As mentioned in my recent article on Paragon Backup & Restore Free, I have written about many free image backup software - 10 to be exact. Out of all my articles, three were my top picks: Paragon Backup & Restore Free, Macrium Reflect Free, and EASEUS Todo Backup. I decided it is now time to do a clear and comprehensive comparison of all three to see which one is "best". Although I am not a big fan of it, I decided to include DriveImage XML in this comparison also because many people have requested me to review it (even though I already did include it in my other article) and I am afraid they may stab me in my sleep if I don't write about it now. Furthermore, even though Acronis True Image Home is a commercial image backup software while the other four are free image backup software, I have been asked to include Acronis in this comparison and considering how popular it is, I am more than obliged. However keep in mind because Acronis is a commercial program, it will have many goodies that free image backup software don't have so it really wouldn't be a fair fight in terms of features.
When comparing image backup software, the two things to compare are features and performance (user friendliness is also important, but most image backup software are point and click anyway). So lets get to it.
Features
As you can see, for the most part the main features are present in all five software. Here are the feature differences I would like to highlight:
- Interestingly enough, DriveImage XML is the only one that is able to create a backup image of a USB/flash drive. Even Acronis did not detect my USB/flash drive and give me the option to create an image backup of it (unless of course, I missed it but I highly doubt that).
- Amongst the free image backup software, Paragon is the only one that can do differential backups; all others can only do full backups.
- Amongst the free image backup software, Paragon is the only one that can create a bootable USB/flash drive.
- EASEUS Todo Backup is the only one that is free for everyone - commercial and non-commercial use.
- DriveImage XML is the only one with a portable version (as far as I know).
- DriveImage XML is a less than 2 MB download while the other software are much, much larger.
Performance
All image backup software were tested under the similar conditions on the same computer: a laptop running Windows 7 Professional 32-bit with 3GB of RAM, a Radeon HD 2600 512MB graphics card, and an Intel T8300 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo processor.
Each image backup software was made to do a full image backup of a 10.4 GB (4.77 GB filled) partition. Each program was set to the highest compression setting available for the program. This is how they all performed:
Not surprisingly, Acronis has the best figures in speed and compression. However it is worth noting Acronis is also the more heavy on computer resources. Both EASEUS And DriveImage performed well in terms of compression but both are really slow. Macrium was the least resource intensive, and yet it was the second fastest; however compression can be improved for Macrium seeing as it is beat out by EASEUS, DriveImage, and Acronis in that category.
One weird thing worth mentioning is after I ran EASEUS the first time, from which I got the above results, I went back to test EASEUS again to make sure my results were accurate and consistent. However EASEUS kept locking up my computer about 15 seconds into the image backup and I would have to hard reset. This happened three times. Not sure what is up.
Conclusion
Personally speaking, if I had the money to purchase Acronis True Image, I would because the two things I like most for image backup software are speed and compression. However, for those that don't want to purchase Acronis don't fret; as you can see by my results posted about, Paragon Backup & Recovery Free, Macrium Reflect Free, EASEUS Todo Backup, and DriveImage XML are all great, and well performing, free image backup software. It is hard to go wrong with either of them (except maybe EASEUS Todo Backup; users may want to wait until the developer updates it a little bit more and fixes the bugs). Which one you will use depends on your needs. If you want a free image backup software that is small in size and has the best compression, go with DriveImage XML (however before you go with DriveImage XML, be sure to Google and learn how to create the bootable CD/DVD - see the How-To-Geek forum link which is the fourth one down - because creating a bootable disk is quite difficult with DriveImage XML). If you want a fast and light on computer resources software, go with Macrium Reflect Free. If you are on a netbook and don't have a CD/DVD drive, grab Paragon Backup & Recovery Free so you can make use of the bootable USB/flash drive. Personally, my favorite is still Macrium Reflect Free because it is fast but still light on computer resources.
Whichever one you decide to go with, you can grab them from the following links:
>>Speed up your computer with Auslogics BoostSpeedParagon Backup & Restore Free
Version reviewed: v10 Build 8927 (30.09.09 ) Free Edition
Supported OS: Windows 2000, XP, Vista, Win7
License limitation: Non-commercial use only
dotTech full review on Paragon Backup & Restore Free
Paragon Backup & Restore Free Edition homepage
[Direct download - 32-bit version]
[Direct download - 64-bit version]
Macrium Reflect Free
Version reviewed: v4.2 build 2082
Supported OS: Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7
License limitation: For personal use
dotTech article on Macrium Reflect Free
EASEUS Todo Backup
Version reviewed: v1.0
Supported OS: Windows 2000/2003/XP/Vista/2008
License limitation: No limitation - free for everyone
dotTech article on EASEUS Todo Backup
DriveImage XML
Version reviewed: v2.12
Supported OS: Windows XP, 2003, Vista, or Windows 7
License limitation: For private use
Acronis True Image Home
Version reviewed: 2010 build 5,055
Supported OS: Windows XP, Vista, Win7
Price: $49.99
Farrukh
AOA
Although, I’m still reading, but I jumped directly to conclusion paragraph.
