The Best WordPress Backup Plugin: Backup Your WordPress Site

Imagine waking up in the morning and discovering that your site has disappeared. No, this is not a bad dream; this is a rigorous truth for many website owners: ignoring an important aspect, WordPress Backup. Whether it is a faulty plugin update, your website has been hacked, the server has crashed, or a human error, losing website data can mean losing months or years of hard work.

WordPress offers no built-in way to back up your whole site – it saves content changes, but it does not produce full copies of your site’s files or its databases. A good WordPress backup plugin or a dedicated WordPress backup service then protects your site.

This guide demonstrates how to back up your WordPress site. We will discuss the importance of using a backup plugin for WordPress and what features to look for in a plugin. Additionally, we will compare the top options available, helping you select the right WordPress backup plugin for your needs.

Why You Need a WordPress Backup Plugin

Many website owners only learn about the importance of backups the hard way; they scramble for a solution after data loss occurs. At that point, it is often too late. A WordPress backup plugin provides the most reliable way to safeguard your website against issues such as hacks or downtime.

Here’s a closer look at the risks you face without proper backups and why plugins are superior to other methods:

Common Threats to Your WordPress Site:

• Plugin Updates: A new plugin update can break your site.
• Malicious Attacks: Hackers can take over your site and delete your site data, completely wiping out your site.
• Server Failures: Your hosting server can crash and delete your data, and you can not use your site.
• Human Error: A single wrong click can erase pages of content or critical configurations.

To mitigate these risks, a WordPress backup plugin runs in the background, automatically takes copies of your content, settings, and design, so you don’t have to remember to do anything manually.

Why Backup Plugins Outperform Other Methods:

While there are multiple ways to backup WordPress, either using your hosting provider or manually, the best way is to use a WordPress backup plugin.

Issues with Web Host Backups:

• Same Server Storage: Backups are saved on the same server as your site. Therefore, if your server crashes or the data center malfunctions, your backups could be at risk.
• Accessibility: Web hosts store backups offsite, but customers often cannot reach them directly. You usually contact support to get access. If a major problem occurs, support channels may clog, which causes delays.
• Deletion Policies: When hackers break into your site, some web hosts may erase your site. Their rules sometimes cover the backups they keep. Hackers also wipe out site data. Backups then become your only hope.
• Human Error & Penalties: Forgetting to renew hosting causes data loss. Hosts may charge fees to get your data back.

While web host backups can be fast to restore due to proximity, their inherent pitfalls make them unsustainable as a long-term, sole solution.

Issues with Manual Backups:

• Unreliable for Large Sites: The cPanel tools for manual backups do not handle large data volumes well. Sites that are larger than one GB often experience restore failures. This defeats the purpose of the backup.
• Network Issues: Manual backups use home networks to download and upload information – these networks are not always dependable, plus can lead to timeouts. The distance to servers also complicates data transfer.
• Storage Burden: Users must store manual backups on local machines, external drives, or cloud services. This quickly becomes a big concern.
• Time-Consuming: Copying files and exporting databases by hand takes too long. Keeping up with daily backups for a month, for example, is not practical.

Manual backups are useful as a last option, but they aren’t scalable and don’t reliably protect high-traffic sites. Automatic backups using a plugin reduce manual error and ensure regular protection.

What to Look for in the Best WordPress Backup Plugin

To choose a WordPress backup plugin, you have to look at many factors. Website backup is important, using that you can easily restore your work.

Here are the crucial features and considerations:

