25 Free and Open-source Data Backup Solutions for Windows, Linux, and macOS

25 Free and Open-source Data Backup Solutions for Windows, Linux, and macOS
Photo by Saj Shafique / Unsplash

A backup software is a tool or program designed to create copies of important data and store them in a secure location. It helps protect against data loss caused by various factors such as hardware failure, system crashes, accidental deletion, malware attacks, or natural disasters.

For enterprises and companies, backup software is crucial because it ensures business continuity and minimizes the risk of data loss. It allows organizations to recover quickly from any data-related incidents, reducing downtime and potential financial losses. Backup software also helps meet regulatory compliance requirements by securely storing and retaining data for a specified period.

For individuals, backup software is equally important as it safeguards personal files, documents, photos, and other valuable data. It provides peace of mind knowing that in case of device failure, data corruption, or accidental deletion, the data can be easily restored.

Overall, backup software is needed to protect data integrity, ensure data availability, and provide a safety net against unforeseen events that can lead to data loss. It is an essential component of any comprehensive data management strategy, whether for enterprises, companies, or individuals.

1- Areca Backup

Areca Backup

Areca Backup is an open-source backup solution that provides file backup, disk imaging, and delta storage capabilities. It offers features such as compression, encryption, incremental backups, and synchronization. Areca Backup is available for Windows, Linux, and macOS, and it aims to provide a simple yet powerful backup solution for both personal and professional use.

Areca Backup
Download Areca Backup for free. Areca-Backup is a file backup software that supports incremental, image and delta backup on local drives or FTP servers. Areca-Backup also allows you to browse your backups and navigate among different version of the files contained in your archives.

2- SimpleBackup

SimpleBackup
SimpleBackup

Simple Backup Tool is an exceptional open-source backup solution that confidently provides a simple and straightforward approach to perform file backups.

It offers remarkable features such as compression, encryption, and incremental backups. Simple Backup Tool is readily available for Linux and aims to confidently deliver an easy-to-use backup solution for personal use.

SimpleBackup
Download SimpleBackup for free. A fast and simple backup tool that makes differencial and full backups. SimpleBackup is a small backup tool which can be used for full and differencial backups of a folder or drive. Furthermore it has a few features to keep your backups clean.

3- Junction Box (Windows)

Junction Box is a free app that allows users to backup, transfer, or restore special filesystem 'junctions' within Windows Vista/7/8/10 user-profiles and system folders. It also has the capability to repair a Windows installation if the junctions have been accidentally deleted.

It features include backing up junctions to a conventional file and repairing user profiles.

Junction Box
Download Junction Box for free. Provides a means to backup, transfer or restore the special filesystem ‘junctions’ within Windows Vista/7/8/10 user-profiles and system folders. Also has the capability to repair a Windows installation from which the junctions have been accidentally deleted.

4- BackupAFS

BackupAFS is an application that offers efficient compression, flexible backup options, exponential expiry, and easy configuration through a web interface. It also provides a powerful user interface for administrators and users to manage backups and restore volumes.

BackupAFS: Web-based Backup Solution for Server’s Disk
BackupAFS is an application designed to back up OpenAFS cells to a remote backup server’s disk. It offers various features such as compression, full and multi-level incremental dumps, exponential expiry, and configuration through a user-friendly web interface. Some of the advantages of BackupAFS include: * Efficient compression for reduced storage requirements
BackupAFS
Download BackupAFS for free. BackupAFS is an application to backup OpenAFS cells to a remote backup server’s disk. It supports compression, full and multi-level incremental dumps, exponential expiry, and configuration via a friendly web interface.

5- BackupTool

The BackupTool is a Qt/C++ application that uses QuaZip and zLib libraries to provide backup control. It allows users to backup files and folders in .zip or .iso format, with options to add a description and recovery tool. It also supports burning CD/DVD for .iso files. The project used QuaZip 0.7.2 and zLib 1.2.8.

BackupTool
Download BackupTool for free. Tool for backup in zip and iso, burn backup and recovery. The BackupTool was developed using Qt/C++ and the libraries QuaZip and zLib. It is a tool to help the backup control.

