The best free backup software for Windows in 2026
A good backup plan on Windows has two parts: an image of the whole system, so a dead drive or a broken update costs you an hour instead of a weekend, and a copy of your files somewhere else. These six programs do one or both for free.
Based on the publishers’ documentation and package data. We did not install or test these programs for this page. How we compared
Short answer
For a full image of your PC, Veeam Agent Free gives you everything without an upgrade screen. If you want the friendliest window, take AOMEI Backupper Standard. For your documents and photos in the cloud, add Duplicati.
At a glance
| Feature |  Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows | AOMEI Backupper Standard | EaseUS Todo Backup Free | Hasleo Backup Suite Free |  Duplicati |  Kopia |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| System image backup | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Incremental backups | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Differential backups | No | Paid only | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Scheduled backups | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Backup encryption | Yes | — | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Bootable recovery media | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Clone the system disk | No | Paid only | Paid only | Paid only | No | No |
| Back up to cloud storage | — | — | — | — | Yes | Yes |
| Free at work | Workstations | Home use | Home use | No | Yes | Yes |
| Licence | Free | Proprietary | Proprietary | Free | Open source | Open source |
| Latest version | 13.1.1.700 | 8.5.0.0 | 17.5.0 | 5.9.2.4 | 2.4.0.0 | 0.23.1 |
| Last update | August 26, 2026 | October 11, 2026 | July 19, 2025 | October 10, 2026 | September 3, 2026 | June 15, 2026 |
| Package data | ||||||
| Installer | EXE | EXE (Inno Setup) | EXE (Inno Setup) | EXE (Inno Setup) | MSI | EXE (NSIS) |
| Installer builds | 64-bit | 32-bit | 32-bit | 32-bit | 64-bit, ARM64, 32-bit | 64-bit |
| Silent install | Documented | Documented | Documented | Documented | Documented | Documented |
| Install with winget | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| SHA256 hash | Published | Published | Published | Published | Published | Published |
| GitHub stars | — | — | — | — | 15.2K | 14.4K |
| OpenSSF Scorecard | — | — | — | — | 5.7 / 10 | 6.4 / 10 |
Free editions only. “Paid only”: the feature exists in a paid edition of the same program. “—”: the publisher does not say whether the free edition has it.
Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows
Best for: A full image of your PC that you set up once and forget
The free edition is the same agent Veeam sells to companies, without the central management. It makes full-PC, volume and file-level backups, restores a whole machine from a recovery USB stick, and never asks you to upgrade. The interface is plainer than the consumer tools and there is no disk cloning.
Pros
- No feature locked behind an upgrade screen
- Bare-metal restore from a recovery USB stick, SD card, disc or ISO
- Backs up to an external drive or a NAS share
- Forever-incremental backups after the first full one
Cons
- No disk or system cloning
- Fewer wizards and explanations than consumer tools
- Large download and install
Price: Free. Paid editions add central management for companies.
Package data
- Installer
- EXE
- Installer builds
- 64-bit
- Silent install
- Documented
- SHA256 hash
- Published
- Version
- 12 versions in the archive
winget install --id Veeam.VeeamAgent -eAOMEI Backupper Standard
Best for: The easiest start for a home PC
The free Standard edition covers what most home users need: a system image, disk, partition and file backups, daily, weekly or monthly schedules, incremental backups and a WinPE rescue stick. Differential backups, system cloning (“OS migration”) and real-time sync are kept for Professional, and the program reminds you of it.
Pros
- Clear, step-by-step interface
- System, disk, partition and file backup in the free edition
- Daily, weekly and monthly schedules with incremental backups
- Creates WinPE bootable rescue media
Cons
- Clones data disks only: moving Windows to a new SSD needs Professional
- Differential backups and event triggers are paid
- Upgrade prompts inside the program
Price: Standard is free. Professional starts at $39.95 for one PC.
Package data
- Installer
- EXE (Inno Setup)
- Installer builds
- 32-bit
- Download size
- 200.0 MB
- Silent install
- Documented
- SHA256 hash
- Published
winget install --id AOMEI.Backupper.Standard -eEaseUS Todo Backup Free
Best for: Encrypted, scheduled backups without paying
The free edition is generous on the backup side: system images, full, incremental and differential backups, daily, weekly or monthly schedules and encryption are all listed as free. Cloning a disk, a partition or the whole system is not: that is the main reason to buy Home. Expect offers for other EaseUS products.
Pros
- Full, incremental and differential backups for free
- Backup encryption in the free edition
- Daily, weekly and monthly schedules
- Bootable rescue media for a PC that no longer starts
Cons
- No cloning of disks, partitions or the system in Free
- Promotes other EaseUS products
- The winget package can lag behind the publisher’s latest release
Price: Free. Todo Backup Home is listed at $39.95.
Package data
- Installer
- EXE (Inno Setup)
- Installer builds
- 32-bit
- Download size
- 182.0 MB
- Silent install
- Documented
- SHA256 hash
- Published
- Version
- 10 versions in the archive
winget install --id EaseUS.TodoBackup -eHasleo Backup Suite Free
Best for: A light, no-nonsense image backup at home
A small program from the makers of EasyUEFI that backs up and restores the system, whole disks, partitions and files, with full, incremental and differential backups, schedules, encryption and a WinPE emergency disk. The free edition is for home use only and cannot clone the system disk.
