saasrankedSoftware, ranked on the facts

Cloud, Backup & PC

Best backup software

Back up a Windows PC so you can get files, or the whole system, back after a failure, theft or ransomware. 9 backup tools, ranked by points out of 100.

Facts checked 8 Oct 2026 · How we score backup tools

In short

  1. 1
    EaseUS Todo BackupHome users who want a free edition with schedules and encryption
    100/100
    $39.95/yrfirst-year price, one PC
  2. 2
    DuplicatiPeople who want free encrypted backups to cloud storage they already pay for
    86/100
    $24/yrfirst-year price, one PC
  3. 3
    Paragon Backup & Recovery Community EditionHome users who want a free system image backup to a local or external drive
    84/100
    $19.95/yrfirst-year price, one PC
  4. 4
    IDriveHouseholds backing up several PCs who also want a full system image
    82/100
    $3/yrfirst-year price, one PC
  5. 5
    AOMEI BackupperHome users who want a one-time licence and a free starting point
    82/100
    $39.95/yrfirst-year price, one PC
  6. 6
    Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows FREEPeople who want free, scheduled image backups to a USB drive or NAS
    77/100
    $0first-year price, one PC
  7. 7
    Acronis True ImagePeople who want backup and ransomware protection in one subscription
    75/100
    $49.99/yrfirst-year price, one PC
  8. 8
    Windows Backup (built into Windows)People who want free file backup without installing anything
    48/100
    $0first-year price, one PC
  9. 9
    Backblaze Computer BackupPeople who want hands-off, unlimited cloud backup of their files
    25/100
    $99/yrfirst-year price, one PC

How the points add up

Points earned out of the points available in each part of the method.

ProductWhat it backs up
of 30		Where backups go
of 20		Safety and recovery
of 25		Price
of 25		Total
EaseUS Todo Backup30202525100
Duplicati2220192586
Paragon Backup & Recovery Community Edition3010192584
IDrive3015191882
AOMEI Backupper3015122582
Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows FREE3010122577
Acronis True Image301525575
Windows Backup (built into Windows)81502548
Backblaze Computer Backup1456025

Each backup tool in brief

1. EaseUS Todo Backup

EaseUS Todo Backup suits home users who want a free tool that already schedules and encrypts backups, with a cheap upgrade path. Home adds restore to different hardware and Security Zone, a hidden partition that ransomware cannot reach. The catch: public cloud destinations take file backups only, not system images.

Best for: Home users who want a free edition with schedules and encryption. Prices, facts and sources

2. Duplicati

Duplicati suits people who want free, encrypted backups to storage they choose, from a USB drive to Amazon S3 or OneDrive. It sends only changed blocks, runs on a schedule and can lock backups against deletion on supported clouds. Full-disk backups are documented, but Duplicati does not describe its own rescue media, so a full restore starts from separate recovery media.

Best for: People who want free encrypted backups to cloud storage they already pay for. Prices, facts and sources

3. Paragon Backup & Recovery Community Edition

The free Community Edition suits home users who want a system image and a bootable rescue stick at no cost. Paying for Hard Disk Manager Advanced adds disk copying, partitioning and email alerts, and it is sold as a perpetual licence as well as a subscription. The catch: Paragon lists no cloud destination, and the Community Edition is for non-commercial use only.

Best for: Home users who want a free system image backup to a local or external drive. Prices, facts and sources

4. IDrive

IDrive suits people who want both cloud and local backup, including a whole-machine image, from one app. Personal covers several computers under one user, and the free Basic plan and the $3-a-year Mini plan cost little to start. The catch is the yearly price: Personal discounts apply only to the first year, and IDrive warns that whole-machine restores may fail on dissimilar hardware.

Best for: Households backing up several PCs who also want a full system image. Prices, facts and sources

5. AOMEI Backupper

AOMEI Backupper suits home users who want to start free and then buy once rather than subscribe. Professional adds encryption, automatic cleanup of old backups and Universal Restore to new hardware. The catch: AOMEI documents no ransomware shield for backup files, and its own cloud takes file backups only.

Best for: Home users who want a one-time licence and a free starting point. Prices, facts and sources

6. Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows FREE

Veeam Agent FREE suits people who want scheduled image backups at no cost and back up to a USB drive or NAS. It restores a whole system with bare-metal recovery, even on new hardware. The catch: the Free edition allows one backup job and no cloud or object storage, which is also where Veeam's immutable backups live.

Best for: People who want free, scheduled image backups to a USB drive or NAS. Prices, facts and sources

7. Acronis True Image

Acronis True Image suits people who want imaging, cloud backup and ransomware protection from one vendor. All plans include full-image backup, the Survival Kit recovery drive and anti-ransomware protection, and backups use AES-256 encryption. The catch is the price: there is no free edition or one-time licence, and Essentials, the cheapest plan, has no cloud storage.

Best for: People who want backup and ransomware protection in one subscription. Prices, facts and sources

8. Windows Backup (built into Windows)

The tools built into Windows suit people who only need their files backed up and already use OneDrive or an external drive. They cost nothing and need no install. The catch: Microsoft has deprecated its system image tool and documents no encryption or retention settings for these backups, so a full-system backup needs another product.

Best for: People who want free file backup without installing anything. Prices, facts and sources

9. Backblaze Computer Backup

Backblaze suits people who want every personal file and connected external drive backed up to the cloud without setting anything up. Storage is unlimited and one year of version history is free. The catch: it backs up files only, not Windows or programs, and saves only to Backblaze's own cloud.

Best for: People who want hands-off, unlimited cloud backup of their files. Prices, facts and sources

Every fact, side by side

Each row is one rule of the method and the points it is worth. "–" means the vendor does not publish it, which earns nothing.

Rule (points)EaseUS Todo BackupDuplicatiParagon Backup & Recovery Community EditionIDriveAOMEI BackupperVeeam Agent for Microsoft Windows FREEAcronis True ImageWindows Backup (built into Windows)Backblaze Computer Backup
Full system image (8)YesYesYesYesYesYesYesNoNo
File and folder backup (4)YesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYes
Incremental backups (6)YesYesYesYesYesYesYes–Yes
Scheduled backups (4)YesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYes
Bootable rescue media (8)Yes–YesYesYesYesYesNoNo
Destinations (20)4 of 44 of 42 of 43 of 43 of 42 of 43 of 43 of 41 of 4
Encrypted backups (7)YesYesYesYes––Yes–No
Backups shielded from ransomware (6)YesYes–––NoYes––
Restore to different hardware (6)Yes–YesYesYesYesYes–No
Versions and retention rules (6)YesYesYesYesYesYesYes–Yes
Free edition (10)YesYesYesYesYesYesNoYesNo
First-year price, one PC (8)$39.95/yr$24/yr$19.95/yr$3/yr$39.95/yr$0$49.99/yr$0$99/yr
One-time licence (7)YesYesYesNoYesYesNoYesNo

Head to head

We read each vendor's own pages, record every fact with its source and date, and score it by the rules on how we score backup tools. A tie goes to the lower price. Backup software and services for a single Windows PC. Server and business-only editions are left out. Vendor claims about speed or quality are shown on product pages but never scored. Prices are in US dollars before tax.