Best Backup Software For MAC In 2022

Backing up your documents is an important part of your computing experience. Saving data for future use or backing it up before a clean system install is a must if you’re an avid computer user.

For mac users, however, plenty of third-party applications are available on the internet that aims to make your backup game easy and efficient. 

Out of hundreds and thousands of applications, selecting the one that best fits you and your cause can be a grueling task. But, worry not because we are here to help you.

We shall guide you through some of the best backup software to help you determine the one that can do the job as per your demand.

Why Do I Need a Backup Software?

Best Backup Software for MAC

From built-in software to third-party applications, and from free software to some paid applications, we have made a list of some of the best and most efficient backup software you can use on a macOS. So, let’s get right to it!

Backing Up via the Terminal

macOS offers you an easier way to back up your files and folders directly through the terminal as well. One main advantage of this type of backup strategy is the fact that the image file you create is immune to any potential virus or malware infection. So, for this, 

1. Press the Command + Space key to access the Spotlight.
2. Type Terminal and hit enter.  
3. Now, type and enter diskutil list  to list out all the disk drives connected to your computer. 
4. Then, diskutil unmountDisk /dev/*diskname* to unmount your disk before the backing up process starts. Here, replace *diskname* with the disk you want to backup. 
5. You can then type and enter $ sudo dd if=/dev/*diskname* of=*name-of-your-backup*.img.dd bs=512 to create an entire clone of the selected disk.
   To back up only a particular folder, replace dd if=/dev/*diskname* with dd if=/dev/*file-path-of-your-folder*
   Replace *diskname* with the name of the disk you want to clone, *name-of-your-backup* with a name you want to give for your backup image, and *file-path-of-your-folder* with the exact file path of the folder you want to backup. 
6. Once the process is complete, type exit to exit the terminal. 

Note: If you want to back up only a particular file or a folder, you don’t need to unmount the disk before the backup process.

Time Machine

Time Machine is a built-in backup tool provided by macOS. Through this tool, you can either choose to backup your files manually or let the system do it for you automatically. 

Your images, applications, documents, emails, etc. are backed up to an external disk drive. The drive should either be connected to your computer or to the same network as your computer. Here are the steps to start backing up your documents via the time machine:

1. Connect the external drive to your computer. 
2. Then, click on the Apple menu bar. 
3. Go to System Preferences.
4. Click on Time Machine. 
5. Then, Select Backup Disk. 
   
6. Choose the external disk you plan to use for backing up and then, Use Disk. 
7. The backup process shall now start. 

Although backing up for the first time can take a while, the process shall be carried out by the CPU in the background. That is, you can continue to use your mac in a normal way while it is being backed up. The progress is shown in the menu bar. And through this menu bar, you can also choose to manually backup certain items the next time you plan to do so. 

However, keep in mind that once your backup disk is full, the oldest files and folders are deleted to make room for backing up new files.

Disk Drill

Disk Drill is known for its byte-to-byte backup feature. The backup strategy creates a disk image of your disk drive to completely back up each file within it ‘byte-to-byte.’ Once the backup process is complete, you can scan this image file and search for any lost data that might have been wiped out from your original disk drive. 

So another notable feature of Disk Drill is its ability to search for and recover lost data. That being said, not all files are completely recoverable. Generally, the file recovery process is determined by the number of times the disk sector has been overwritten. So, the location of files that are overwritten a few times are simply lost in time and will not be recovered.   

However, if you have backed up your files using the Time Machine, you might know that once the disk space is full, older files are deleted automatically to make room for backing up new files. Here, Disk Drill can be used to efficiently recover these old deleted files from your backup disk with just a click of a button. 

Disk Drill is a free application you can download and start to use right now. However, if you want to recover your deleted files or completely clone your disk drive, you must upgrade to a pro version. And obviously, that’s paid. But, the scanning process before the recovery is completely free. So, you can first scan your disk drive for any lost file, and after it previews the list of files that can be recovered, you can then choose to upgrade to the pro version if you find out that the data you want can be recovered. 

IDrive

IDrive backs up your data either to your external disk drive, local computer, or to an Idrive account. The IDrive account gives you a certain amount of storage space to store your data on the IDrive server. The quota of 10 GB of storage space is available for free. However, for more, it should be paid for on a yearly basis.  

Once you start to back up your files using IDrive, you’ll notice that you can schedule further backups on your preferred date and time. It can also back up data from the Time Machine. However, there’s a catch here. That is, any files and folders deleted from the Time Machine will result in these particular files being deleted from the IDriver server as well. 

And for those wondering, the files stored on the IDrive server are completely safe. It uses the 256-bit AES data encryption protocol for backing up your files within the servers. That is, to decrypt this key, a third-party user will need to try 2^256 different combinations before they will be able to break in. And, this key is not stored anywhere within the IDrive server as well!

