The best backup software is the one that protects every place your data lives, keeps at least one copy offline or unchangeable, and lets you restore quickly: small teams usually want simple automatic cloud backup, while firms with servers and virtual machines need image backup and fast recovery. Eleven options follow in no particular order.
Most businesses only find out how good their backup is on the worst day of the year. A laptop gets stolen, a server dies, or ransomware locks every shared drive, and suddenly the question isn't whether you had backups but whether you can get everything back before customers notice.
The eleven tools below are listed alphabetically and in no particular order, from free and open-source options to platforms used by large IT teams. Every description comes from the vendor's own site, read this week. If ransomware is the worry keeping you up, start with my plain-English explainer on what ransomware is and how it spreads.
Backup tools side by side
In the free plan column, Yes means the tool's own site names a free plan, a free version, a free edition or open-source code. Trial only means a time-limited trial. Not stated means the pages I read named neither, even where there's a button inviting you to try it.
| Tool | Type | Good for | Free plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acronis Cyber Protect | Backup with built-in cyber security | One agent for backup and security | Not stated |
| Arcserve | Backup and disaster recovery suite | Mixed estates including tape | Trial only |
| Backblaze | Business computer backup | Laptops and desktops of small teams | Trial only |
| Comet Backup | Server, workstation and cloud backup | MSPs offering backup as a service | Trial only |
| Duplicati | Open-source encrypted backup | Teams bringing their own storage | Yes |
| Iperius Backup | Windows backup software | Windows servers, databases and drive images | Yes |
| Keepit | SaaS data backup | Microsoft 365 and other cloud apps | Not stated |
| Macrium | Image backup and recovery | Fast recovery of critical machines | Not stated |
| MSP360 | Backup and IT management | MSPs and small IT teams | Yes |
| NAKIVO | Backup and replication | Virtual machines and Microsoft 365 | Yes |
| Veeam | Data resilience platform | Larger estates needing ransomware recovery | Trial only |
Eleven backup tools worth a look
Acronis Cyber Protect
Best for: IT teams that want backup and endpoint security handled by one vendor and one console instead of two separate products.
Arcserve
Best for: Businesses running a mix of servers, cloud and even tape that want backup, replication and recovery runbooks from one long-standing vendor.
Backblaze
Best for: Small teams that want every laptop and desktop backed up to the cloud automatically, without anyone remembering to press a button.
Comet Backup
Best for: Managed service providers and IT teams who want to back up workstations, servers and SaaS apps to storage they choose.
Duplicati
Best for: Technical teams happy to point encrypted backups at their own S3, SFTP or local storage, built on an open-source engine.
Iperius Backup
Best for: Windows shops that want drive images, SQL databases, virtual machines and NAS copies covered by one flexible backup tool, with a free edition.
Keepit
Best for: Organisations whose most important data now lives in SaaS apps such as Microsoft 365, Salesforce and Google Workspace rather than on servers.
Macrium
Best for: Businesses that need critical Windows machines restored quickly from full disk images after a failure, including on factory floors.
MSP360
Best for: Small IT teams and service providers who want the backup tool formerly called CloudBerry Backup, with a free download to start.
NAKIVO
Best for: IT teams protecting VMware, Hyper-V, Proxmox and Microsoft 365 who want a vendor that also offers a free edition.
Veeam
Best for: Larger organisations that want backup, recovery and ransomware resilience across on-premises, cloud and Microsoft 365 from one platform.
Why at least one copy has to be offline
CISA's #StopRansomware Guide tells organisations to maintain offline, encrypted backups of critical data and to test them regularly. It explains why: many ransomware variants try to find and then delete or encrypt any backups they can reach, so restoring becomes impossible.
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That's the single most useful test for any tool in this list. Ask where the copies live, whether they can be made immutable or kept off the network, and how you'd restore if your main admin account was the one that got hacked.
Moving files between partners is a separate job, handled by managed file transfer tools.
What exactly needs backing up?
Laptops and desktops are the obvious part. Servers and virtual machines need image backups so you can bring a whole system back, not just files. And a growing share of business data now sits in Microsoft 365, Google Workspace and other cloud apps, which most providers don't back up for you in the way people assume.
List every location first, then pick tools to cover them. Some businesses end up with one tool for devices and servers and a second for SaaS apps, and that's fine as long as both are tested.
Backups should be encrypted too, so see encryption software for files and drives.
Questions to put to a backup vendor
- Can backups be kept offline or made immutable?
- How quickly can we restore a whole machine, not just a file?
- Which cloud apps, such as Microsoft 365, do you cover?
- Where is our data stored, and in which country?
- Who holds the encryption keys?
- How do you alert us when a backup fails?
Signs your backup setup needs work
- Nobody has tested a restore. You're trusting green ticks you've never checked.
- Backups sit on the same network. One attack could reach both.
- Cloud apps aren't covered. Email and shared files live outside your backup.
- Failures go unnoticed. Alerts land in an inbox nobody reads.
Do you make backup software? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place on this list.
My plain advice on choosing backup software
Run a restore test before you sign anything. Pick a laptop and a server, wipe a test copy, and time how long it takes to get them working again. That number matters far more than any feature list, and it tells you what a bad day will really look like.
Then follow the old rule of keeping more than one copy in more than one place, with one copy out of reach of your everyday network. Email needs thought too, because archiving and backup aren't the same thing; my guide to email archiving versus email backup explains the difference.
Frequently asked questions
What is backup software?
It's software that copies your files, systems or cloud app data to another location so you can restore them after a failure, a mistake or a cyber attack.
Do I need backup for Microsoft 365?
It's worth having. Microsoft keeps the service running, but recovering deleted or encrypted data over the long term is usually your job, so many businesses add a dedicated SaaS backup.
What is an immutable backup?
It's a backup copy that can't be changed or deleted for a set period, even by an administrator, which protects it from ransomware.
How often should a small business back up?
Daily is a sensible minimum for most businesses, with more frequent backups for systems that change all day, such as finance or order data.
Is cloud backup enough on its own?
It's a strong start. Many businesses also keep a local copy for fast restores and make sure one copy can't be reached from the everyday network.
How do I know my backups work?
Test them. Restore real files and a whole machine on a schedule, and check the alerts that tell you when a backup has failed.