• Easy to Use and Restore WordPress: The WordPress backup plugin should be easy to use. Using it, you should be able to easily backup and restore the site. When needed, any member of your team should also be able to use it easily.
• WordPress Full Backups: The WordPress Backup plugin should back up everything on your site. Files, folders, plugin and theme files, and databases. Some plugins also have the option of partial backup, so that you can save space in the backup.
• Unlimited Offsite Backup Storage: Most WordPress backup plugins use your site’s resources for backup, which impacts server performance and storage. Offsite backup storage is essential to protect your data if your main server goes down. Some plugins offer unlimited off-site storage, while others offer unlimited storage for backing up the entire site.
• Automated and Scheduled Backups: The backup plugin should automatically backup your site at the right time interval. WordPress sites should be backed up daily to save everything. For some sites like WooCommerce sites, real-time backup (5-10 minutes backup) is necessary so that critical data like orders, product inventory, and traffic analytics can be backed up.
• Incremental Backups: To reduce resource usage, use a plugin that only backs up new updates, rather than backing up the entire website from the beginning. This will reduce the load on the website server.
• 100% Safe and Complete Restores: If a backup plugin cannot restore data properly, it is useless. Before using any other backup plugin, make sure to test whether the backup and restore are working properly. Some plugins, such as UpdraftPlus and BackupBuddy, have been shown to have unreliable restore rates.
• Secure and Encrypted Backups: Your site backups contain sensitive information like database credentials (wp-config.php), which could be exploited by hackers. Ensure your chosen plugin encrypts your backups and that the service provider guarantees their security.
• Handles Large Sites Effortlessly: It’s true, some plugins struggle with big WordPress site backups, often showing errors. But plugins like BlogVault can manage those huge sites—even over 100 GB—making sure your backups and restorations happen smoothly every time.
• No Impact on Website Performance: Storing backups on your server slows your site and costs more. Cloud backups free up your server and reduce hosting fees. Use plugins with incremental backups to save resources.
• Independent Dashboard: Malware or hosting problems can block your wp-admin access. A backup service with its dashboard lets you restore your site even when it’s offline. This independent access helps you get your site back.
• Reliable Support: Good customer support matters. When site issues hit, you need responsive, efficient help. Their guidance saves and restores. Check customer feedback on support quality.
• Regular Updates and Solid Development Team: Always update your plugins. Choose plugins from trusted developers. Outdated plugins create security holes and cause problems. Regular updates fix these issues.

Top WordPress Backup Plugin Showdown

Let’s check out the top WordPress backup plugins. We will also look at their features, advantages, and disadvantages.

1. BlogVault

BlogVault is a top-rated plugin. It’s reliable and has comprehensive features. It is described as “the best insurance your site can have” and “the gold standard of backups”.

Key Features:

• Automatic, Scheduled Backups: Daily backups are standard. WooCommerce and high-traffic sites get real-time backups every five minutes. This captures every event and transaction.
• Unlimited Offsite Backup Storage: BlogVault backs up your site to its servers. This saves your site’s resources. You can access backups even if your server crashes. BlogVault offers unlimited storage for full backups.
• 1-Click Restores: You get fast, reliable site restoration. Even crashed sites recover through an external dashboard.
• Handles Large Sites Effortlessly: This plugin handles large site backups and restores flawlessly. It supports sites up to 100 GB. Other plugins often fail with such sizes.
• Incremental Backups: Subsequent backups save only changes. Each backup remains a complete, standalone copy. This approach saves resources and keeps your data safe.
• Integrated Staging Environment: Create a staging site quickly. Test website changes there. This lets you check updates safely before making them live. It’s a simple, one-click process.
• Other Features: This solution offers 90-365 day backups with partial restores and migration tools. It includes uptime monitoring, activity logs, and auto-updates. You get multisite support and enterprise-grade data security through encrypted copies.

Pros:

• BlogVault offers reliable backups.
• They run off-site, so your site stays fast.
• Setup is easy: set it and forget it.
• Restores work every time.
• You get support for all site types.
• Backups are tested automatically.
• Prime plans add malware scanning and a firewall.

Cons:

• No free plan, only a 7-day free trial.
• Pricier than other options.

Pricing: It starts at $149 annually. You get unlimited off-site storage.

2. Duplicator

Duplicator is a popular WordPress backup plugin. The plugin is easy to use, and it has over 1.5 million active installs. The free version lacks easy restore options, requiring manual steps.

Key Features:

• Complete and Partial Backups: You can create full or partial website backups.
• User-Friendly Backup Wizard: A user-friendly wizard makes it easy.
• Migration Capabilities: The plugin helps move sites with no downtime.
• Cloud Storage Integration (Premium): Supports cloud storage services like Dropbox and Google Drive.
• Automated Scheduled Backups (Premium): You also get automated scheduled backups with the Pro version; the free version has manual backups only.

