The best disk imaging software to backup your drives in 2024

Discover the best disk imaging software for data backup, disaster recovery, system migration, and system deployment purposes, as we analyse the best providers in the business.

Disk imaging software is a type of computer program used to create exact copies or images of entire storage devices such as hard drives, solid-state drives (SSDs), or USB drives. These images contain all the data stored on the original device, including the operating system, applications, files, and settings. Disk imaging software is commonly used for data backup, disaster recovery, system migration, and system deployment purposes.

Here is our list of the best disk imaging software:

1. Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office: An easy-to-use disk imaging solution designed to help users backup and restore files or entire systems. It combines AI-powered malware detection, active ransomware defense, and data encryption to enable home users and small businesses to manage their data protection needs. A 30-day free trial is available on request. 
2. Veeam Backup & Replication: A recognized disk imaging, disaster recovery, and security software that works across virtual and physical environments. A free trial is available on request. 
3. Clonezilla: An efficient disk imaging and cloning solution for both individual users and organizations seeking reliable and scalable backup and recovery solutions.
4. Macrium Software: A backup utility for Microsoft Windows designed to create disk images and file backup archives.
5. NovaBACKUP: A budget-friendly Windows-only backup solution for users and small businesses seeking a simple disk imaging solution.
6. Iperius Backup: A disk imaging solution designed for Windows users seeking a feature-rich backup solution at an affordable price. 
7. EaseUS Todo Backup: A user-friendly disk imaging and data backup software designed for Windows environments, catering to both home users and businesses. 
8. Paragon Hard Disk Manager: A commercially available disk management and data backup software designed for Windows and Mac environments.
9. AOMEI Backupper: A reliable Windows backup solution that supports multiple backup methods, including full, incremental, and differential backups, as well as disk imaging and system cloning. 

The process of creating a disk image involves capturing a snapshot of the entire contents of a storage device and saving it as a single compressed file. This image can then be stored on another storage medium, such as an external hard drive or network storage, for safekeeping. In the event of data loss, system failure, or hardware malfunction, the disk image can be used to restore the entire contents of the original storage device to its previous state.

The best disk imaging software

In this article, we explore the best disk imaging software out there to guide you in choosing the right one for your business.

Our methodology for selecting a disk imaging tool.

In arriving at this selection, several factors were taken into consideration to ensure a comprehensive and reliable list. These factors include:

• Features and capabilities: The software's ability to perform disk imaging, disk cloning, system backup, incremental backups, scheduling, encryption, and other relevant features.
• Ease of use: The user interface and overall user experience, including intuitiveness and ease of navigation.
• Compatibility: Compatibility with different operating systems, including Windows, macOS, and Linux, as well as compatibility with various storage devices and file systems.
• Speed and efficiency: The speed and efficiency of the imaging process, including the time taken to create and restore disk images.
• Cost and licensing: The cost of the software, including any licensing fees, subscription models, or free options, and the value provided relative to the price.

By considering these factors, we aimed to provide a diverse selection that caters to various environments and scenarios. Ultimately, you need to combine them with your specific needs to find the perfect fit for your disk imaging needs. With that in mind, let's get started. 

1. Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office

Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office (formally Acronis True Image) is a software solution designed to help users backup and restore files or entire systems from a backup archive, which was previously created using the software. Its primary objective is to safeguard the system against ransomware attacks. 

Key features:

• Active protection: Actively monitors your system for suspicious activities and automatically blocks ransomware attacks before they can encrypt your data. 
• Safe recovery: Even if your data gets encrypted by ransomware, Acronis' Safe Recovery technology allows you to restore a clean version of your files from a secure backup.
• AI-powered antimalware: Utilizes machine learning to identify and block new and emerging malware threats in real time.
• Privacy protection: Offers data encryption not only during backups but also while in transit and at rest, ensuring your sensitive information remains protected at all times.
• Flexible backup options: Provides granular control over your backups, allowing you to schedule specific files or folders, set retention policies, and even perform incremental or differential backups for efficient storage usage.

Why do we recommend it and for whom?

