Top 5 Best Backup Software for Mac (Free & Paid)

Whether you're a Mac user or a Windows user, data protection should be at the top of your mind. After all, our digital lives are only getting richer and more complex, making data loss a real possibility for anyone. When searching for backup software in Google, most of the searching results are Window backup tools. Mac backup seems more related to iCloud sync. However, there are still numbers of great backup software options are available for Mac users. In this article, we'll introduce the 5 best backup software solutions for Mac, both free and paid.

The Necessities of Mac Backup Software

Before we get started, let's first understand the necessities of Mac backup software. What makes a good backup software for Mac? There are some key features you should consider when choosing Mac backup software:

• - Ease of use: The best backup software for Mac should be easy to set up and use. It should have a user-friendly interface that makes it easy to navigate. Also, a simple UI means you will take less time to learn how to use this software.
• - Comprehensive backups: Mac backup software should allow you to create comprehensive backups of your data. This includes backing up your system files, applications, settings, and user data.
• - Incremental backups: Creating incremental backups is important for Mac backup software. It means the software will only back up new or changed data, which saves time and storage space.
• - Scheduled backups: Creating a scheduled backup means once set up, the software will run automatically at a time that's convenient for you.
• - Versioning: A good Mac backup tool should allow you to create multiple versions of your backups so that you can restore an older version if necessary.
• - Space management: Allowing users to manage the amount of storage space used by your backups is also essential. This includes the ability to compress data and delete old backups.

Reviews of Top 5 Best Backup Software for Mac

Backup software assures that your data will be safe in case of any unforeseen circumstances. If you are dazzled about which one is the best backup software for Mac. In this part, we will compare and review the 5 most popular Mac backup software to help you make the decision.

• 1. Time Machine
• 2. Carbon Copy Cloner (Paid)
• 3. Get Backup Pro (Paid)
• 4. ChronoSync (Paid)
• 5. Qiling Backup for Mac (Paid)

1. Time Machine (Free)

Time Machine is a built-in backup feature for Mac that comes with every Mac computer. Time Machine allows you to create incremental backups of your data and save them to an external hard drive. (You need to prepare the backup disk when you set up Time Machine.) It's a simple and effective backup solution that is perfect for basic users. However, it lacks some advanced features that make it less suitable for power users. One prominent con of Time Machine is that it only supports backing up personal files such as apps, music, photos, email, and documents.

Pros:

• Easy to use
• Incremental backups
• Scheduled backups
• Versioning

Cons:

• No compression or space management features
• Can only save backups to an external hard drive (cannot save to the cloud)

2. Carbon Copy Cloner (Paid)

Carbon Copy Cloner, also called CCC, has entered the Mac backup field since the year 2002. With about 20-year experience in Mac backup, it becomes the leader of Mac backup software. Carbon Copy Cloner provides users with way more backup options than that of the built-in Time Machine. With CCC, you can create a backup on an external drive or back up your files to another Macintosh. At the same time, it is very flexible. No matter you want to back up only an individual folder, or an entire external hard drive, CCC is always here.

With the upgrade of CCC to the version 6, its backup speed has reached a new level. According to the CCC official website, the speed increase brought by this upgrade will be "astonishing".

Pros:

• Supports backing up old versions of files (Snapshot)
• Abundant backup options that fulfill users' demands
• Task Review function enables users to see what will happen before starting the actual backup
• Offers 30-day free trial

Cons:

• Only paid version
• When users want to restore backup, the time increases with increases in incremental backups

3. Get Backup Pro (Paid)

Get Backup Pro 3 is a long-term backup solution for Mac that offers all features you expect from best backup software for Mac. It provides a wide range of backup options, including documents, music, videos, applications, and system files. At the same time, users can back up their data to an external drive or cloud storage services like iCloud Drive, Google Drive, Dropbox, etc. Moreover, it supports creating bootable backups and incremental backups. One of the best features of Get Backup Pro 3 is that it allows you to encrypt your backups with password protection. This means only people with the password can access your backups and view your data.