Backblaze

Backblaze is another backup application that’s registered in California, USA. What Backblaze does differently than other backup applications is its feature to provide its users with a physical USB drive with all their files in it for recovery. Of course, this rapid file delivery strategy requires some extra payment from your side, however, should you return the USB within 30 days, you’ll get back a refund.

Another notable feature of Backblaze is the unlimited storage space you get for backing up your product. However, its price-per-device is sure to turn some heads, because you have to pay extra if you want to back up from a second computer. Nevertheless, Backblaze is a great option for users with a single computer as the pricing is fair and affordable. 

The actual backing up process is a bit slower than other backup applications. However, its pricing, security, and file sharing feature makes it all worthwhile. And, if you notice that your device is missing, you can try and locate it via BlackBaze as well.  

ChronoSync

ChronoSync lets you back up your files and folders on either the cloud or on your external disk drive. It’s a paid app but you can still test it out for free with a 10-day trial. For the online backup procedure, ChronoSync uses the BlackBaze B2 server as well to ensure that an efficient job is performed. 

Also, you can share and recover your backed-up files via the internet. But none of these are its key features. What ChronoSync is known for is creating a bootable backup file. That is, if unfortunately your system fails and is unable to jumpstart, you can boot it via Chronosync’s bootable file. 

Furthermore, there are two different types of ChornoSync’s bootable backup that you should know of. The first one, mirrored bootable backup, clones the entire backed-up system volume. But, when you boot another computer using this backup file, every file within that computer is wiped clean. But the second one, standard bootable backup, boots up the second computer without clearing any files and folders within it.  

Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office

Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office offers its user with not only a backup strategy but also acts as an anti-malware and anti-ransomware application. So, it is mainly focused on countering any cybercrime threats that could directly or indirectly harm your files. The malware and ransomware are identified based on their behavioral pattern when interacting with your computer.

Your backed-up data are protected with the Blockchain certification, meaning that the integrity of the files is authentic and not tampered with. You can back up everything from a single small data to your entire system image. And all of this process can be carried out in the background when you’re actively using your computer. Furthermore, your system image can also be converted to a virtual disk format to enable it to run as a virtual machine. 

However, Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office is a paid application that offers you three subscription plans. You can choose to pay on a yearly basis either for an Essential plan, an Advanced plan, or the premium package. The latter is the most expensive package out of the bunch and includes all the features this application has to provide. 

Carbon Copy Cloner 6

The Carbon Copy Cloner 6 (CCC 6) is a newer build to the CCC series. What CCC6 is best known for is its faster backup time. You can backup either a single folder or the entire volume and even clone your system image file quicker than before. Backing up is done either to an external disk drive or to another mac computer. 

Also, new files meant to be added to your backup drive are discovered more quickly through the macOS FSEvents service. So, rather than scanning the entire disk again for minute changes, CCC6 only checks the folders that have been modified since the last time you backed up. And, certain deleted files can also be recovered using the CCC 6 software. 

You can get a 30-day free trial to try out CCC 6 and its various features, however ultimately, you have to pay for a subscription deal to fully utilize the application. But, the license you purchase for a CCC version is always backward compatible with previous versions. That is, if you purchase CCC 6, its license can be used for CCC5 as well.  

Get Backup Pro

Get Backup Pro usually backs up your system to an external drive, either a disk or a network attached storage (NAS). Your backed-up data can be encrypted either by using the AES-256, AES-128, Triple DES, or the Blowfish protocol. Get Backup Pro offers its user with three different backup plans. These methods work in a different manner after you have backed up your device for the first time. 

Here, the ‘Full’ backup method backs up all the data all over again but replaces the previously archived data with the new ones. Similarly, the ‘Versioned’ backup method also backs up all the data again but keeps the previously archived data intact. And the ‘Incremental’ method backs up only the data that were added to your system after the last backup. So, looking at the plan, the incremental method seems to be the most reliable one. However, unlike the Full and the Verison methods, the Incremental plan should be paid for. 

Also, the unidirectional and bidirectional synchronization technique ensures that all your latest data are available at all times on every device you use. Not to mention, its feature to create a bootable backup, which can be pretty handy when your system abruptly crashes. 

Paragon Backup and Recovery for Mac

The Paragon Backup software for macOS is known to be three times faster than Time Machine. As a matter of fact, it is said that backing up 131 gigs of space on a Mac Mini takes only around nine minutes when done through the Paragon Software. 

Another useful feature of the Paragon Software is you can backup your data to an external drive of any format. That includes the HFS+, exFAT, and APFS as well. You’ll be provided with several parameters for creating a custom backup strategy as well. These parameters include a backup type that you can select, the backup frequency, and scheduling, among others. You can also mount your backed-up drive and explore your archived files and folders in a convenient manner. 

So, if you choose the ‘Community’ plan, you can use the Paragon Backup software with all of its features, including the one to create bootable media for free. But if you choose a ‘Business’ plan, you’ll get some more extra features which should be paid for. However, keep in mind that the Paragon software does not support the cloud storage service and you’ll need an external device to back up your files.