If you're a home user or small business focusing on staying ahead of cyber threats and keeping your data safe, Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office is the top choice. Its unique focus on AI-powered malware detection, active ransomware defense, and data encryption make it ideal for those seeking advanced protection for their valuable digital assets.

In a nutshell, if security and data protection are paramount for your home or small office, Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office offers distinct value with its unique blend of proactive ransomware protection, AI-powered security, and data privacy focus. However, for large organizations with huge amounts of data, consider Acronis solutions for business or service providers or other alternative solutions. 

2. Veeam Backup & Replication

Veeam Backup & Replication is a proprietary backup app developed by Veeam for virtual environments. The software provides backup, restore, and replication functionality for virtual machines, physical servers, and workstations as well as cloud-based workload. 

Key features:

• Instant recovery: Provides near-instantaneous recoveries of virtual machines, minimizing downtime in case of outages. 
• SureBackup: Automatically verifies the recoverability of backups before they are needed, ensuring your data is always readily available when needed.
• Continuous Data Protection (CDP): Offers real-time data protection for critical applications, continuously capturing changes within seconds, ensuring minimal data loss in case of incidents.
• Advanced data loss prevention: Includes built-in anti-ransomware and data loss prevention features, providing additional security and protection against accidental or malicious data loss.

Why do we recommend it and for whom?

Veeam Backup & Replication is recommended for businesses in need of a reliable disk imaging and data protection tool for their physical and virtual environment, including VMware vSphere, Nutanix AHV, and Microsoft Hyper-V hypervisors. The software architecture supports onsite, offsite, and cloud-based data protection, and operations across remote sites, and geographically dispersed locations.

If you're an IT professional or business seeking advanced disk imaging, disaster recovery, and security across virtual and physical environments, Veeam offers distinct value. However, for basic needs or home users, alternative solutions might be more suitable. A free trial is available on request. 

3. Clonezilla

Clonezilla is an open-source suite of disk cloning, disk imaging, and system deployment utilities. Clonezilla is used to deploy operating systems to computers by imaging a single computer and then deploying that image to one or more systems. It integrates several other open-source programs to provide cloning and imaging capabilities. 

Key features:

• Partition imaging and cloning: Clonezilla can image or clone individual partitions or entire disks, offering comprehensive data replication capabilities
• Versatile file system support: Clonezilla supports a wide range of file systems including ext2, ext3, ext4, FAT12, FAT16, FAT32, exFAT, NTFS, VMFS3, and VMFS5, making it compatible with various operating systems.
• Unattended mode and customization: Users can leverage Clonezilla's unattended mode to perform imaging and cloning tasks via commands and options, with extensive customization options.
• Boot loader reinstallation: It enables the reinstallation of bootloaders including grub and syslinux, facilitating the restoration of boot configurations during disk cloning or imaging processes.

Why do we recommend it and for whom?

Clonezilla is recommended for its disk imaging, system deployment, bare metal backup, and recovery capabilities. It comes in three variations: Clonezilla live, Clonezilla lite server, and Clonezilla SE (server edition), each catering to different deployment scales. 

One of Clonezilla's notable strengths lies in its efficient disk cloning mechanism, which saves and restores only used blocks on the hard disk, enhancing cloning efficiency. With its open-source licensing, Clonezilla ensures accessibility and affordability for users, making it suitable for both individual users and organizations seeking reliable disk imaging and cloning solutions.

Overall, Clonezilla is an efficient disk imaging and cloning solution for both individual users and organizations seeking reliable and scalable backup and recovery solutions. However, its inability to mount images, and lack of differential/incremental backup, require careful consideration before use.

4. Macrium Software

Macrium Software is a backup utility for Microsoft Windows designed to create disk images and file backup archives. Macrium Reflect can back up whole partitions or individual files and folders into a single compressed, mountable archive file, which can be used to restore exact images of the partitions on the same hard disk for disaster recovery purposes or onto a new hard disk for seamless data migration.

