8 Best WordPress Backup Plugins For 2024: Keep Your Data Safe

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Are you looking for the best WordPress backup plugin for your website?

You have invested a huge amount of time in your website and having redundant backups is critical.

You need backups you control.

So, in this article, I am going to share the best WordPress backup plugins on the market.

First, I’ll give you a quick summary of each plugin, then I’ll cover each one in detail and provide some additional things to consider towards the end of the article.

The best WordPress backup plugins and tools – summary

  1. WP STAGING – The best WordPress backup plugin for most users. Includes staging, backups, and migration functionality. Backups run on your server but they run faster than most other plugins on this list. Free version available.
  2. BlogVault – Powerful web-based app for WordPress backups and more. Backups run on their servers so they don’t slow down your site. Includes a WordPress management dashboard, white label and security functionality on some plans.
  3. Jetpack Backup – Another good WordPress backup tool that includes offsite storage and run on their own servers.
  4. Solid Backups – A feature-packed premium backup plugin for WordPress owned and maintained by Liquid Web.
  5. UpdraftPlus – A popular free WordPress backup plugin. Paid version with additional features is available.
  6. Sucuri Website Backups – Requires using Sucuri’s security platform. Ideal for those needing an all-in-one solution for firewall, CDN, malware removal and WordPress backups.
  7. Duplicator – Best suited as a migration plugin but doubles as a backup plugin. A free version is available on WordPress.org with a premium version that offers extra features.
  8. BackWPup – Another popular free WordPress backup plugin.

1. WP STAGING

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WP STAGING is a high-performance plugin that makes it easy to backup, clone, and restore your WordPress site in just a few clicks.

It’s the best WordPress backup plugin for most users thanks to it’s performance, features, and affordability.

What makes WP STAGING better than most is how fast it is. I don’t know about you, but I hate waiting forever for backups to complete.

This isn’t a problem with WP STAGING thanks to its sophisticated algorithms, which enable it to export sites with millions of rows in under a minute. For comparison, competitor tools like Updraft can take over 15 minutes to do the same.

You can run backups manually or schedule them in advance. If you choose to schedule repeat backups, you can also choose your backup rotation (the number of previous backups you want to save).

Other features we liked include:

  • Multisite backups — WP STAGING enables you to backup huge multisites including network sites.
  • Multisite cloning — Convert your network sites to single sites in a few clicks.
  • Website transfer features — Moving your website to another domain has never been easier.
  • No 3rd Party data transfer — WP STAGING stores all your backup data on your own servers. As data never leaves your server, you don’t have to worry about any of the associated privacy or security issues.

And of course, as the name suggests, WP STAGING also comes with built-in staging site features on top of the core backup functionality.

You can set up staging sites in minutes, and even clone your production site to a completely separate database from your production site for added safety.

Once you’re done testing changes, you can push your staging site to your production site in one click or use the backup and migration feature to transfer it from another server to the production one.

Features:

  • Manual or scheduled backups
  • Multisite backups and cloning
  • Powerful staging features
  • Easy domain transfers
  • Lightning-fast backups thanks to sophisticated algorithms
  • User roles/custom access

Price: Paid plans start from $92 per year (1 active site and user).

Read our WP STAGING review.


2. BlogVault

BlogVault Pin

BlogVault is a powerful web-based app for WordPress backups, security, malware removal, and staging site creation.

A plugin is used to connect your site to their servers so setup is easy and they use incremental backups to reduce server load.

BlogVault will backup your website on a daily basis – automatically and offers 90 days of backup history. And your backups will be stored securely on their servers with the option to download backups to your computer or Dropbox.

One particularly great feature is their staging site option. So, you can create a staging site for testing before pushing changes live to your website. You can then restore your backup via your account dashboard should you need it.

Higher plans offer a white label solution with the option to add clients and team members. So, it’s easy to see why WordPress management companies seem to gravitate towards BlogVault for their backup needs – especially considering the hassle-free nature of backups.

It’s also worth mentioning that the same company operates a security platform called MalCare. So, you can get malware scanning, WordPress firewall and a bunch of extra features when you purchase by selecting the “Backup and security” option at the top of the pricing page.

Aside from the backup & security functionality, BlogVault acts as a management dashboard for all of your sites, allowing you to update plugins, themes, etc.

Note: With most backup tools you’ll only know their is a problem with the backup when you try to restore your site. BlogVault sidesteps this problem by allowing you to create a test restore site.

