What are the best backup apps for Mac OS?

Question

UtilitiesOSXProductivitymacOSMacBackupUtility Software Tool

What are the best backup apps for Mac OS?

10

Options
Considered

29

User
Recs.

Jan 18, 2024

Last
Updated

10 Options Considered

Best backup apps for Mac OS	Price	Platforms	Versioning
-- CarbonCopy Cloner	39.99	-	-
-- Backblaze	-	Windows; OSX; Android; iOS	Yes
-- ArqBackup	49.99	-	-
-- rsync	-	Linux, Mac, BSD	-
-- GoodSync	0	-	-

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score 11 · Answer 1

CarbonCopy Cloner

Top Pro

Very easy to use

Top Pro

Clear Interface

The interface is extremely streamlined. It walks you through the entire process. There are advanced options but they remain hidden until you want them. See More

Top Pro

Flawless execution

Backing up and restoring your computer are fast and easy. There's no confusion. See More

Top Pro

Auto-Run

Even if you have tasks in queue, once you connect, it will begin automatically backing up for you. See More

See All

score 1 · Answer 2

Backblaze

Top Pro

Users can order a physical copy of their data

You can have a flash drive or an external hard drive delivered to you. They cost $99 and $189 respectively. See More

Top Con

Backblaze does not support network (NAS) drives

If you use a thing like Drobo, Backblaze will not back it up. See More

Specs

Platforms:Windows; OSX; Android; iOS

Top Pro

Download any backed-up files from any web browser

Some backup services like Carbonite require a client to be installed to restore files. Backblaze allows you to log in and download any or all files from a web browser, meaning it also serves as an ad-hoc cloud storage platform. See More

Top Con

No Linux support

There's no Linux client for Backblaze. See More

Top Pro

Secure

AES encrypted files are transferred over a secure SSL connection. See More

Top Pro

No file size of traffic restrictions

There are no limitations of file size or amount of data you can upload. The $5/mo plan gets you unlimited cloud storage. See More

Top Pro

Excellent restoration performance

Backblaze creates a zip file of all your files for you to download, thus decreasing the amount of data you need to download and increasing the speed of the download since it's one connection instead of multiple that need to be opened and closed for a list of files. See More

Top Pro

Beginner-friendly defaults

The default configuration includes everything except for system files to be backed up. That also includes external USB drives. This will work for most people. It can, of course, be customized to each person's liking. See More

See All

score 4 · Answer 3

ArqBackup

Top Con

No global filtering options

You can set up filtering of folders / files, but it is per share. You can't just re-use a template or copy and paste filters either, each one has to be created manually. See More

score 1 · Answer 4

rsync

All

1

Specs

Platforms:Linux, Mac, BSD

score 2 · Answer 5

GoodSync

Top Pro

Licensing plans for both personal use and business

Top Pro

Subscription or Cloud Storage not required but available

GoodSync offers cloud storage but users can opt to use their own or a different cloud provider if they so choose. See More

Top Pro

Server Package for Synology NAS available

Manual installation on Synology NAS was very simple and easy. See More

Top Pro

Multi use beyond ftp

Top Pro

Can create simple to complex automation rule sets

Top Pro

Modern UI design

See All

score 2 · Answer 6

CrashPlan

Top Con

No longer offers a Home solution; cheapest is the option for Small Business

CrashPlan's home edition will be shut down on October 23, 2018 and they are no longer accepting new signups or subscription renewals. See More

Top Pro

Continuous and fully automatic

No need to worry about scheduling backups yourself. Backups happen continuously in the background, with no human intervention required. See More

Specs

Platforms:Windows; Linux; OSX; Android; iOS

score 1 · Answer 7

Vorta

Top Pro

Free and open source

Top Pro

Server Package available in Community Repo on Synology Disk Station

score 2 · Answer 8

Acronis True Image

Top Pro

Provides Scripts and Instructions for Complete Uninstall

https://kb.acronis.com/content/48668 See More

Top Con

Downloads / Restore from Cloud Times Out

Acronis expects most users to restore from local copies. Cloud restoration capabilities is far from robust. One has to navigate a file tree to download files in small batches because larger downloads (talking anything more than a few GBs) times out. Major PITA. See More

programan's Experience

It promises the fastest backup and recovery available. And I totally agree. Really good product. It's more than just your standard backup. It also has a list of tools such Try &Decide which lets you do anything recommended or not. Find it good for downloading software you know is good but from so-called not recommended websites. See More

Top Con

Very unreliable

Has a variety of bugs that can make the software almost unusable. Very slow, frequently hangs, and has been known to freeze the computer. Can make your data inaccessible and offers unhelpful error messages with no further instructions. See More

Top Con

Non Windows Versions Less Capable

Capabilities, features, and GUI, are less robust on the Mac version. See More

See All

score 1 · Answer 9

FreeFileSync

Top Pro

Cross-platform

It runs on Windows, Linux and MacOS. See More

Specs

Platforms:Windows, Mac, Linux

License:GPL-3.0-only

Top Pro

It supports realtime sync

It can be configured to constantly monitor two folders for changes and sync them instantly when a change is detected. See More

Top Pro

It is quite performant

Top Pro

Completely free

Source code releases are provided under GPLv2. See More

See All

score 2 · Answer 10

Time Machine

Top Con

Unable to only backup selected folder

Time Machine only lets you exclude folders and not include. See More

10 Options Considered

My Recommendation for CarbonCopy Cloner

My Recommendation for CarbonCopy Cloner

Very easy to use

Clear Interface

Flawless execution

Auto-Run

My Recommendation for Backblaze

My Recommendation for Backblaze

Users can order a physical copy of their data

Backblaze does not support network (NAS) drives

Download any backed-up files from any web browser

No Linux support

Secure

No file size of traffic restrictions

Excellent restoration performance

Beginner-friendly defaults

My Recommendation for ArqBackup

My Recommendation for ArqBackup

No global filtering options

My Recommendation for rsync

My Recommendation for rsync

My Recommendation for GoodSync

My Recommendation for GoodSync

Licensing plans for both personal use and business

Subscription or Cloud Storage not required but available

Server Package for Synology NAS available

Multi use beyond ftp

Can create simple to complex automation rule sets

Modern UI design

My Recommendation for CrashPlan

My Recommendation for CrashPlan

No longer offers a Home solution; cheapest is the option for Small Business

Continuous and fully automatic

My Recommendation for Vorta

My Recommendation for Vorta

Free and open source

Server Package available in Community Repo on Synology Disk Station

My Recommendation for Acronis True Image

My Recommendation for Acronis True Image

Provides Scripts and Instructions for Complete Uninstall

Downloads / Restore from Cloud Times Out

Very unreliable

Non Windows Versions Less Capable

My Recommendation for FreeFileSync

My Recommendation for FreeFileSync

Cross-platform

It supports realtime sync

It is quite performant

Completely free

My Recommendation for Time Machine

My Recommendation for Time Machine

Unable to only backup selected folder

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