Key features:

• Image guardian: Continuously monitors your system for changes and automatically updates your backups, ensuring you always have the latest version in case of disaster. 
• ReDeploy: Simplifies system deployment across multiple machines, saving time and effort when setting up new computers or migrating to new hardware.
• Virtual machine support: Backs up and restores virtual machines, offering flexibility and disaster recovery options for virtualized environments.
• Windows PE builder: Creates custom bootable rescue media, allowing you to restore your system even if Windows fails to boot normally.
• Advanced partition management: Provides granular control over partitions, enabling advanced disk management tasks beyond basic backup functionalities.

Why do we recommend it and for whom?

If you're a tech-savvy user or business seeking powerful Windows-only backups for home and commercial use, Macrium Software is it. Its free version offers basic functionality, while paid editions unlock advanced tools like Image Guardian and ReDeploy. 

While potentially complex for beginners and lacking support for other platforms, it excels for power users, IT professionals, and businesses valuing advanced features, real-time protection, and efficient multi-machine management.

Macrium Software serves both personal and business users seeking reliable disk imaging and backup solutions. Its user-friendly interface and range of features make it a compelling choice, especially for Windows users. However, consider potential limitations before making your decision.

5. NovaBACKUP

NovaBACKUP is a disk imaging and data backup software solution designed specifically for Microsoft Windows environments. It caters to both home users and businesses and MSPs, offering a range of features and functionalities to protect your data.

Key features of NovaBACKUP:

• Complete disk imaging: Creates an exact replica of your entire hard drive or partition, capturing all data and settings for comprehensive disaster recovery.
• File and folder backups: Selectively backs up specific files and folders based on your preference.
• Cloning: Creates an identical copy of a disk, ideal for migrating systems or upgrading hardware.
• Incremental and differential backups: Efficiently backs up only changed data since the last backup, saving storage space.
• Encryption and compression: Secures your backups with strong encryption and reduces file size for efficient storage.

Why do we recommend it and for whom?

NovaBACKUP’s affordability, platform focus, and flexibility make it a strong contender for basic backup and disk imaging needs. NovaBACKUP is recommended for individuals, small businesses, and service providers due to its flexibility and transparency in managing both local and cloud backups. 

NovaBACKUP is especially suitable for cost-conscious Windows systems, providing a straightforward and dependable backup solution that enables quick file restoration in any data loss scenario, ultimately allowing service providers to focus on supporting their customers effectively.

Overall, NovaBACKUP's combination of affordability, user-friendliness, flexibility, and a free trial make it a strong contender for budget-conscious Windows users and small businesses seeking a simple backup solution. However, consider its limitations in platform support and others before making your final choice.

6. Iperius Backup

Iperius Backup is a comprehensive backup software solution designed for Windows environments. It offers a wide range of features and functionalities to protect your valuable data from various threats and ensure easy restoration in case of data loss.

Key features of Iperius Backup:

• Drive image backup/disk cloning: Allows users to create backups of entire drives, clone disks, and perform physical-to-virtual (P2V) migrations.
• Cloud storage: Supports backing up data directly to cloud storage services, such as Microsoft 365, Amazon S3, and FTP servers for offsite storage.
• Backup VMware ESXi/vCenter: Offers backup solutions for VMware ESXi/Free and vCenter environments, ensuring data protection for virtualized infrastructures.
• Backup Hyper-V: Provides backup capabilities for Hyper-V virtual machines, allowing for the protection of virtualized environments.
• Backup to NAS and Tape: Supports backup to NAS devices and LTO tape drives for reliable data storage and archiving.

Why do we recommend it and for whom?

Iperius Backup offers backup capabilities for a wide range of systems and data types, including PCs, servers, virtual machines, databases, mail servers, and Microsoft 365, catering to both home users and businesses. It enables drive imaging and hard disk cloning, making it suitable for disaster recovery, physical-to-virtual (P2V) migration, and bare-metal restores, even on different hardware configurations. 

Iperius Backup stands out for its solid features, extensive cloud storage support, and granular data protection options. It's ideal for Windows users seeking a feature-rich backup solution at an affordable price. 