Features:

  • Automatic daily backups.
  • WordPress multisite support.
  • Complete backups of your database and WordPress files.
  • Unlimited on-demand backups.
  • Incremental backups to reduce server load.
  • Offsite storage and independent access so you can restore from your BlogVault dashboard.
  • Backups are stored securely on Amazon S3 servers.
  • Staging environment is included (great for testing website changes).
  • Restore your website in a few clicks.
  • Migrate to a new domain, host, or server easily.
  • Website management functionality.
  • White-label option (great if you have clients).
  • Email notifications for backups, migrations, etc.

Price: Starts from $7.49/month (billed annually) for backups, or $12.40/month (billed annually) with the addition of security powered by their sister company, MalCare.

There is also a specialist plan for WooCommerce backups starting from $20.75/month (billed annually). This includes order syncing, 365 day backup history and additional security from MalCare.


3. Jetpack Backup

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Jetpack offers a number of tools for WordPress site owners. One of them is a robust backup system that was previously offered under the brand VaultPress.

This collection of tools have been created by Automattic, the same company that operates WordPress.com. At one time, you would have had to get all Jetpack tools, even the ones you don’t need, but now Backups are offered as a standalone product.

Jetpack Backup will automatically back up your entire site on a daily basis to their own servers. Backups are incremental which means less load on your server.

The one-click restore process is straightforward, and their support staff are always on hand should you need help. Having someone who is just an email away who will help restore my site, is a huge plus.

Features:

  • Automatic daily backups (real-time is available on higher plans)
  • Storage is included so you don’t need to connect to a third party platform like Dropbox.
  • Restore your site with the click of a button from your dashboard.
  • Customer support is available to help you if you need it.
  • 30-day money back guarantee.

Price: Starts from $8/month billed yearly for Jetpack Backup.


4. Solid Backups (previously Backup Buddy)

Solid Backups HomepagePin

Solid Backups is a premium WordPress backup plugin from SolidWP. It was originally known as Backup Buddy.

This plugin allows you to backup your entire website – database, files, etc. And set up automatic backups on a schedule you choose.

You can also choose to backup just your database, or select specific files to exclude from your backups if necessary. This flexibility means you can schedule a mix of full and partial backups as required.

Solid Backups allows you to store your backups remotely off-site using Amazon S3, Google Drive, Dropbox and more.

Equally as important, it has a process for quickly and easily restoring WordPress from a backup.

Features:

  • Complete backups of your WordPress website.
  • Easy to setup and configure in a few minutes – no complicated settings.
  • Setup automatic backup schedules on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis.
  • Setup multiple backup schedules with their own specific settings.
  • Save backups to Amazon S3, Dropbox, Rackspace Cloud, FTP, or email.
  • Restore your site either by uploading an ImportBuddy file which walks you through the process (step-by-step), or restore individual files straight from your WordPress dashboard.

Price: Starts from $99.


5. UpdraftPlus

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The free version of UpdraftPlus is the highest-ranking WordPress backup plugin, with over a million active installs. With such a vast user base, you know it’s been tried and tested in many different scenarios.

The free version allows you to backup your WordPress files, and database, along with the ability to restore your site from a backup, and send your backup to remote storage.

You have the choice of running backups manually, or scheduling them.

The premium version has a ton of extra features to keep your site safe. This includes a site duplicator and migrator, automatic backups before updates to plugins, themes and WordPress itself, extra backup storage destinations, and plenty more.

You get the option of purchasing add-ons individually, or as a bundle (the latter works out much cheaper).

Features:

  • Run manual backups or schedule them in advance.
  • Backup your entire WordPress website.
  • Set up multiple automatic backups on different schedules.
  • Store your backups with Amazon S3, Google Drive, Rackspace, or Dropbox. The paid version includes extra locations such as Microsoft OneDrive, WebDAV, and more.
  • Restore your site using backups made from other plugins (paid feature)
  • Customer support available with the premium version.

Price: Free with paid plans starting from $50.40 for up to 2 sites.


6. Sucuri Website Backups

Sucuri Backup Pin

Sucuri is best known as a security and performance platform for websites.

They provide a firewall, CDN, malware monitoring, malware removal and a bunch of other really important features.

In fact, I’ve used their security & performance platform in the past. But they also offer a backup service too.

Their backup offering is simple and there is no plugin to install. Just connect your website and your site will be backed up automatically each day.

If you want to install a new plugin, you can run a new backup right there and then without having to wait till the next day.

You also get email notifications, and visibility over what files have changed since your last backup.

There are a bunch of cool features here, but what I especially like is that backups are done via SFTP which puts less strain on your WordPress installation than a regular plugin – this is especially good for larger sites.

Overall, Sucuri is a great platform that can make your website more secure, and load faster. That means not wasting money and delivering better page load times to your visitors (that = more conversions). I highly recommend it, and it’s well worth checking out.

