
Businesses that predominantly need Windows backup and use multiple virtual and physical hard drives can opt for SyncBackPro. The software specializes in backup and recovery for Windows users and supports Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, Vista, 2008, and newer (32/64-bit) versions.
*Analysis accurate as of May 2023
Starting price: $54.95 (one-time fee)
7. Uranium Backup
Similar to Altaro VM, Uranium Backup is a virtual machine backup solution for Hyper-V and VMware environments, but it also supports physical PC, server, database, and cloud storage backups. Businesses can run backups on multiple storage destinations and synchronize their files and folders. They can also automatically delete obsolete folders.
The tool’s drive image backup feature allows users to fully restore their PCs in case of a hard disk crash, a virus, or an irreversible operating system corruption. Its reporting functionality offers all the information related to backup programs and their execution status. It sends a summary of the results of all backups via email. The software also provides file synchronization feature.
Customer support options: Chat and email
Who should consider Uranium Backup?
Uranium Backup can be a good option for businesses that want backup support for virtual machines as well as physical PCs, servers, and databases. The software offers replica and incremental backups for virtual machines and can also identify execution collisions between two or more backups running simultaneously.
*Analysis accurate as of May 2023
Starting price: $19.81* per month
*Converted from Euro to USD on May 24, 2023
Pro tip
Leverage a demo, trial, or free version of the software to understand how it handles backup tasks such as creating data copies and storing them in one or more remote locations. This can also help you identify potential issues or limitations, such as a backup limit or lack of features that you may need for your backup operations.
Product features of interest
Here are some notable backup features we came across in the vendor websites of the products listed in this article*:
Feature | Description | Products that offer |
|---|---|---|
Continuous data protection (CDP) | Allows you to switch from running daily backups to backing up data as frequently as every five minutes through a continuous data protection model. | |
Hyper-V and VMware support | Backs up data for virtual machines running on VMware and Hyper-V platforms. The backups are fully synchronized with your virtual machines and always kept up to date through data mirroring. | |
Automated backup | Schedules automated backups for your devices, databases, drives, etc., and creates restorable copies of backup data on the cloud. | |
Data migration | Offers cross-platform data mobility to help migrate your backup data between multiple third-party storage platforms without any disruption. | |
Multiple vendor-neutral data centers | Stores backups in vendor-neutral data centers, which aren’t tied to any one vendor and use components from various sources, offering better compatibility as well as ease of upgrade or replacement. | Keepit, G Cloud, SyncBackPro, and Uranium Backup |
Anomaly detection | Sends smart alerts when there are backup issues in your database that could lead to potential data loss or data theft. | |
Ransomware protection and disaster recovery | Encrypts your data backups when they are in transit and at rest (in the cloud as well as locally). Re-authentication and confirmation are required for modification or deletion of any cloud backup. | Altaro VM, Uranium Backup, HYCU Protege, Keepit, and SyncBackPro |
Automatic hard drive failure detection | Runs constant health checks on your virtual and physical drives, and notifies your team in case of any hard drive failures to prevent loss of backed-up data. | |
File synchronization | Helps synchronize files and folders in multiple backups and delete obsolete folders to save up space. |
How much does backup software cost?
Backup software solutions can cost as low as $3 per user, per month, or all the way up to $579+ per month, depending on various factors—features, number of users, types of backups supported, storage capacity, and number of storage options. Most backup solutions typically include the following pricing plans:
Free trials: No-cost trial plans ranging from 15 to 30 days, giving users access to either all or limited features of the software to test functionality. These are ideal for businesses that wish to try out a tool before purchasing it.
Free versions: Free software plans offer basic features and/or limited premium feature access. These are ideal for small businesses or individuals on a budget.
Entry-level plans: Start at $3 per month and offer limited features such as data encryption and backup scheduling. These are a good option for small businesses or teams with basic data backup needs.
Mid-tier plans: Range from $4 to $17 per month and offer advanced features such as drive image backup, tape backup, and priority support. These are ideal for businesses that have outgrown basic backup solutions but don’t require the full range of functionality and scalability offered by enterprise-level backup tools.
High-end plans: May cost upward of $579 per month. In addition to basic and midrange features, these offer single sign-on, business compliance, and priority customer support. They are ideal for large enterprises with multiple data centers and cross-functional IT teams.
Hidden costs associated with backup software
Besides the software license cost (subscription or perpetual), you might come across some of these hidden costs:
Bandwidth costs: If you’re using cloud-based solutions, you’ll need to consider the cost of data bandwidth. As you transfer more data to the cloud backup, you’ll be consuming more bandwidth, which can result in additional costs.
Training costs: Data backup software can be complex to use and may require dedicated training if you don’t have a specialized IT team. Therefore, you should factor in the cost of software training when evaluating backup solutions.
Recovery cost: There may be situations such as a cyberattack where you’ll need to restore data from the backups. Depending on the complexity of the recovery process and the scale of data loss, specialized recovery services or expertise may be required, and you may need to pay extra for these services that the software vendor provides.
Frequently asked questions when selecting backup software
Does the software provide automated file versioning?
The automated file versioning feature creates an audit trail for every change made to a file, allowing you to track changes by assessing the version history. Completing this process manually is time-consuming, especially if you’re dealing with thousands of backup files. To save time and hassle, ensure you select software that automates file versioning.
What is the backup retention policy, and how long are backups stored?
The backup retention policy defines how long a backup file is stored and how many versions of each backup file are kept. Some backup solutions allow you to define a retention period, while others have fixed retention policies. The duration of backup storage can range from a few days to several years.
What types of backup are available and can multiple types be used?
Most backup tools provide multiple types of backup options, such as full backup, differential backup, and incremental backup. If you have multiple data centers with constantly updating data, ensure you select a backup tool that supports the different data types and sources your organization works with.
Methodology
To be considered for this list, products had to:
Feature in Software Advice’s 2023 FrontRunners report for backup software. We selected the top seven products with the highest ratings to include in this article.
Include cloud backup, compression/data archiving, and data security/encryption as the core features.
Meet our backup software market definition: “Backup software ensures security of critical data by creating redundant copies that can be restored to replace corrupted or lost data.”
*Our research team identified these features from vendor websites (as of May 24, 2023) based on their analysis of what users find valuable in or expect from backup software. This list is not exhaustive. For additional features, refer to the vendor's website.
We select and rank products based on an objective methodology developed by our research team. While some vendors may pay us when they receive web traffic or leads, this has no influence on our methodology.
Products evaluated for the pricing calculation were taken from Software Advice’s backup software directory. The pricing ranges exclude freemium versions of the products.