Looking for the best Mac Time Machine alternatives? You have come to the right place. With our handy guide, you’ll never have to worry about losing a file again.
When you purchased your Mac, you likely will have noticed that macOS came with a rather popular backup program by the name of Time Machine. Although Time Machine is great in itself (and free with your Mac), it will only back your precious data up to an external drive or a NAS system (that supports the Time Machine protocols).
If you’ve ever had to back up your work before, you will know of the golden rule of three, where you should always have at least three copies of your files and data in case any loss occurs. Now, you would usually have one of these three copies on your computer, which would be the original. The second copy of your files and data should be stored on your external hard drive (in case your computer falls victim to any particularly nasty viruses), and the third would usually be stored in a secure location online.
The reason for this is that both your computer and your external drive could be lost or damaged in a natural disaster such as a fire, flood, or earthquake. Not to mention it could be stolen!
We will now list our top five Mac Time Machine alternatives that will automatically backup and secure your Time Machine files and data with very minimal effort on your part.
Note: There may be some duplicate files due to the Time Machine or the backup software you use also backing up the data, to prevent this, and to save cloud server space, you can turn off automatic backups for certain files and data.
#1 – IDrive
IDrive is very user-friendly and cost-effective. It utilizes strong end-to-end client-side encryption. Other benefits IDrive offers are online file sync and multi-device backup. Also, you are able to get file versioning for up to thirty older versions. The best part is that IDrive is able to perform a cloud backup for Linux via a GUI or scripts.
To avoid file duplication and loss of cloud server space, IDrive automatically excludes the Time Machine folder from its backups. Simply enter the folders from the backup settings on IDrive and deselect the backups.backupdb folder. Once you have done this, you will find all of your Time Machine data backed up on your IDrive, in the place you have selected it to be in the Time Machine settings.
IDrive includes very affordable pricing tiers ($53 per year), but does not go light on its features, which is why it is the first Mac Time Machine alternative on our list.
#2 – IBackup
IBackup is geared up more toward small businesses. It has strong end-to-end encryption and disaster recovery. IBackup also offers the ability to perform a full server backup, multiple sub-accounts, and a plethora of business-orientated backup bonuses from HIPAA to SEC/FINRA compliance.
That being said, IBackup is also a good option to have as a personal backup service. It has its own app which is available on both iOS and Android, which is incredibly useful for those of you on the go.
Although IBackup keeps its backup encrypted data server-side, you are able to use a private encryption key to access your personal data even when you are offline.
It is easy to use IBackup to back up your Time Machine data. To do so, go to the Mac desktop client settings and make sure that the backup is selected for Time Machine.
IBackup is available from $9.95 to $49.95.
#3 – CloudBerry
Although a premium Pro version of Cloudberry Explorer is available, the base version is freeware and is a perfectly viable option. CloudBerry allows users to manage and backup their files and data to everything from Google Cloud and Microsoft Accounts, to Amazon S3 and Openstack Accounts.
The fully hosted subscription service that Cloudberry Explorer offers is customizable with a range of different servers.
Both the freeware and the premium pro options of CloudBerry support the backing up of data from Mac Time Machine, although it is not quite as straightforward as the previous two on this list.
CloudBerry Explorer is available from $49.99 to $119.99.
#4 – DollyDrive
DollyDrive was designed with the Mac in mind. An app is available on iOS, on which you can view and manage your files on the go.
DollyDrive has a feature called DollyClone, which will copy and backup your entire system the same way that Mac Time Machine will do, but it saves it to the cloud to make it even more secure. You can use DollyDrive in conjunction with Mac Time Machine to back up all of your data locally too.
DollyDrive is available from $5.00 to $25.00.
#5 – Transmit
Transmit allows you to manually back up your files to its cloud via its synchronize feature. This includes your Time Machine data. It is fast and easy to do which has earned it our final place on this list.
It has built-in support for eleven cloud services, although it is worth noting that iCloud is not included in this list. If you prefer, you can use Transmit to synchronize files locally too, between two folders, or between a folder and a USB stick.
Transmit is an FTP client, and is available both in a free version, and a premium paid version, at $45.
The Bottom Line
Hopefully, this quick list has helped you pick the right Mac Time Machine alternative for you, as there are so many to choose from, which can sometimes be a little bit overwhelming. As long as you go with any of the services mentioned here, you can’t go wrong!
Also read: Common Time Machine problems and how to fix them
That’s our top 5 picks for Mac Time Machine alternatives you should check out right now. If you have got a favorite, let us know in the comments below.