Features:

  • Automatic daily backups.
  • On-demand backups.
  • Backups stored securely in Sucuri’s cloud infrastructure.
  • Support team available to help you if you need it.
  • Reporting that shows you what files have changed since your last backup.
  • Backups retained for 90 days.
  • Automatically restore your files, and/or, your database right from your dashboard.
  • Backup notifications so you know your site has been successfully backed up.
  • Works with other content management platforms too, not just WordPress (e.g. Joomla, Drupal, Magento etc).

Price: $199/year


7. Duplicator

DuplicatorPin

While Duplicator may be better known as a migration plugin, it also happens to be a damn good WordPress backup plugin.

With the free version of this plugin you can backup your entire WordPress site (or parts of it) manually.

Now, what exactly can you do with Duplicator Pro? You get both instant and scheduled backups – great for keeping your blog backed up with minimal hassle.

You can also send backups to cloud services like Dropbox, Google Drive, or Amazon S3 – so your backups will be safe. And you can limited the number of backups to conserve storage space.

Features:

  • Simple to set up and configure.
  • Backup your complete website, or parts of it.
  • Save your backups via Dropbox, FTP, Google Drive or Amazon S3 for safe storage.
  • Limit the number of stored backups.
  • Supports WordPress multisite.
  • Customer support included with the Pro version.

Price: Free version on WordPress.org. Premium version starting at $69.


8. BackWPup

BackWPupPin

BackWPup is another popular free WordPress backup plugin, with over 700,000 active users and more than 11 million downloads.

It’s fairly straightforward to configure and use. Plus backups can be done manually or scheduled to save you time.

And even on the free version you can send your backups to an external backup platform such as Dropbox. And more are available with the paid version.

Speaking of the Pro version, it also offers extra features you can use to scan, repair, and optimize your database. Although those specific features can be found in other plugins,

Features:

  • Full database and file backups, plus a list of all your installed plugins.
  • Store your backups to Dropbox, S3, FTP, and more.
  • Create daily or weekly automatic backups.
  • Includes a step-by-step restoration tool.
  • Pro version includes database, scanning, optimization and repair tool.
  • Choose which formats to store your backups in.
  • Customer support available with Pro version.

Price: Free with paid plans starting from $69.


What to look for in a WordPress backup plugin or tool

So what features really matter when it comes to your backup tool of choice?

  • You need complete backups – This means all of your files (media files, posts, pages, plugins, themes, etc), and your database.
  • An easy restore option – You need the ability to start the restore process at the click of a button.
  • Backup scheduling – This will save you from having to start the backup process manually.
  • Incremental backups – An incremental backup means only your changes are backed up. This is critical in order to minimise server load. In fact, the only tools on this list that offer this feature are BlogVault, Jetpack Backup, and Sucuri (available only to firewall/CDN customers).

What is the best WordPress backup plugin for you?

Okay, Adam – you’ve thrown a lot of options at me – which WordPress plugin do I choose?

Everyone has different needs so there isn’t one recommendation that fits everyone.

So, here are a few example scenarios to make the decision easier for you:

  • If you’re concerned about website performance, minimal hassle, and peace of mind – Go for an off-site solution like BlogVault (it’s what I use for all of my sites).
  • If you want a free and simple “basic as beans” plugin that will schedule backups, and send to offsite locations – Go for UpdraftPlus.
  • If you want to migrate a WordPress website, or duplicate a website on a testing environment and don’t want to shell out any cash – Go for Duplicator.
  • If you want an affordable solution for creating staging sites, WP STAGING is ideal.
  • Want a white-label solution that’s cost effective, robust and perfect for website management clients? Go for BlogVault. Includes backups, migrations, security, staging sites, and more.
  • Want a complete security and performance platform with inclusive malware removal, CDN and optional backups? Go for Sucuri. Or for a lower cost option, try BlogVault’s backup and security offering.
  • Use WooCommerce? Go for BlogVault – they have a WooCommerce plan that includes a bunch of extra features including realtime order syncing, and more.

Conclusion

I sincerely hope that you never have to restore your site from a backup.

But that’s the nature of disasters like these – you never need a WordPress backup solution until the moment you do.

We’ve discussed a bunch of great WordPress backup plugins and tools, and I’ve included answers to frequently asked questions above. Use them to figure out the ideal backup solution for your needs.

For us, it really boils down to two backup plugins/tools:

WP STAGING is the best option for most users. It can handle backups, staging site creation, and site migrations. A free version of the plugin is available.

Then there’s BlogVault. It’s more expensive but backups run on their own servers and it includes a WordPress management dashboard, security, and malware removal.


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