7. EaseUS Todo Backup

EaseUS Todo Backup is a disk imaging and data backup software designed for Windows environments, catering to both home users and businesses. It offers a wide range of features and functionalities to protect your valuable data from various threats and ensure easy restoration in case of data loss.

Key features:

• Complete disk imaging: Creates an exact replica of your entire hard drive or partition, capturing all data and settings for comprehensive disaster recovery.
• File and folder backups: Selectively backs up specific files and folders based on your preference.
• Cloning: Creates an identical copy of a disk, ideal for migrating systems or upgrading hardware.
• Incremental and differential backups: Efficiently backs up only changed data since the last backup, saving storage space.
• Encryption and compression: Secures your backups with strong encryption and reduces file size for efficient storage.

Why do we recommend it and for whom?

If you're looking for disk imaging software that's user-friendly and budget-conscious, EaseUS Todo Backup stands out. Its free edition offers basic features for home users, while paid versions unlock advanced functionalities and cater to businesses. Its intuitive interface makes it easy to use, and local/cloud backup options provide flexibility. While limited to Windows and requiring upgrades for advanced features, it's a solid choice for users seeking simple yet effective data protection and disaster recovery capabilities.

If you're a Windows user seeking simplicity, cost-effectiveness, and fundamental disk imaging and backup capabilities, it's worth considering EaseUS Todo Backup. However, for more advanced requirements, broader platform compatibility, or comprehensive technical assistance, exploring alternative solutions may be beneficial.

8. Paragon Hard Disk Manager (HDM)

Paragon HDM is a commercially available disk management and data backup software designed for Windows and Mac environments. It caters to both home users and businesses, offering a wide range of features and functionalities to manage, protect, and recover your valuable data.

Key features:

• Basic partitioning: Perform essential partition management tasks such as creating, formatting, deleting, hiding, and assigning drive letters, along with file system conversions and integrity checks.
• Advanced partitioning: Access advanced functionalities like splitting and merging partitions, redistributing free space, changing cluster sizes, and converting between logical and primary partitions.
• Disk wipe: Utilize industry-class algorithms for secure disk wiping, with options for SSD trim, clearing HDD/partition data, and generating cleanup reports.
• E-mail notifications: Stay informed about the status of operations with customizable email notifications for successful completions or failures.

Why do we recommend it and for whom?

Paragon HDM offers complete disk imaging for full disaster recovery, customizable backup options, encryption for security, and bootable media functionality for recovery even when your primary system fails. While it's a paid solution, its flexibility and ease of use make it a valuable option for those needing robust disk imaging and backup capabilities, especially across multiple operating systems.

Paragon HDM is a capable and user-friendly solution for disk management and data backup. Its comprehensive features and cross-platform support make it a strong contender. Remember to weigh your specific needs and preferences when making your final decision.

9. AOMEI Backupper

AOMEI Backupper is reliable backup software designed for Windows operating systems, catering to both PC and server users. It offers a range of features including backup, restore, and cloning functionalities to safeguard operating systems, data, and applications. With support for various Windows versions, and Windows Server editions, AOMEI Backupper enables users to keep their systems and files safe and backed up.

Key features:

• Complete disk imaging: Creates an exact replica of your entire hard drive or partition, capturing all data and settings for comprehensive disaster recovery.
• Disk cloning: Creates an identical copy of a disk, ideal for migrating systems or upgrading hardware.
• Incremental and fifferential backups: Efficiently backs up only changed data since the last backup, saving storage space.
• Universal restore: Restores your backed-up system image to dissimilar hardware, offering flexibility in case of hardware upgrades.

Why do we recommend it and for whom?

AOMEI Backupper sets itself apart with its user-friendly approach, feature-rich paid options at competitive prices, and the unique advantage of universal restore. It supports multiple backup methods, such as full, incremental, and differential backups, as well as disk imaging and system cloning, providing users with flexibility in their backup strategies.

If you're a Windows user seeking a user-friendly and cost-effective data protection solution, AOMEI Backupper is worth exploring. However, consider platform limitations, potential resource usage during backups, and free version limitations before making your decision.