Apple Time Machine review

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.

Who it is for

Mac owners who want a free, automatic local backup they can restore a whole Mac from.

Price

Free, built into macOS; you need an external drive, ideally at least twice your Mac's storage.

If you have a USB drive or other external storage device, you can use Time Machine to automatically back up your files, including apps, music, photos, email, and documents.
Quoted from the vendor pricing page on November 9, 2026.

Key features

• Automatic hourly backups for the past 24 hours, daily for the past month and weekly for older months
• Backs up apps, music, photos, email and documents
• Optional backup encryption with a password
• Restore individual files or a whole Mac from the backup
• Set up from System Settings with no extra software

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strength: Free and already on every Mac
• Strength: Hourly backups with a long history
• Strength: Can restore a full Mac, including apps
• Weakness: Mac only
• Weakness: Needs an external drive you buy separately
• Weakness: The backup sits next to the Mac, so it is not an off-site copy

Key facts

• Price: Free with macOS
• Backup destination: USB, Thunderbolt or other external storage
• Schedule: Hourly, daily and weekly backups kept
• Drive size advice: At least twice the Mac's storage
• Encryption: Optional backup password

Where it ranks

Apple Time Machine is No. 3 in our Best Computer Backup Software verdict.