10 Best WordPress Backup Plugins to Automate Your Backups

10 Best WordPress Backup Plugins to Automate Your Backups

Keeping a fresh backup of your WordPress site is the best guard against hacked sites or user error. However, backing up your site regularly can be time consuming. That’s unless you have a plugin to automatic everything of course. Fortunately, we searched through every single backup solution to bring you the most comprehensive list of the best WordPress backup plugins and solutions available today.

This article is split into two parts: key features to look for in a plugin and the 10 best WordPress backup plugins.

Key Features

There are four important things you need to have in any backup solution for your WordPress site:

  1. Automation: Running a website takes up a lot of your time and the last thing you need to add is another process. Plus, there is no reason to use a backup plugin if you can not automate the it.
  2. Remote Storage: Your backup should be stored in a location that is not shared with your WordPress site. Otherwise, your backup will be useless and inaccessible in a critical failure. Make sure the plugin you choose can upload your backup to a different server like Box, Google Drive, or Dropbox.
  3. Complete Backup: Your WordPress website consists of files and a database, which are found in different locations. Make sure your plugin can automatically back up your entire website. Otherwise, your backup is useless as you will be left with only half of your website.
  4. Support: Backups are a lot more complicated than you think and a lot can go wrong. The last thing you need is for something to go wrong when you need to quickly restore your whole website. Signing up for a paid solution is recommended, as they come with support, but not 100% necessary.

The Best WordPress Backup Plugins

We found the best WordPress backup plugins based on the criteria above. You will find some that are 100% free, paid, or paid with a free version.

And as always, if you find anything that should be added on this list, let us know in the comment section below.

1. UpdraftPlus

UpdraftPlus WordPress Backup

We are huge fans of UpdraftPlus at Zen WP. Its ease of use and reliability is unmatched. But don’t take our word for it. UpdraftPlus has over one million installs and a 5-star rating in the WordPress repository.

We aren’t kidding when we say that it is easy to use. Creating and storing WordPress backups is a very technical and sensitive task. But UpdraftPlus allows you to not only create and store backups without any technical knowledge. It also allows you to restore your site with a couple of clicks, all without touching any code.

How to Restore with UpdraftPlus

Another reason why this is our favorite is because of the many integrations available that allow you to automatically store your backups with pretty much every major storage option.

UpdraftPlus Remote Storage

Though UpdraftPlus also provides a paid option to use their remote storage, the price per GB of storage is much higher than other third-party options. If you plan on using a remote storage option (you definitely should) and you plan on storing several backups (you also should be doing this) that take up a considerable amount of space, use Dropbox or Amazon, as they will be able to provide more storage for much less.

See our guide on setting up UpdraftPlus for your website.

Cost: $70-$145 per year
Free Version: Yes, downloadable in the WordPress Repository.

2. Duplicator

Duplicator WordPress Backup Plugin

Although we selected UpdraftPlus our #1 favorite, Duplicator is considered to be the best WordPress backup plugin by many serious WordPress users. That’s because the plugin hosts so many features. If you are looking for a backup plugin that can do anything imaginable, look no further.

The only drawback for most users will be the fact that in order to use Duplicator, you will have to have some developer-level knowledge, something that most WordPress users do not have.

However, if you have a good technical understanding of how WordPress works and can learn how to use Duplicator, this is your go-to plugin.

It is also especially appealing for WordPress developers because of its low cost. The cheapest annual paid plan available is only $39 per year (or $35 with an annual renewal option) which lets you install it on three websites.

Duplicator WordPress Plugin Prices

The developers, SnapCreek, also provide a 30-day money back guarantee but you won’t have to worry about invoking that guarantee because they also provide some of the best support in the industry.

Many of Zen WP’s team members user Duplicator on their personal websites because of the amazing value this plugin provides. The features you get for the price are unbeatable, not to mention the great support. If you are technical, this is the backup plugin for you.

Cost: $39-$349 per year
Free Version: Yes, downloadable in the WordPress Repository.

3. BackWPup

BackWPup WordPress Plugin

If you asked us for an alternative to UpdraftPlus, this would be our answer. BackWPup is also very easy to use and incredibly reliable.

Just keep in mind that unlike UpdraftPlus, you need to upgrade to a paid version in order to access all of the remote storage options and integrations.

Their paid versions, however, come with some nice ancillary features like the ability to check and optimize your database through the plugin, which can help considerably with the time it takes to perform the backup.

Cost: $69-$349 per year
Free Version: Yes, downloadable in the WordPress Repository.

4. BackUpWordPress

BackUpWordPress

At the basic level, there isn’t anything that BackUpWordPress offers that the other three aforementioned plugins offer. Like many, a purchase is required in order to access all of the remote storage options. In fact, you will have to purchase an extension from the developers, as the plugin itself is actually an open source project on Github, making it entirely free, something that our fellow WordPress geeks would appreciate.

But we still recommend it if any of the plugins at the top of this list do not suit you or work for your website, as it is still a leader among the hundreds of backup plugins available on the market and in the WordPress repository.

Cost: $29-$129 for extensions but the plugin is otherwise 100% free.
Free Version: Yes, downloadable in the WordPress Repository.

5. Sucuri Backups

Sucuri Backups

This is something most people have yet to hear about because it is still in Beta, but Sucuri does provide a very unique backup service. It is unique because a plugin is not actually required. Instead, they use an FTP connection to perform backups.