Thanks a lot for such informative article and good guidance
Ozzie
Brilliant! Thanks for taking the time to do this comparison Ashraf! A very big help indeed! You are a wonder, there is no doubt!
Again, how you manage to do all this is completely and utterly beyond me – but I’m sincerely grateful that you are able to do it (and I know I’m not alone in that sentiment)!
Shi
Hi
Interesting article. Found it useful as have been wondering which would be better to use on my system. The only one i have not tried is Macrium Reflect Free. I have not heard of it before this review. Since you give it high praise I will give it a whirl. I also find Todo has issues with locking system up.
Cheers
Harry
I was hoping you would say Macrium Reflect – although you don’t say exactly why. I’ve not tried them all but Macrium just has such a good ‘feel’ to it – maybe it’s harder to define these things which make using software more enjoyable!
Fred Smith
I have used all the free programs listed here but when I saw Acronis True Image Home 2009 on special for $30 I bought it. I have found it easy to use and very reliable. It recognizes my two 500Gb external USB drives and I can backup:> HDD to USB, USB to USB or USB to HDD. It does not however recognise my 2Gb USB Flash drive. Very happy with it so far.
FostWare
Acronis Home 2009 WD is a free download for WD Caviar SATA owners:-
http://support.wdc.com/product/download.asp?groupid=608&lang=en
Ozzie
@ FostWare: Please excuse my ignorance, but what is “WD Caviar SATA”? I take it that it’s not for your average joe with a basic OS …
FostWare
@Ozzie: The ATIH:WD edition checks for the existence of a Western Digital Caviar(tm) SATA hard drive in your computer, before the program will start.
It is free for those users because it’s tied to the hard drive manufacturer. It’s ideal for anyone that owns a Western Digital, whether they are a ‘techie’ or not.
FostWare
@Ashraf: Thanks heaps for this. Most other reviews only cover the commercial versions and even then the results feel a little tainted with “advertorial”
captcha
@FostWare: ATI WD Edition is not a stripped-down ATI Home 2009 (v12), but a stripped-down ATI 11 Home.
captcha
Macrium Reflect FE direct download: http://www.macrium.com/download/direct/reflect_setup_free_x86_x64.exe
Ashraf, are you sure that a WinPE disc can be created by MR FE?
Ron
Nice work, Ashraf! I’ve used Acronis on all my machines since v.7; nothing would convince me to abandon the software, afaict. That said, I was intrigued by the article about Paragon the other day. I tried the program on a laptop running XP Pro with 2Gb RAM and was impressed. I may install Paragon B&R Free on a couple of non-critical boxes, thanks to you.
Jofre
Hi Ashraf, two little things:
1.- The link to Macrium website is wrong, it has two http:\\
2.- Maybe when you refer to winpe you are talking about bartpe because macrium free only has plugin for bartpe cd and macrium full has plugins for both: bartpe and winpe.
Excellent article, thank you for your time and great effort.
Bye
youngatheart1946
G’day Ashraf and fellow techies. Once again Ashraf you have enlightened us all with your excellent reviews of imaging software, thanks MATE!
I have tried all the above EXCEPT DriveImage XML and found the two that stand out as the MOST RELIABLE are Paragon and Acronis. I am currently using ATI Home(purchased) on my XP desktop AND my XP Lenovo Laptop and so far (and I don’t expect things to change) I am very VERY pleased indeed. All the bells and whistles in a backup program are not worth a thing IF THAT SOFTWARE IS UNRELIABLE.
I always look forward to reading your reviews no matter what the subject….keep it up Mate!
Sincerely
youngatheart1946
Ozzie
@ FostWare: Thanks for the clarification. Appreciated. (Although I confess I’m still a little in the dark about it all … *sigh – a bit technically challenged*)
Ashraf
@Farrukh: Wasalaam. You are welcome =).
@Ozzie: You are welcome =). It took me most of yesterday to do it; stayed up late at night to finish it so now I need Starbucks or else I will fall asleep behind the wheel LOL.
@Shi: Great to know I helped.
@Harry: I updated the post to include a quick word or two why I like Macrium.
@Fred Smith: Acronis is great no doubt. I was truly surprised to see it doesn’t backup USB/flash drives.
@FostWare: Seagate owners can also get something similar. See my post at http://dottech.org/featured/6194. However keep in mind the Seagate/WD versions are stripped down versions of old Acronis. Last time I used them, they were extremely slow.
