Info about more than 100 Mac backup apps and a Retrospect 6.x primer!
by Joe Kissell
Welcome! If you want to compare features in Mac backup apps or get help with Retrospect 6.x, you are in the right place. The content here is free to all, but it is associated with a commerical ebook, written by Joe Kissell and published by TidBITS Publishing Inc. The ebook helps you figure out your best strategy for making backups in Tiger and Leopard, and then it covers all the details of set up, testing, maintenance, and restoration.
There are over 100 Mac OS X programs one can use to back up a hard disk. On an almost daily basis, I find updates and entirely new backup programs, and developers seem intent on inventing entirely new ways of approaching the age-old problem of keeping your data safe. In Take Control of Mac OS X Backups, I go into great detail about developing a backup strategy, selecting media, setting up a backup system, and recovering data when the need arises. And I also discuss the criteria you should consider when choosing backup software. But there’s no way I could keep the book even approximately up to date with details of every Mac backup program, so instead I’ve listed them in this online appendix. My intention is to update it regularly so that it will be a reasonably comprehensive and reliable resource.
In Take Control of Mac OS X Backups, I emphasize two main types of backups. One is the bootable duplicate, in which the backup software makes an identical copy of your entire startup disk and stores it on another hard drive in such a way that you can start your Mac from your backup drive if your main disk fails. The other is the versioned backup, in which the backup software copies some or all of your files to another location (such as a hard disk, network server, or DVD) and then, on subsequent runs, adds to your backup only new or changed files—but without deleting or overwriting what was previously copied. Because I think these two elements are the cornerstones of a solid backup strategy, I’ve divided the applications and services shown here into two groups: those that have either or both of these features (the top portion of the table), and those that have neither (at the bottom).
In this table, I also indicate whether a program is compatible with Leopard and/or Snow Leopard and whether it’s available on any other platforms as well. Here, as in the other tables on this site, click a column heading for more information about the feature being described.
Enterprise-grade backup software is not shown here.
Last updated: February 7, 2010
| Product Name | Price | Bootable Duplicates | Versioned Backups | Leopard Compat- ible |
Snow Leopard Compat- ible |
Available for Other Platforms | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [a] Can create bootable duplicates over a network. | |||||||
| Apple Backup 3.1.2 | free with $99 MobileMe membership | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||
| Backblaze 1.0.1.162 | $5 per month or $50 per year for unlimited storage of data from a single computer. | Yes | Yes | Yes | Windows | ||
| BackJack 5.1 | Pricing starts at $100 per year, for 10 user-specific blocks of 10 GB each. | Yes | Yes | Not Yet | Unlike earlier incarnations of the service, BackJack 5.1 is geared solely toward business users. | ||
| Backup Manager Pro 1.0.2 | $39.96; bundled free with some LaCie drives | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | This is a customized version of Intego’s Personal Backup X5. | |
| Backuplist+ 6.2 | donation suggested | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | ||
| BackupRight Pro | $129.99/mo for 500 GB | Yes | Yes | ? | Linux, Windows | Highly negative user comment on SenseList gives me pause. Uses AhsayOBM software. | |
| BounceBack Professional 8.2 | download only, $39; CD, $49 | Yes | Yes | ? | Windows | No demo version available. | |
| BRU LE 1.3.7 | $129.00 | Yes | Yes (see note) | Yes | Linux | According to BRU, "If you have a Leopard system and you use Time Machine in conjunction with BRU LE, it is a good idea to disable Time Machine for the duration of the BRU LE backup." | |
| BRU Producer’s Edition 2.0.1 | $499.00 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||
| bruCLONE 1.2.2 | $69.95 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||
| Carbon Copy Cloner 3.3 | donation suggested | Yes [a] | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| ChronoSync 4.0.2 | $30.00 | Yes [a] | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Clone X 3.3.0 | $49.00 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Can also create bootable DVDs and copy minimal systems, or systems without Users folder. | ||
| CopyCatX 4.2 | $59.95 | Yes | Yes | ? | Demo version doesn’t support duplicates. | ||
| CrashPlan 11.5.2009 | free; unlimited online storage starts at $3.50 per month | Yes | Yes | Yes | Linux, Windows | ||
| CrashPlan+ 11.5.2009 | $59.99; unlimited online storage starts at $3.50 per month | Yes | Yes | Yes | Linux, Windows | ||
| CrushSync 1.4 | $20 | Yes | Yes | ? | Linux, Windows | ||
