Time Machine Alternatives

Time Machine is described as 'is the breakthrough automatic backup that’s built right into Mac OS X. It keeps an up-to-date copy of everything on your Mac — digital photos, music, movies, TV shows, and documents. Now, if you ever have the need, you can easily go back in time to recover anything' and is a very popular System Restore tool in the backup & sync category. There are more than 50 alternatives to Time Machine for a variety of platforms, including Windows, Linux, Mac, FreeBSD and BSD. The best alternative is Duplicati, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like Time Machine are Rollback Rx, Macrium Reflect, Reboot Restore Rx and Restic.

Time Machine alternatives are mainly System Restore Tools but may also be Disk Imaging Tools or Disk Cloning Tools. Filter by these if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of Time Machine.

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Time Machine

171

Free • Proprietary
System Restore Tool
Mac

Time Machine is the breakthrough automatic backup that’s built right into Mac OS X. It keeps an up-to-date copy of...

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Duplicati
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Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Backup Client
File Sync Tool
Mac
Windows
Linux
BSD
127 alternatives to Duplicati
Duplicati is a backup client that securely stores encrypted, incremental, compressed backups on local storage, cloud storage services and remote file servers. The Duplicati project was inspired by Duplicity and had similar functionality until 2008.
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Duplicati Features
1. Incremental BackupDuplicati supports incremental backups (only back up the changed or new-added data since the last backup).
2. Schedule BackupDuplicati supports scheduling of your backups at specific times or intervals.
3. Encrypted BackupDuplicati uses encryption algorithms to keep your files safe as well as prevent unauthorized access.
4. Automatic BackupDuplicati will automatically back up your data periodically.
5. File VersioningDuplicati has a version system that lets you view and go back to older versions of the project/file/document.
6. Cloud SyncSync your data (notes, documents, bookmarks, etc.) across your different devices and to the cloud.
7. AES-256 EncryptionDuplicati has AES-256 Encryption, i.e. very strong security.
Data deduplication
Local Storage
Email notifications
Scheduling
Support for Amazon Glacier
Task Scheduling
Web-Based
Backup to Cloud Storage
WebUI Management
Guided configuration
Duplicati vs Time Machine opinions
Almost everyone thinks Duplicati is a great alternative to Time Machine.
Guest
Only backs up the changes instead of the whole file, just like Time Machine.
Positive comment•
2

Guest
because it saves the whole backup every time, not just the changes like time machine does
Negative comment•
-15
Rollback Rx
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Yes
No
Freemium • Proprietary
System Restore Tool
File Recovery Tool
Windows
44 alternatives to Rollback Rx
RollBack Rx client is a system restore utility that enables home users and IT professionals to easily restore a PC to a time before certain events occurred.
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Rollback Rx Features
1. Schedule BackupRollback Rx supports scheduling of your backups at specific times or intervals.
Restore on reboot
PXE
Persistent Storage
Crash recovery
Data Protection
Rollback Rx vs Time Machine opinions
Almost everyone thinks Rollback Rx is a great alternative to Time Machine.
m8r-5b599u
Same functionality. both have quick restore one for Mac and PCs
Positive comment•
1