@Ozzie and @FostWare: Some people say they have gotten the Seagate version working on non-Seagate drives.
@FostWare: You are very welcome.
@captcha: I apologize. I should have been clear. Macrium Free actually has BartPE. I updated my post to clarify this point.
@Ron: Cool =).
@Jofre: Thanks I updated the link. Also, you are correct about BartPE/WinPE. I updated my post to clarify this point, thanks.
@youngatheart1946: You are welcome.
Boohoo
Dear Ashraf,
Why did you leave Norton Ghost 14 out of your comparison? It can be downloaded at http://spftrl.digitalriver.com/pub/symantec/2004/NGH140_AllWin_EnglishTryBuy30.exe or at http://spftrl.digitalriver.com/pub/symantec/tbyb/NAM/NGH140_AllWin_EnglishTryBuy30.exe
DancEasy
@Ashraf. The best about GAOTD is, that it led me to dotTech[.org], a highly recommendable site – fully loaded with useful and interesting information. You are doing a great job. Many thanks.
Iouri
Hello Ashraf,
Thanks a lot for doing a very good job. It helps a lot of people. Could you please write down your opinion about Norton Ghost 14.0 vs all the above softwares you mentioned. I’d appreciate it.
All the best to you.
Samuel
@Ashraf
If you don’t have Ghost to test with, I have it, though mines version 11, not 14.
Ashraf
@Boohoo: I originally only planned on comparing free image backup software. I only added in Acronis because I was requested. No one asked me to include Norton Ghost and I did not remember Norton Ghost myself. I will be sure to include it in an “update”.
@DancEasy: You are very welcome.
@Iouri: I will include Norton Ghost soon.
@Samuel: Thanks for the offer but I think I will see if I can get a trial version of Norton Ghost as I did with Acronis.
Samuel
@Ashraf: ok. Just one thing, I know that my copy at least is not offically portable, though with the bootable CD it sort of is, but it is posable to use it portable, just not offically.
Ashraf
@Samuel: Ok. Thanks for the heads up.
Keyur
Hi Ashraf, Nice article. I always had a trouble with Paragon image backup and restore. The most important part is how successful the software is in restoring the backup image. I had no success with Paragon (may be my fault). I had 100 % success rate with Macrium reflect on my windows vista 64 bit laptop. I also had 100 % success rate with Acronis true image on my windows xp 32 bit laptop. I will go with Macrium because it really works when it comes to restoring backup image.
computersexplore
Even though you didn’t say so in your summary, your chart shows that Paragon (free) is almost as feature-rich as Acronis (paid). Since I happen to want some of those features not found on the other free image backuppers (sic), I like Paragon best for having those features and still being free. Up till now I had been a fan of Acronis, but it looks like I’ve just been won over (not run over) by Paragon.
normofthenorth
Thanks, Ashraf!
I bought a copy of ATIH 11.0 maybe 2 years ago during a silly promotion, maybe US$10. I’ve been pretty happy with it, though some of my restores have been super-slo-mo, maybe because it uses my (IBM TP40’s) USB2.0 port as a USB1.0?
A few months ago, I set up my sister’s two laptop computers for quick-and-easy “user-friendly” backup routines to her external HDD.
Mostly on your say-so, I set her up with Macrium Reflect Free. (They probably wouldn’t mind the cost, but I was also in a rush.)
My main disappointment was that the Linux-based boot CDs wouldn’t work on either of her (different) laptops.
Eventually, I got them both set up with the BartPE boot CDs. It wasn’t very simple, and I was up WAY too late making it work. But now, all they have to do to make a new backup is to hook up the Ext. HDD and click on an icon, and off it goes! (I figure that I’ll be visiting again long before the 500GB HDD starts filling up!)
FWIW, I don’t think Acronis would let me set up a single click-and-go icon the way Macrium did!
Sam
Hi Ashraf,
Nice review! Are you sure Macrium Reflect Free won’t restore to a different HDD? I can’t see anything on their site which states this limitation and the full version certainly says that it does!
mohsen
hi,thanks for your article,
i have the same problem in todo,it failed to backup my partition after the first successful backup.
also the size of archive you wrote is a little wired, in my system size of acronis archive is almost half of the used space in drive C with XPsp3.
also paragon obviously does more compression than you mentioned above
Sam
To answer my own question
I actually e-mailed Macrium and got the following reply:
————–
Hi
Thanks for contacting us.
You can restore an image to any disk as long as it is the same size or larger than the original.
Kind Regards
Nick Sills – Macrium Support
support (_at_) macrium.com
————–
Jack
Good article.I went ahead and downloaded Paragon I’m going to give a try-out this afternoon.As it may come in handy I been thinking of doing a reformat on this drive to clean things up. so If i can save a ton of stuff that I use all the time all will be grand.