Pros
- Small download, simple window
- Full, incremental and differential backups
- Schedules, encryption and a WinPE emergency disk
Cons
- Home use only
- Cannot clone the system disk in the free edition
- Smaller company, smaller community
Price: Free for home use. Home starts at $29.95 and Professional at $44.95 (excluding VAT).
Package data
- Installer
- EXE (Inno Setup)
- Installer builds
- 32-bit
- Silent install
- Documented
- SHA256 hash
- Published
winget install --id Hasleo.BackupSuiteFree -e Duplicati
Best for: Encrypted file backups to the cloud
Duplicati backs up folders, not the whole system: it encrypts them on your PC and sends them to a cloud service, a NAS or another drive, keeping only the changed blocks after the first run. Use it next to an image tool, not instead of one. It is open source and runs as a small web interface in your browser.
Pros
- Encrypts before anything leaves the PC
- Works with many cloud storage services, SFTP, NAS and local drives
- Only changed blocks are uploaded after the first backup
- Open source, free at home and at work
Cons
- Files and folders only: no system image, no bare-metal restore
- Restoring a large backup is slow
- The browser-based interface takes getting used to
Price: Free and open source.
Package data
- Installer
- MSI
- Installer builds
- 64-bit, ARM64, 32-bit
- Silent install
- Documented
- SHA256 hash
- Published
- Version
- 11 versions in the archive
- GitHub stars
- 15.2K · duplicati/duplicati
- Last code change
- October 22, 2026
- OpenSSF Scorecard
- 5.7 / 10
winget install --id Duplicati.Duplicati -e Kopia
Best for: Fast, deduplicated snapshots of your files
Kopia takes snapshots of folders, deduplicates and encrypts them, and stores them locally, on a NAS or in cloud storage. KopiaUI adds a desktop window with schedules (policies) and a snapshot browser. Like Duplicati it does not image Windows itself.
Pros
- Fast snapshots with deduplication and compression
- End-to-end encryption
- Local, NAS and cloud storage
- Open source (Apache 2.0)
Cons
- Files and folders only: no system image
- Policies and repositories are technical concepts
- Fewer step-by-step wizards than consumer tools
Price: Free and open source.
Package data
- Installer
- EXE (NSIS)
- Installer builds
- 64-bit
- Silent install
- Documented
- SHA256 hash
- Published
- Version
- 38 versions in the archive
- GitHub stars
- 14.4K · kopia/kopia
- Last code change
- October 20, 2026
- OpenSSF Scorecard
- 6.4 / 10
winget install --id Kopia.KopiaUI -eImage backup or file backup?
An image backup copies the whole Windows partition, programs and settings included. After a drive failure you boot from a recovery USB stick, point it at the image and get your PC back exactly as it was. Veeam, AOMEI, EaseUS and Hasleo do this.
A file backup copies chosen folders: documents, photos, projects. It is smaller, can go to the cloud every night, and lets you pull back one file from last Tuesday. Duplicati and Kopia do this, and do it better than the image tools.
The safe setup is one of each: a weekly image to an external drive and a daily file backup to another place.
What about cloning?
Cloning copies a disk straight onto another, which is how most people move Windows to a new SSD. None of the four image tools here clones the system disk in its free edition: AOMEI and Hasleo clone data disks only, EaseUS keeps all cloning for Home, and Veeam does not clone at all. You can still move to a new SSD for free by restoring an image onto it from the recovery stick.
Is Windows’ own backup enough?
Windows Backup in Windows 11 saves your folders, settings and the list of your apps to your Microsoft account and OneDrive. It does not make a restorable image of the whole system, and the free OneDrive space runs out quickly. Treat it as a convenience, not a backup plan.
How we compared
- We listed the free backup programs in our catalogue with a Windows installer and an update in the last two years, and kept the ones people actually choose between.
- Every feature in the table was read on the publisher’s own edition comparison or product page on the date shown at the top. Where a publisher does not say whether its free edition has a feature, we do not claim it does.
- We did not install or benchmark the programs for this page: there are no speed or restore-time figures here, because we have not measured them.
- Version numbers, installer types, silent install switches, hashes, GitHub activity and OpenSSF Scorecard results come from the Windows Package Manager data and the projects’ public repositories, which we update every day.
- We do not accept payment for including or ranking a program.
ExeAtlas is not paid to include a program or to rank it. Download buttons lead to our page for the program, which links only to the publisher’s own installer.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best free backup software for Windows 11?
For a full system image, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows Free: it has no paid features held back and restores a whole PC from a recovery USB stick. For a simpler interface, AOMEI Backupper Standard.
Is free backup software safe?
The programs listed here are from established publishers and their installers come from the publishers’ own servers. Download them from the official site or through winget, never from a mirror that repackages them.
Can I clone my system drive to an SSD for free?
Not with the free editions of AOMEI, EaseUS or Hasleo, which keep system cloning for paid editions. Make an image with any of them, then restore it onto the new SSD from the recovery media: the result is the same.
How often should I back up?
A system image once a week and after big changes, and your files every day. Incremental backups keep the daily runs small.