9 Best Computer Backup Software of 2026

Backblaze takes the top spot because it does the one job most home users need without asking them to make decisions. You install the native Mac or Windows app, and it backs up all user-generated data on the computer and any connected external drives, with no limit on storage, file type or file size. Backups run continuously as you work, and every file is encrypted before it leaves the computer, with an optional private key so only you can open your backups. Restores work from the web, the mobile app, or a USB drive mailed to you that is refunded if you send it back within 30 days, which matters when a whole drive has failed. The price is $9 a month, $99 a year or $7.88 a month on a two-year plan. The limits: it is priced per computer, it does not create a bootable system image, and longer version history is a paid add-on.

IDrive is the runner-up and the better choice for homes with more than one computer. A single IDrive Personal plan covers one user with multiple computers and starts with 5 TB of storage, priced at $6.99 a month for the first year on a yearly plan, rising to the standard $9.99, or $11.99 if you pay month to month. Beyond file backup, IDrive offers entire machine backup so you can restore a complete system after a disaster, and snapshots that give a historical view for point-in-time recovery, with up to 30 previous versions of every file. Phones are covered too, through apps for iPhone, iPad and Android. For big jobs, IDrive Express ships a physical storage device so you avoid uploading or downloading terabytes. A free Basic plan with 10 GB lets you test it. The tradeoffs are a storage cap instead of unlimited space and an app with more options to learn.

Time Machine is the best free choice for Mac owners, because it is already part of macOS and needs only an external drive. Apple's support page explains that once you add a backup disk in System Settings, the Mac starts backing up right away and keeps backing up automatically, including apps, music, photos, email and documents. It keeps hourly backups for the past 24 hours, daily backups for the past month and weekly backups for all previous months, deleting the oldest when the disk fills. You can turn on encryption with a backup password, and you can restore single files or bring a whole Mac back from the backup. Apple suggests a drive with at least twice the storage of your Mac. The limits are clear: it only works on Macs, the drive costs extra, and a disk sitting on your desk will not survive a fire or theft, so pair it with a cloud service.

Acronis True Image is the most complete package here, which suits people who want one product to handle everything. It creates full image backups of a drive or the whole machine, saves them to internal or external drives or a network share, and on the Advanced and Premium plans also backs up to Acronis data centers. Every plan includes disk cloning and universal restore, which helps when moving to new hardware. The security side adds AI-based ransomware detection, real-time blocking of malicious processes and one-click recovery of files a ransomware attack has touched. A web console shows the status of every protected device. Plans cover 1, 3 or 5 computers, with cloud storage from 50 GB on Advanced up to 10 TB on Premium. The entry Essentials plan has no cloud storage, and from our location the site listed only euro prices, so check the US price before buying.

AOMEI Backupper is our pick for Windows users who want the whole computer, not just their files, copied to an external drive. It backs up the system, whole disks, partitions, files, folders and emails, and you can schedule full, incremental or differential backups so later runs only copy what changed. Backups can go to internal or external drives, a NAS or network share, or cloud storage, which lets you follow a 3-2-1 plan. If Windows will not start, bootable rescue media restores the system, and you can mount an image to pull out single files. The Professional edition, from $39.95 for one PC, adds cloning to move a running system from a hard drive to an SSD and file sync, while the Standard edition is free. The catch is that it is Windows only, cloud storage costs extra, and the many options take more learning than a cloud backup app.

Arq suits people who want to decide exactly where their backups live. The Arq 7 app for Mac or Windows sends encrypted, versioned backups to cloud storage you already have, an SFTP server, an external drive or a NAS, and it can back up to several of those at once. It uses compression, de-duplication and block-level incremental backup, so later runs move only changed data, and it keeps backups of USB drives even if you never reconnect them. Point-in-time recovery helps after ransomware, and you restore straight from the app. Schedules can run hourly or daily, skip specific Wi-Fi networks or battery power, and cap bandwidth. Arq 7 costs $59.99 per computer one time with a year of updates, and Arq Premium is $69.99 a year for 5 computers plus 1 TB of storage. The downsides are more setup than a consumer service and a separate storage bill with Arq 7.

Carbonite Safe is a long-running cloud backup service with unlimited storage for one computer at a flat yearly price. Once installed, it backs up documents, photos and music automatically and encrypts them in transit and at rest, and you can restore everything or pick only the files you need. Backed-up files are also reachable from any device and the mobile app for previewing and sharing. A useful extra for home users: if ransomware hits a backed-up computer, Carbonite's customer service will restore pre-infection versions of your files if you call within two weeks. Basic covers one computer for $71.99 in the first year, about $6.00 a month, while Plus at $78.99 and Prime at $121.49 add one external hard drive and Webroot antivirus, and Prime adds automatic video backup. The downsides are that first-year prices are promotional, external drives need a higher plan, and courier delivery costs extra below Prime.

EaseUS Todo Backup Home is a low-cost way to give a Windows PC a full system backup. It backs up the system and boot partitions, whole disks, partitions and individual files, and it can also save app data such as Outlook emails, Chrome settings and game files. A Security Zone stores backup files where ransomware has a harder time reaching them, and a WinPE bootable disk on USB or DVD lets you restore when Windows will not start. Cloning tools move the operating system to an SSD or copy a whole disk for an upgrade. The Home edition for Windows costs $29.95 for one year, $39.95 for two years or $59 with lifetime upgrades for one computer, backed by a 30-day money back guarantee. The limits: cloud backup is only a 30-day trial of 250 GB, each license covers one computer, and the Mac edition is a separate purchase.

SpiderOak One is the privacy pick. Files are encrypted on your device before upload and stay encrypted, and the company says it cannot read your files, filenames or metadata because only you hold the keys. Backups are versioned, and point-in-time recovery lets you choose a date and time from before ransomware or an accidental deletion and restore folders as they were. The same app syncs folders between machines and shares files through Share Rooms or self-destructing links. Every plan allows unlimited devices across Linux, Mac and Windows. Prices start at $6 a month or $69 a year for 150 GB, with 400 GB at $11, 2 TB at $14 and 5 TB at $29 a month. It ranks last because the storage caps make it costlier for a whole computer full of photos than unlimited services, and it backs up chosen folders rather than imaging the system. Losing your password can also mean losing access.