Jack
To update downloaded it it gave me all my numbers in the email they sent me but I can’t install it. as it keeps saying invalid ser.# sent support an email no reply so i’m going to try “macrium”
Boohoo
Dear Ashraf,
Norton Ghost 15 has arrived!
30-day trial download (119 MB): http://spftrl.digitalriver.com/pub/symantec/2004/NGH150_AllWin_EnglishTryBuy30.exe
Best,
B
VistaUser
Hello guys, I just want to share my experience with Paragon Backup and Restore. The backup of my laptop took 80 minutes (vs 1 hour with ghost 14). The restore, however, took forever. It said “0 minutes left”, but it’s been 7 hours already and it is still not finished. I was very happy with Paragon Backup and Restore at first because its restore CD was one of the very few (along with Ghost 14) that were able to detect the SATA controller in my laptop (even Acronis failed there). However, given the ridiculously slow (and somewhat simple) restore process, I would not recommend it.
Nick
Thanks for a great comparison!
I’m using Paragon’s backup software and so far having no problems with it. I’ve downloaded it because it has the most attractive features set among other freebies.
Mark
Thanks Ashraf, an excellent article and a great introduction to dottech. I shall be exploring further. I wanted to comment because, following your article, I’ve installed and started using Macrium Reflect. One feature your table suggests is missing is restoring to a different hard disk. I’ve not done it but the option appears to be there in the GUI as you work through the restore wizard, so far I’ve stopped short of doing one.
So as Sam says above I think it’s there.
Cheers,
Mark
Sunny
Excellent job Ashraf. An article that will be helpful to many people. Trouble with your site is that it’s way too attractive and interesting and I’ve been known to still be meandering through it at 2 am. It’s got a particularly good and friendly relaxed atmosphere which draws some of us back again and again.
BTW you’re not the only one who sits and stares at the computer screen. I usually become quite comatosed after a while
It’s kind of mesmerising.
Ray
Currently I’m testing paragon and macrium free. Paragon does seem a bit slower, even more so on the restoring an image side than creating.
Macrium site does have a tutorial for creating incementals and scheduling them to auto run.
Macrium also includes the bartpe and how to create it, seems paragon does not, unless you purchase paid version. Same with winpe both say you can get it with paid versions.
BartPE is a nice addition for macrium, I don’t know if it works with vista or win7, maybe a 64 bit thing. But it does work on xp 32 bit great.
My ultimate goal is to test these out on my xp computers. When I find the one I like best trying it on my win7 computer. I just don’t want to mess it up. Hence the backup software, but it’s so new I’m afraid to put new software on it. Should be a fun project overall! Thanks for the reviews.
Ted
Did I miss it or did this review not include the single most important factor about backup software – how well it restores the backup image?
I’ve had experience with all of the free programs listed, and ONLY Paragon worked for me – over and over and flawlessly.
In fact, Paragon was the first I used (aside from Driveimage which is pretty much worthless), and so I expected Macrium and Easeus to perform pretty much the same way… boy was I surprised
Easeus took nine hours to back up 200 gigabytes, and took a lot more space to do it. I never tried to restore the resulting image since I’m not going to be doing nine-hour backups. It may work fine, or it may do what Macrium did…
Macrium took about an hour and a half to do an image backup, about the same as Paragon. But when I tried to restore the partition from the boot CD, it was so slow that I calculated it would take four days!
I’m not exaggerating. Now you may think what I thought – that the restore would pick up speed at some point – and it might. But I let it run for nine hours and it showed 9% restored, so I wasn’t willing to wait longer to find out. I popped in the Paragon rescue CD, restored that in an hour and a half, and I was back as if nothing had happened.
I subsequently contacted Macrium and was told that there must be a quirk in my system, (a controller or something that I feel I shouldn’t have to be concerned with) that caused the Linux CD to perform poorly, and I was referred to their paid version which the gentleman claimed had better version of Linux for the restore CD.
He may be right. It may work flawlessly. But I wasn’t willing to pay to find out considering that the free version wasn’t exactly great advertisement, and considering that Paragon had already proven itself over and over.
However… All that I’ve related above pertained to a Vista HP operating system. I haven’t had to use any restore since I’ve upgraded, and I hope I never will. But ironically, I’m not resting easy until I have trouble and I find that Paragon does the same job it did on Vista.
And the reason I was interested in looking beyond Paragon since it worked so well? It’s because Parqagon has a slow and clunky way of accessing backed up files if you only want to copy one you accidentally deleted… all the others were much better at that.
murda
Ah we still use the old and mighty drive snapshot.
Easy gui and you can find many bat scripts for it.
The gui looks dull, but don’t let the looks fool you.
This program rocks http://www.drivesnapshot.de/en/
It has never failed me