6- restic

restic is an exceptionally fast, highly efficient, and extremely secure backup program. It proudly provides support for the three major operating systems - Linux, macOS, and Windows - along with a selection of smaller ones such as FreeBSD and OpenBSD.

GitHub - restic/restic: Fast, secure, efficient backup program
Fast, secure, efficient backup program. Contribute to restic/restic development by creating an account on GitHub.

7- Bareos

Bareos is a reliable, cross-network open source software for backup, archiving, and recovery of data. It offers features such as true open source licensing, network-based backups, support for various backends, multiple clients and storages, encryption, and a web-based graphical interface.

Bareos (Backup Archiving Recovery Open Sourced) is a cool multi-platform Backup Solution with Network Support
Bareos is an exceptionally reliable and versatile, cross-network open source software that provides users with a comprehensive solution for backup, archiving, and recovery of their valuable data. With its true open source licensing, users have the freedom to modify and customize the software according to their specific requirements. One of
GitHub - bareos/bareos: Bareos is a cross-network Open Source backup solution (licensed under AGPLv3) which preserves, archives, and recovers data from all major operating systems.
Bareos is a cross-network Open Source backup solution (licensed under AGPLv3) which preserves, archives, and recovers data from all major operating systems. - GitHub - bareos/bareos: Bareos is a c…

8- S.H.I.E.L.D. Data Protection

SHIELD is an advanced data protection solution specifically engineered to empower operations in safeguarding their crucial infrastructural data.

It offers a comprehensive set of tools for efficiently scheduling automated backups of vital systems, encompassing PostgreSQL, MySQL, Consul, Redis, and MongoDB.

Additionally, it provides a seamless mechanism for swiftly restoring backups in the event of any disruptions. The flexibility of storing backups in a multitude of cloud providers, including S3, Scality, Microsoft Azure Blobstore, and others, further enhances the robustness of the solution.

GitHub - shieldproject/shield: A standalone system that can perform backup and restore functions for a wide variety of pluggable data systems
A standalone system that can perform backup and restore functions for a wide variety of pluggable data systems - GitHub - shieldproject/shield: A standalone system that can perform backup and resto…

9- Arkiv

Arkiv is an easy-to-use backup and archive tool that can backup local files and MySQL databases and store them on Amazon S3 and Amazon Glacier. It offers flexible scheduling options and can be used on any Unix/Linux machine.

GitHub - Amaury/Arkiv: Backup and archive tool.
Backup and archive tool. Contribute to Amaury/Arkiv development by creating an account on GitHub.

10- Autobd

Autobd is an automatic backup daemon that runs silently in the background and handles the task of backing up a directory tree.

GitHub - tywkeene/autobd: autobd is an automated, networked and containerized backup solution
autobd is an automated, networked and containerized backup solution - GitHub - tywkeene/autobd: autobd is an automated, networked and containerized backup solution

11- Dackup

Dackup is a fullstack backup tool written in .NET Core that is fast, efficient, and secure. It supports Linux, macOS, and Windows operating systems.

Key Features

  •  Cross-Platform (win/osx/linux).
  •  Docker Container support
  •  No Dependence.
  •  Archive folder or files to tar.gz
  •  Multiple Databases source support.
  •  Multiple Storage type support.
  •  Multiple Notifier type support.
GitHub - huobazi/dackup: Dackup is a free, open source, backup client for your files and database to Cloud
Dackup is a free, open source, backup client for your files and database to Cloud - GitHub - huobazi/dackup: Dackup is a free, open source, backup client for your files and database to Cloud

12- Safety Backup System

The Safety Backup System (SBS) is a project that includes Client, Server, and Remote Access software. It aims to improve user security by preventing data loss from cyberattacks or hardware malfunctions.

The Client software, compatible with Java-supported platforms, copies selected files to a temporary folder, zips them, and either sends them to the Server or stores them in another destination.

GitHub - nicholasmarasco95/SafetyBackupSystem: Safety Backup System is a project complete of Client, Server and Remote Access software, developed to improve security of users. It’s extremely useful to prevent data loss in case of cyberattack or hardware malfunction. SBS can backup computer files and send them to a remote server or store them in an external device.
Safety Backup System is a project complete of Client, Server and Remote Access software, developed to improve security of users. It's extremely useful to prevent data loss in case of cyberattac…

13- Duplicati

Duplicati is a free, open-source backup client that securely stores encrypted, incremental, compressed backups on various cloud storage services and remote file servers. It supports a wide range of platforms and is licensed under LGPL.