Pros:

• This solution offers a user-friendly experience with powerful features.
• The disaster recovery feature allows restoring a site without logging in.
• It also supports migrations for large, complex websites.

Cons:

• The free version is limited; many core features (scheduled backups, cloud storage, and easy restores) are premium.
• Restores aren’t a big part of the free plugin, often requiring manual restoration via cPanel or FTP.
• It can be less beginner-friendly and have a confusing UI in the free version.

Pricing: A free plugin version is available. Paid plans start from $39.60 to $239.60 per year.

3. UpdraftPlus (Best for Remote Storage Backups)

UpdraftPlus is popular for remote backups, with over 3 million active installations. It offers cloud integrations in its free version. However, its reliability for large site restores is questionable.

Key Features:

• Manual and Automatic Backups: Offers flexible scheduling (hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly).
• Extensive Free Cloud Storage Integration: It integrates with Google Drive, Dropbox, Amazon S3, and OneDrive for free storage.
• 1-Click Restores: You can do full or partial backups and restore with one click.
• Incremental Backups (Premium): Only changed files are backed up after the initial full backup, saving resources; this is a premium feature.

Pros:

• You can easily manage your backups.
• Cloud storage and quick backups are included in the free version, perfect for smaller sites.
• Get email alerts for any problems

Cons:

• Backups are stored on the site server by default, consuming resources and affecting performance if incremental backups (a premium feature) aren’t used.
• Unreliable restores for sites larger than 200 MB; large site backups and restores often fail.
• Offsite storage (UpdraftVault) is metered and incurs an additional cost, with storage costs potentially increasing rapidly for medium- to large-sized sites.
• The free version lacks essential security features like database encryption.
• WooCommerce sites lack real-time backups.

Pricing: Free plugin version available. Paid plans start from $70 to $399 per year.

4. Jetpack VaultPress Backup

Jetpack VaultPress Backup is the go-to backup solution from Automattic, the staff behind WordPress.com. It’s a solid choice for big businesses, large sites, and online stores since it can run backups without slowing down your site.

The plugin offers real-time, automated backups and one-click restores. It also offers off-site backup storage, which is a very important feature.

Key Features:

• Real-time Backups for WooCommerce: Crucial for dynamic stores to protect the latest orders and customer data.
• External Server Backups: Backups run on Jetpack’s servers, preventing performance impact on your WordPress site.
• One-Click Automatic Restore: Seamless restoration process for both full and partial backups.
• Offsite Storage: Stores all backups offsite, generally for up to 30 days (up to 365 days on the largest plan), at no additional cost for unlimited storage.
• Integrated with WordPress.com Dashboard: Backups are visible and accessible from an external dashboard.
• Other Features: Incremental backups, uptime monitoring, brute force protection, image optimization, malware scanning.

Pros:

• Backed by Automattic’s enterprise-grade infrastructure and security expertise.
• Does not slow down your website during backups.
• Effective and reliable backups.
• Malware scanning feature.
• Direct support from WordPress.com’s expert team.

Cons:

• Only partial backups; it specifically excludes WordPress core files and other elements it doesn’t deem part of your website, which can be problematic for a full restore.
• Free plans do not include backups.
• Optimized elements can change the appearance of the website.
• No multisite support.
• Storage limits can be restrictive for some sites (10GB for daily backups and a 30-day archive for most plans).

Pricing: A free plugin version is available. Paid plans start from $4.95 to $9.95 per month, billed annually ($59.40 to $119.40 per year).

5. Solid Backups (formerly BackupBuddy)

Solid Backups is recommended as a “Cloud-Based WordPress Backup” solution, highlighting its offloading of backup processes to its servers. This indicates a significant evolution or difference in the versions being reviewed. We will present the features of the more current “Solid Backups NextGen.”

Key Features (Solid Backups NextGen):

• Cloud-Powered Backups: Offloads the backup process to its servers, avoiding strain on your hosting resources.
• Smart Incremental Backup System: After the first backup, it only saves changed files, saving storage space and speeding up the process.
• Automated Scheduled Backups: Can be set hourly, twice daily, daily, or at other intervals.
• One-Click Restore: For quick site recovery.
• Industry-Standard AES-256 Data Encryption: Protects your WordPress content.
• Other Features: Detailed activity timeline, centralized management dashboard, 20GB of storage space.