Pros:

• Supports backing up to external drives and cloud storage services
• Encrypt backups with password protection
• Create bootable backups
• Incremental backups
• Task Scheduler

Cons:

Does not have cyber security feature

4. ChronoSync (Paid)

As its name suggests, ChronoSync is a powerful sync and backup tool that supports users to save data to both external hard drives and cloud service. As to the backup options, ChronoSync outperforms other competitors in the aspects of synchronization. It not only syncs Mac files and folders to cloud but also syncs files to other Mac computer or iPhone/iPad. ChronoSync also allows users to create incremental backups as other Mac backup software does. This can save you time and space when you need to back up large amounts of data. In addition, ChronoSync offers many advanced features, such as the ability to sync multiple folders at the same time and schedule tasks. However, these features come at a price and ChronoSync is one of the most expensive backup solutions on this list.

Pros:

• Supports backing up to external drives, another Mac, or cloud storage services
• Create incremental backups
• Sync multiple folders at the same time
• Schedule tasks

Cons:

• Expensive

5. Qiling Backup for Mac (Paid)

The last we recommend here is Qiling Backup for Mac. It is a backup solution that offers all the features you need to create backups of your data. Apart from the basic data backup, backup encryption, and file sync, Qiling Backup for Mac innovatively adds the archived backup function. Thus you can archive files to a hard drive, network volume, CD/DVD or external device that can be auto-mounted. Later, restore archives on any computer without any impact on original data.

Pros:

• Supports automatic scheduled backup in stealth mode
• Compress backup to save storage space
• Sync Mac files/folders to other Mac or mounted drives

Cons:

• No free trial

Here if you want to have a try on Qiling Backup for Mac, download it from the button below and follow the guide to create a backup.

• Free Download
• Windows 11/10/8/7, 100% Secure

Step 1. Launchand run Qiling Backup for Mac.
Click the first Backup tab or simply click the + button in the bottom-left corner to create a backup project - name the backup project and click OK.

Step 2. Set up the backup destination where you want to store Mac files as backups, automatic backup frequency, etc and click OK.

Step 3. Add files and folders to the backup project.
Click File+ to selectively choose files and folders to add to the backup and click the blue start button to back up your Mac to another drive or external device.

FAQs

1. What is the best backup software for a Mac?

In this article, we recommend five best Mac backup software:

1. Time Machine - Totally free, macOS built-in backup utility, only backs up personal data
2. Carbon Copy Cloner (Paid) - Paid software, $39.99/Mac, has 30-day free trial, well-experienced Mac backup software
3. Get Backup Pro (Paid) - Paid software, $19.99/Mac, an all-in-one app that enables users to Backup, Clone, Archive, Sync
4. ChronoSync (Paid) - Paid software, $49.99/Mac, outperforms other competitors in the sync aspect
5. Qiling Backup for Mac (Paid) - Paid software, $29.95/Mac, well-performed comprehensive backup software

2. Does Mac have backup software?

Yes! On macOS, there is a built-in backup utility called Time Machine. It requires users to prepare a backup disk. Once set up Time Machine backup process, every time you connect the backup disk to your Mac, Time Machine will start to backup your personal data automatically.

3. How do I backup my entire Mac to an external hard drive?

Step by Step: How to Back up Mac Files/System to an External Hard Drive

1. Choose a third-party backup tool, open and launch it on your Mac
2. Connect a backup disk on your Mac, select it as the backup destination
3. Select the content you want to back up (both files and system)
4. Confirm your settings and click OK to start backing up your entire Mac

The Bottom Line

Now you should have known the 5 best backup software for Mac. Different from Windows backup software, most of the best backup tools for Mac are paid versions. However, some of them provide a free trial and you can use them to create backups before purchasing. If you really don't want to spend money, Time Machine can also do a good job of protecting your data. Just choose the one that best suits your needs and start backing up your data now!

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