Supported protocols and platforms:

  • Amazon S3
  • Backblaze B2
  • DropBox
  • ftp
  • GIO
  • Google Docs
  • Google Drive
  • HSI
  • Hubic
  • IMAP
  • local filesystem
  • Mega.co
  • Microsoft Azure
  • Microsoft Onedrive
  • par2
  • Rackspace Cloudfiles
  • rclone
  • rsync
  • Skylabel
  • ssh/scp
  • SwiftStack
  • Tahoe-LAFS
  • WebDAV
GitHub - duplicati/duplicati: Store securely encrypted backups in the cloud!
Store securely encrypted backups in the cloud! Contribute to duplicati/duplicati development by creating an account on GitHub.

14- TimeVault (Ubuntu)

TimeVault is a backup application for Ubuntu Linux that allows users to create and manage snapshots of their files. It uses incremental backups and the rsync and hardlink features in Linux for efficient storage. Although it is no longer actively maintained, other backup solutions like Deja Dup are available on Ubuntu.

TimeVault - Ubuntu Wiki

15- Timeshift (Linux)

Timeshift is a Linux application that provides functionality similar to System Restore in Windows and Time Machine in Mac OS. It takes incremental snapshots of the file system at regular intervals, allowing for easy restoration of the system to a previous state.

It offers two modes: RSYNC mode, which uses rsync and hard-links to save disk space, and BTRFS mode, which utilizes the features of the BTRFS filesystem.

GitHub - linuxmint/timeshift: System restore tool for Linux. Creates filesystem snapshots using rsync+hardlinks, or BTRFS snapshots. Supports scheduled snapshots, multiple backup levels, and exclude filters. Snapshots can be restored while system is running or from Live CD/USB.
System restore tool for Linux. Creates filesystem snapshots using rsync+hardlinks, or BTRFS snapshots. Supports scheduled snapshots, multiple backup levels, and exclude filters. Snapshots can be re…

16- bup

This is a very efficient backup system called bup, based on the git packfile format. It offers fast incremental saves, global deduplication, and is open source. The document also mentions a mailing list for discussing problems or patches.

Key features

  • Uses a rolling checksum algorithm (like rsync) to split large files into chunks, allowing incremental backups of huge virtual machine (VM) disk images, databases, and XML files without using excessive disk space.
  • Utilizes the packfile format from git, enabling access to stored data even if bup's user interface is not preferred.
  • Writes packfiles directly, making it fast even with large amounts of data, and supports tracking millions of filenames and hundreds or thousands of gigabytes of objects.
  • Automatically shares data between incremental backups without needing to know the backup hierarchy, even if backups are from different computers.
  • Enables direct backup to a remote bup server without requiring temporary disk space on the local computer, and seamlessly resumes interrupted backups.
  • Supports "par2" redundancy for recovering corrupted backups with undetected bad sectors.
  • Incremental backups act as full backups, eliminating the need to restore the full backup and subsequent incrementals individually.
  • Allows mounting of bup repository as a FUSE filesystem and exporting over Samba.
  • Written in Python (with some C parts) for easy extension and maintenance.
GitHub - bup/bup: Very efficient backup system based on the git packfile format, providing fast incremental saves and global deduplication (among and within files, including virtual machine images). Please post problems or patches to the mailing list for discussion (see the end of the README below).
Very efficient backup system based on the git packfile format, providing fast incremental saves and global deduplication (among and within files, including virtual machine images). Please post prob…

17- zVault Backup Solution

zVault is a highly efficient and reliable deduplicating backup solution that offers advanced client-side encryption, powerful compression algorithms, and secure remote storage options. It is the ideal choice for organizations in need of a comprehensive and efficient backup solution.

GitHub - dswd/zvault: Deduplicating backup solution
Deduplicating backup solution. Contribute to dswd/zvault development by creating an account on GitHub.