So it is not actually a WordPress backup plugin but it is something everyone should consider. Their unique solution has some clear pros and cons to WordPress users:

Pros

  • Bulky plugin does not weigh down your website.
  • Does not rely on a WordPress Cron job like backup plugins, meaning your backups will always happen.
  • Very good value – 90 days of automatic backups for only $5 per month

Cons

  • Can not perform an automated restore like plugins can. You’ll have to download the files and database and manually perform the restore.
  • Add-on service that requires an existing Sucuri WAF or Security Platform subscription.

Another thing to note is that this service is still in Beta and only available to existing Sucuri customers. Given that Sucuri got purchased by GoDaddy recently, there is no telling what will become of this service, but our hope is that it stays around.

Cost: $5 per month on top of your existing Sucuri subscription.
Free Version: No.

6. BackupBuddy

BackupBuddy

BackupBuddy is a very popular premium backup plugin from the same makers of iThemes Security Pro, a security plugin. It provides most of the features that all aforementioned plugins offer but what makes BackupBuddy unique is that they do more than just backups. You can also migrate and clone your WordPress site with it. Now, truth be told, other plugins like UpdraftPlus also help you migrate or clone your site but BackupBuddy makes all of these functions super easy through their intuitive interface.

One major downside is that it is considerably more expensive than other similar plugins and there is no free version available, though they do distribute discount codes often.

Another thing you should note is that they have an option to purchase a lifetime subscription but it isn’t a true lifetime subscription since support is only limited to one year, just like the other annual plans. What the lifetime subscription instead offers you is access to their remote storage for life, which may sound great at first but it really isn’t because they limit you to 1 GB. Dropbox provides up to 2 GB for free.

Cost: $80-$150 per year or $297 for their “lifetime” subscription which should be avoided.
Free Version: No.

7. VaultPress

VaultPress

A lot of people put their trust in VaultPress because it is made by the creators of WordPress. If you are looking for a premium backup plugin for super cheap that anyone can use, VaultPress is your answer.

Though they have a very basic free plugin and their most expensive plan is a whopping $299 per year, their cheapest paid plan will get the job done for anyone at only $39. Duplicator is the only one that is just as affordable. However, as mentioned, Duplicator requires some developer knowledge in order for one to use it. VaultPress, on the other hand, is made for beginners.

The only downside to VaultPress is that its backup plugin is not a standalone product. It is a part of Jetpack, meaning you will have to use Jetpack along with VaultPress, something many advanced WordPress users dread.

Cost: $390-$299 per year.
Free Version: Yes, downloadable in the WordPress Repository.

8. CodeGuard

CodeGuard WordPress Plugin

If you want full control and visibility into your backup activities, yet keep everything off a bulky plugin that slows down your site, consider looking into off-site providers like CodeGuard.

What is different about an off-site provider is that it gets the functionality of your WordPress backup plugin and moves it to their website or web app. The benefit here is that you will no longer have to have a backup plugin on your site that weighs it down and consumes a lot of resources, or worse, fails because something is wrong with your server. Instead a remote server executes, stores, and manages all of your backups, and a WordPress plugin is provided to simply establish the connection between the two.

This type of solution allows the provider or developer to provide more functionality. In the case of CodeGuard, you can get detailed reports of your stored backups such as the amount of file changes that happened from period to period.

CodeGuard provides a free WordPress backup plugin but it only syncs your site to your CodeGuard account, for which you have to pay. Their plans will cost you anywhere between $5-$239 per month but if you plan on paying for a premium solution anyways, CodeGuard should definitely be considered.

Cost: $5-$239 per year.
Free Version: No.

9. WordPress Backup to Dropbox

WordPress Backup to Dropbox

This plugin is a basic backup plugin that stores your backups in Dropbox. At first, you might think that it’s inferior to others that provide numerous other remote storage options. And in that regard, that statement is true. But the reason why you should consider this plugin is because it is super lightweight and does not slow down your website like the others.

Backup plugins are notorious for being way too busy and heavy for any website. WordPress Backup to Dropbox will not slow down your website, and is the obvious choice as one of the best WordPress backup plugins for those wanting to use their Dropbox account to store their data.

Cost: $100 free but do consider supporting the plugin author.
Free Version: Yes, downloadable in the WordPress Repository.

10. DreamHost & DreamObjects

DreamHost DreamObjects

First, if you are unfamiliar or are looking for something other than Amazon S3, consider looking into DreamObjects. At the time of writing, they charge 2.5 cents per GB, which is almost as cheap as Amazon but with a lot more service and support.

And on a side note, you should consider cloud storage solutions like DreamObjects or S3, as they have different pricing structures, charging you for usage rather than a fixed amount of resources you might never use by the end of each billing cycle.

But for those of you that already love DreamHost and use their DreamObjects cloud storage solution, this one’s for you. This plugin is officially endorsed by Dreamhost and connects seamlessly to your DreamObjects account. You can also configure it to automatically dump old backups so you don’t get charged too much for usage.

Cost: Free. Only pay for DreamObjects storage.
Free Version: Yes, downloadable in the WordPress Repository.

Read our complete guide on backing up WordPress: How to Create a Full Backup of Your WordPress Site

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