cyrusdavidson
Offers multiple snapshots, and you are able to restore to them at any point. Not just some files but all files in the hard drive are included in the restore. It can also revert you back even if you are hit by ransomware which is at large during the time of this post.
Positive comment•
-3
Macrium Reflect
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Yes
No
Paid • Proprietary
Disk Imaging Tool
Disk Cloning Tool
System Restore Tool
Windows
81 alternatives to Macrium Reflect
Protect your data, upgrade your hard disk or try new operating systems in the safe knowledge that everything is securely saved in an easily recovered backup file. Macrium Reflect supports backup to local, network and USB drives.
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Macrium Reflect Features
1. Schedule BackupMacrium Reflect supports scheduling of your backups at specific times or intervals.
2. Differential BackupMacrium Reflect supports differential backups (only back up the changed or new-added data since the last FULL backup).
3. Incremental BackupMacrium Reflect supports incremental backups (only back up the changed or new-added data since the last backup).
4. Command line interfaceMacrium Reflect either have CLI support or is a CLI-only app.
Reboot Restore Rx
Do you think this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Freemium • Proprietary
System Restore Tool
Windows
23 alternatives to Reboot Restore Rx
Reboot Restore Rx makes it easy to maintain PC’s in small public access computing environments (classrooms, computer labs, kiosks, internet cafes, libraries, etc.). Every time you restart the PCs they will automatically reset to your predefined baseline setting.
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Reboot Restore Rx Features
Restore on reboot
Persistent Storage
Auto Update
Remote Management
Data Protection
Reboot Restore Rx vs Time Machine opinions
Almost everyone thinks Reboot Restore Rx is a great alternative to Time Machine.
andyroddick0797
Time machine functionality. Restore to previous baseline automatically
Positive comment•
0
Restic
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Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Backup Client
Mac
Windows
Linux
BSD
Arch Linux
FreeBSD
OpenBSD
43 alternatives to Restic
restic is a program that does backups right. The design goals are: Easy, Fast, Verifiable, Secure, Efficient, Free.
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Restic Features
1. Encrypted BackupRestic uses encryption algorithms to keep your files safe as well as prevent unauthorized access.
2. Incremental BackupRestic supports incremental backups (only back up the changed or new-added data since the last backup).
3. Command line interfaceRestic either have CLI support or is a CLI-only app.
4. Schedule BackupRestic supports scheduling of your backups at specific times or intervals.
Data deduplication
Remote backup
Data Compression
TimeShift
Do you think this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
System Restore Tool
System Backup Tool
Linux
23 alternatives to TimeShift
TimeShift for Linux is an application that provides functionality similar to the System Restore feature in Windows and Time Machine tool in Mac OS. TimeShift protects your system by taking incremental snapshots of file system at regular intervals.
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TimeShift Features
1. Incremental BackupTimeShift supports incremental backups (only back up the changed or new-added data since the last backup).
Support for BTRFS
Déjà Dup
Do you think this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Backup Client
Linux
87 alternatives to Déjà Dup
Déjà Dup is a simple backup tool. It hides the complexity of doing backups the Right Way (encrypted, off-site, and regularly) and uses Duplicity as the backend.
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Déjà Dup Features
1. Encrypted BackupDéjà Dup uses encryption algorithms to keep your files safe as well as prevent unauthorized access.
2. Schedule BackupDéjà Dup supports scheduling of your backups at specific times or intervals.
3. Incremental BackupDéjà Dup supports incremental backups (only back up the changed or new-added data since the last backup).
Remote backup
Déjà Dup vs Time Machine opinions
Some users think Déjà Dup is a great alternative to Time Machine, some don't.
UrBackup
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Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Backup Client
Windows
Linux
FreeBSD
41 alternatives to UrBackup
UrBackup is a open source client/server backup system, that through a combination of image and file backups accomplishes both data safety and a fast restoration time.
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UrBackup Features
1. Automatic BackupUrBackup will automatically back up your data periodically.
2. Schedule BackupUrBackup supports scheduling of your backups at specific times or intervals.
3. Incremental BackupUrBackup supports incremental backups (only back up the changed or new-added data since the last backup).
4. Encrypted BackupUrBackup uses encryption algorithms to keep your files safe as well as prevent unauthorized access.
Multiuser mode support
Carbon Copy Cloner
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Yes
No
Paid • Proprietary
Disk Cloning Tool
Mac
35 alternatives to Carbon Copy Cloner
Carbon Copy Cloner (CCC) features an interface designed to make the cloning and backup procedure very intuitive. In addition to general backup, CCC can also clone one hard drive to another, copying every single block or file to create an exact replica of your source hard drive.
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Carbon Copy Cloner Features
1. Incremental BackupCarbon Copy Cloner supports incremental backups (only back up the changed or new-added data since the last backup).
2. File VersioningCarbon Copy Cloner has a version system that lets you view and go back to older versions of the project/file/document.
Task Scheduling
Back In Time
Do you think this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
System Restore Tool
System Backup Tool
Linux
51 alternatives to Back In Time
Back In Time is a simple backup tool for Linux, inspired by "FlyBack project".
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Back In Time Features
1. Incremental BackupBack In Time supports incremental backups (only back up the changed or new-added data since the last backup).
2. Schedule BackupBack In Time supports scheduling of your backups at specific times or intervals.
Time-machine
Back In Time vs Time Machine opinions
Some users think Back In Time is a great alternative to Time Machine, some don't.