18- Snaprd

Snaprd is a backup program that allows you to make backups of directories to another file system or server. It can fetch incremental changes from another server and create snapshots based on your schedule or free space restrictions.

Key Features

  • Continuous creation of snapshots at certain intervals
  • Pruning (sieving) snapshots based on fixed schedule, make snapshots more scarce the older they get
  • Pruning snapshots based on free disk space requirements
  • Uses rsync to create snapshots
  • Every snapshot is a complete copy, using hard links to save disk space
  • Designed to run silently in the background
  • Repository is designed to be exported via e. g. nfs or smb to enable users to do restores of single files or directories
  • Tested with small and huge (100TB) backup sources.
Sebastian Stark / snaprd · GitLab
snapshot backups

19- Kebab

Kebab is a backup tool that prioritizes confidentiality, integrity, and availability. It creates compressed and encrypted full backups of files, stored on Amazon S3 or in another directory.

Kebab features a small codebase for easier auditing, modern cryptography, key availability, fast restoration, bucket control, and is free software under the GNU General Public License.

GitHub - davidlazar/kebab: secure backup tool (not maintained)
secure backup tool (not maintained). Contribute to davidlazar/kebab development by creating an account on GitHub.

20- Back In Time

Back In Time is an easy-to-use backup tool for files and folders on GNU Linux. It offers a command line tool and a Qt5 GUI, using rsync to take manual or scheduled snapshots and store them locally or remotely through SSH.

Snapshots are stored as separate folders with hard links to save space. Specify folders to back up, where to save snapshots, and the backup frequency.

GitHub - bit-team/backintime: Back In Time - An an easy-to-use backup tool for Linux
Back In Time - An an easy-to-use backup tool for Linux - GitHub - bit-team/backintime: Back In Time - An an easy-to-use backup tool for Linux

21- Restic

Restic is a modern backup program that offers easy, effective, secure, and verifiable file backups across multiple platforms and storage types. It is a single executable that is free to use and open source.

restic · Backups done right!
GitHub - restic/restic: Fast, secure, efficient backup program
Fast, secure, efficient backup program. Contribute to restic/restic development by creating an account on GitHub.

22- Frost

Frost is a backup program that offers deduplication, compression, and encryption. It is implemented in C++ and uses state-of-the-art compression libraries. It can be used in console mode on Linux and macOS and allows backups to be saved on a remote server without modifying the server software.

The program achieves significant space savings through deduplication, further reduces data size with compression, and encrypts the compressed data in local or remote files.

GitHub - X-Ryl669/Frost: A backup program that does deduplication, compression, encryption
A backup program that does deduplication, compression, encryption - GitHub - X-Ryl669/Frost: A backup program that does deduplication, compression, encryption

23- BorgBackup

BorgBackup is a deduplicating backup program that provides efficient and secure data backup. It supports compression, authenticated encryption, and is suitable for daily backups due to its data deduplication technique.

GitHub - borgbackup/borg: Deduplicating archiver with compression and authenticated encryption.
Deduplicating archiver with compression and authenticated encryption. - GitHub - borgbackup/borg: Deduplicating archiver with compression and authenticated encryption.

24- BackupPC

BackupPC is an enterprise-grade backup system that supports Linux, Windows, and macOS. It offers a web interface for easy administration, data deduplication for storage efficiency, compression with minimal CPU impact, and is open-source. No client-side software is required.

BackupPC: Open Source Backup to disk
BackupPC is a high-performance, enterprise-grade system for backing up Linux, Windows and MacOS PCs and laptops to a server’s disk.

25- Robust Backup

Robust Backup is a powerful file backup solution that offers seamless user experience, effortless synchronization, flexible scheduling, volume snapshot, exclusion lists, and compatibility with Windows 10 and Windows 11. Stay updated with automatic updates through "Softs'ium Update."

Robust Backup
Download Robust Backup for free. Robust Backup is a simple file backup tool. Robust Backup is a simple file backup tool. Easy to use: Choose the source folder and the destination folder (hard disk or network).

Deprecated Projects

Nxs-backup

GitHub - nixys/nxs-backup-python
Contribute to nixys/nxs-backup-python development by creating an account on GitHub.







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