| Data Backup 3.0.5 | $59.00 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Windows | |
| Datatrieve | Pricing starts at £5 (about $10) per month for 1 GB of storage. | Yes | Yes | ? | Linux, Windows | Uses same software as Depositit. | |
| Déjà Vu 3.4.2 | $24.95 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Depositit | Pricing starts at £60 (about $120) per year for 250 MB of storage. | Yes | Yes | ? | Linux, Windows | Uses same software as Datatrieve. | |
| DiskTools Pro | $79.99 | Yes | Yes | ? | |||
| Dropbox 0.7.15 | 2GB free; 50 GB, $9.99/mo; 100 GB, $19.99/mo | Yes | Yes | Yes | Windows, iPhone | ||
| DV Backup Standard 1.4.4 | $50.00 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||
| ElephantDesktop 4.1.3 | Pricing starts at $4.95 per month for unlimited storage of data from a single computer. | Yes | Yes | ? | Windows | ||
| FoldersSynchronizer X 3.6.3 | $40.00 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||
| Get Backup 2.2.5 | $39.95 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||
| IBackup for Mac 1.2.0 | Pricing starts at $9.95 per month for 10 GB of storage. | Yes | Yes | Yes | Windows | Uses same software as IDrive. Free trial requires credit card information. | |
| IDrive Online Backup 1.3.9 | 2 GB free; $4.95 per month for 150 GB of storage. | Yes | Yes | ? | Windows | Uses same software as IBackup. | |
| Instant Backup 1.6.5 | $9.95 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||
| JaBack 8.29 | free | Yes | ? | ? | Linux, Windows | Extremely complicated user interface; difficult to set up. | |
| Jungle Disk 3.04 | $2&endash;$5 per month depending on edition; S3 storage extra | Yes | Yes | Yes | Linux, Windows | ||
| MacTuneUp | $34.99 | Yes | Yes | ? | |||
| Memeo Backup 2.5.120 | $29.95 | Yes | Yes | ? | Windows | ||
| Memopal 1.0.0 RC1 Build 1125 | 49€/year for up to 150 GB | Yes | Yes | ? | Linux, Windows, iPhone | ||
| MimMac 1.10 | $10.00 | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||
| MozyHome 1.3.2 | $4.95/month per computer | Yes | Yes | ? | Windows | ||
| Norton Online Backup | $49.99/year for 25 GB of storage from up to 5 computers | Yes | Yes | Yes | Windows | ||
| NTI Shadow 4.1.0.23 | $29.99 | Yes | Yes | ? | Windows | ||
| Offsite Backup Solutions | Pricing starts at $25/month for up to 5 GB. | Yes | Yes | ? | Linux, Windows | Uses AhsayOBM software. | |
| Parachute 1.0 | $39.00 | see note | Yes | Yes | Can save multiple (full) backups OR back up incrementally, but not both. | ||
| Personal Backup X5 10.5.7 | $49.95 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Prolifix | $5/GB per month | Yes | Yes | ? | Linux, Windows | Uses AhsayOBM software. | |
| PsyncX 2.2.2 | donation suggested | Yes | Yes | ? | |||
| QRecall 1.1.4 | $40.00 ($30 introductory price) | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||
| QuickBack 2.3.4 (part of SpeedTools Utilities) |
$89.95 | Yes | Yes | ? | No demo version available. | ||
| Retrospect Desktop 8.1.626 | $129 | Yes [a] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Windows | |
| Rhinoback 5.5.5.3 | Prices range from free (500 MB) to $79.95/month (40 GB). | Yes | Yes | ? | Linux, Windows | Uses AhsayOBM software. | |
| RipCord 1.0b15c10 | donation suggested | Yes | Yes | ? | |||
| SilverKeeper 2.0.2 | free | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||
| SmartBackup 2.5.2 | 15 € (about $22) | Yes | Yes | see note | Yes | ||
| SpiderOak 3.0.9200 | 2 GB free; $10/month or $100/year per 100 GB | Yes | Yes | Yes | Linux, Windows | ||
| Steekup 4.7.0.005286 | Prices range from $24.90 (1 GB for 1 year) to $169.90 (100 GB for 2 years). | Yes | Yes | ? | Windows | ||
| SugarSync 1.5 | Prices range from $2.49/month (for 10 GB) to $24.99/month (for 250 GB). | Yes (see note) | Yes | Yes | Windows, iPhone | Can sync between Macs (and PCs and handhelds). Keeps up to five previous versions of files. | |
| Super Flexible File Synchronizer Standard Edition 4.88a |
$34.90 | Yes | Yes | - | Windows | ||
| Super Flexible File Synchronizer Professional Edition 4.88a |
$59.90 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Windows | ||
| SuperDuper 2.6.2 | $27.95; free “clone-only” version available | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||
| Sync!Sync!Sync!LE 4.1.2 | $15.00 | Yes | Yes | ? | |||
| Synchronize Pro X 6.1.1 | $99.95 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Synk Backup 6.5.4 | $25.00 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Synk Standard 6.5.4 | $35.00 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Synk Pro 6.5.4 | $45.00 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Time Machine 1.1 | included with Leopard (1.0) and Snow Leopard (1.1) | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||
| Tri-Backup 5.2.4 | $69.00 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Tri-Backup Pro 5.2.2 | $99.00 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Xupport 3.4.5 | $19.90 | Yes | Yes | ? | |||
Synchronization and Copying Products |
|||||||
| AASync 2.1.6 | free for local syncs only; $29 for local<->remote | Yes | Yes | Windows | |||
| ArchiveMac 1.2.7 | $24.99 | Yes | Yes | Designed only for archiving files to optical discs. | |||
| arSync 0.4.1 | free | Yes | ? | ||||
| BackJack Continuum 1.0b9 | Projected to be $0.25/GB per month | Yes | ? | ||||
| BackupNow 1.0 | donation suggested | Yes | ? | ||||
| Bandwagon | $2 per month, paid annually; storage space extra | ? | |||||
| Carbonite 1.0.0 build 210 | $49.95 per year for unlimited storage of files from a single computer | Yes | Not Yet | Windows | Currently in public beta testing; some features may not work correctly. | ||
| Clunk Click | Pricing starts at £5 (about $10) per month for 550 MB of storage. | ? | Yes | ? | Linux, Windows | ||
| Compare Folders 3.4.1 | $24.95 | Yes | ? | Doesn’t advertise itself as being a backup program. | |||
| DV Backup Lite 1.4.3 | $20.00 | Yes | Yes | ||||
| EasyRsync 0.1 | free | Yes | ? | ||||
| FilesAnywhere (FA Sync 1.3.1.4) | 1 GB free; $8.95/month for 5 GB; additional storage extra | Yes | ? | Windows | Same software as AASync (earlier version). FilesAnywhere’s Windows software offers many additional features. | ||
| FileSync 2.2 | free | Yes | ? | ||||
| Folder Backup 3.1 | 15€ (about $22) | Yes | Yes | ||||
| GrabBack 1.4.1 | $9.95 | Yes | ? | ||||
| iBackup 2009 (6.7.1) | free | Yes | Yes | ||||
| iBackupIT 1.7 | free | ? | ? | I was Unable to get iBackupIT 1.7 to run under Leopard. | |||
| iMsafe 2.0 | $39.00 | Yes | ? | ||||
| iShelter 1.0.1 | free | Yes | ? | ||||
| LaCie 1-Click Backup 1.2.1 | free with LaCie hard drive | Yes | ? | Windows | |||
| MagicMirror 1.41 | free | ? | ? | I couldn’t get MagicMirror to copy any files under Leopard. | |||
| Martian LifeBoat 1.0.1 | $13.99 | Yes | Yes | ||||
| Match 1.3 | $49.00 | Yes | ? | ||||
| S3 Backup | free | ? | Windows | No functioning Mac build at this time. | |||
| Snap Backup 4.4 | free | Yes | ? | Linux, Windows | |||
| StuffIt Archive Manager 14.0.0 (part of StuffIt Deluxe) |
$79.99 | Yes | ? | Windows | |||
| Synchronize X Plus 3.7.1 | $29.95 | Yes | ? | ||||
| Time Warp | $25 | Yes | Yes | ||||
| Twin 1.2 | $69.11 | Yes | Yes | ||||
| Unison 2.27.72 | free | Yes | ? | Linux, Windows | This table lists only the GUI version of Unison. The command-line version has many more features. | ||
Bootable Duplicates: If the software can create an exact copy of your entire startup disk such that you can use the copy to boot your Mac, it gets a “Yes” in the Bootable Duplicates column. Note, however, that not all such programs are created equal. For example, those marked with footnote [a] can perform the unusual feat of making a bootable backup on a drive connected to another Mac on your network. Also see the Metadata Support column on the Other Features page, as faithful copying of metadata is important for a good duplication program.
Versioned Backups: A versioned backup starts with a complete copy of all the files in one or more folders. The next time the backup runs, your backup software could make another complete copy, but because most of the files probably have not changed in the meantime, that would use up a great deal of space—and also take a long time. So backup programs typically perform an incremental update. This means that on subsequent runs, the software scans the folders you’ve designated and copies only those files that are new (or newly modified) since the last backup. By definition, versioned backups must be additive, meaning the backup program adds the new or changed data to the backup without overwriting the files already there. That way, you can retrieve many different versions of a given file, and if you delete it on your hard disk, you can still find it in your backup.
Leopard and/or Snow Leopard Compatible: With only a few exceptions, the software shown here is fully compatible with Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, running on either an Intel-based or PowerPC-based Mac. A few programs, however, have not been (and will not be) updated for Leopard. Similarly, most either have Snow Leopard-compatible versions or will soon be updated to work on Snow Leopard. A “?” in this column simply means the developer hasn’t stated whether the software runs on Snow Leopard. In any case, if the software in question won’t run on your version of Mac OS X, it’s not worth considering.
Available for Other Platforms: A number of Mac backup programs also come in versions for Linux and/or Windows. This might be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on the program. If you need to back up several computers running different operating systems, you may appreciate the convenience and familiarity of a single tool that works on all of them. Usually, though not always, if you create versioned backups with a multi-platform program, you can open and restore your files from another platform than the one you used to back them up. On the other hand, a few of the cross-platform programs have truly hideous user interfaces that were either written in Java without any consideration for the Mac aesthetic, or very badly ported from another operating system.