Pros (Solid Backups NextGen):

• All features are available for all users, regardless of plan.
• An efficient cloud-based solution that doesn’t strain your server.
• Includes a 30-day free trial.

Cons (Solid Backups NextGen):

• Incompatible with several major hosting providers like WP Engine, Flywheel, and Pressable.
• Only a premium version is available, not via the WordPress plugin repository.

Pricing (Solid Backups NextGen): Plans start from $8.99 to $69.99 per month. Solid Suite starts at $199 per year.

6. WP Time Capsule

WP Time Capsule plugin is a smarter way to back up your WordPress site. Instead of saving everything over and over, it just backs up the changes. That means less clutter, faster restores, and fewer headaches.

You can store backups in your cloud—Google Drive, Dropbox, Amazon S3—and even test updates safely using its one-click staging feature. Real-time backups is also available.

Key Features:

• Scheduled Automatic and Real-time Backups: Supports capturing every site change instantly.
• Incremental Backups: Subsequent backups are incremental, but still slow compared to competitors.
• Calendar View: Visually represents restore points, making it easy to select a specific date for restoration.
• Integration with Cloud Services: Supports limited cloud services like Amazon S3 or Wasabi.
• One-Click Restore: While available, restores are noted as unreliable.

Pros:

• Option to encrypt database backups.
• Integrated staging.

Cons:

• Extremely slow initial backups: Took over 12 hours for a small 300 MB site, far slower than other plugins.
• Unreliable restores: A major deal-breaker, as it renders backups useless.
• No off-site storage is provided directly by the plugin; it relies on the user’s cloud service.

Pricing: Starts at $49/year. Offers a 30-day free trial for its Business plan.

7. BackWPup

BackWPup is—well, probably—one of those plugins you install and then kind of forget about, in a good way. It quietly backs up your entire WordPress site, including files and databases, and stores them in places like Dropbox, Google Drive, or Amazon S3.

You can schedule backups, restore with a click, and if things go sideways, the Pro version even lets you recover without logging into WordPress. It’s not flashy, but it’s solid. And maybe that’s enough.

Key Features:

• Automatic Scheduled Backups: Allows you to create a “job” to run manual or schedule backups.
• Cloud Storage Integration: Free version supports Dropbox, Amazon S3, or FTP; premium adds Google Drive and encrypted backups.
• Complete and Partial Backups: Can back up the full website.
• Auto-Restore (Premium): Restoration is a premium feature, requiring the Pro version or Standalone Restore App; otherwise, manual restoration via cPanel is needed.

Pros:

• The free version is available for basic backups.
• Encrypted backup files are available in the premium version.
• Ability to repair and optimize the database.
• The interface is clear and simple (according to one source), not overwhelming users.
• Renewal prices are more affordable than first-year prices.

Cons:

• Restores are a premium feature, a major drawback for a backup plugin.
• Interface can be unintuitive and confusing, requiring technical understanding (e.g., “cron jobs,” “WP-CLI”) to set up jobs.
• Free version backups are not secure or encrypted, and security is solely the admin’s responsibility.
• Only restores backups created by the plugin itself.

Pricing: Most backup features are free, but plans (for offsite storage and premium features) start at $69/year. Paid plans are $69 to $349 for the first year.

8. WPvivid

WPvivid is a plugin that can back up your entire site and let you restore it with a click. The plugin can even migrate or clone your site to a new domain. You can schedule backups and store them on cloud storage like Google Drive or Dropbox.

Key Features:

• Scheduled Automatic Backups: Can schedule daily to monthly frequencies, though this might not be sufficient for high-traffic or WooCommerce sites.
• One-Click Auto Restore: Offers easy restoration options.
• Integration with Cloud Services: Connects with Dropbox, Google Drive, Amazon S3, and more for remote storage.
• Integrated Staging: Allows creating a staging site with a couple of clicks.
• Other Features: Partial and complete backups, migration capabilities, incremental backups (premium), multisite support, and performance features.

Pros:

• Fast and error-free backup and restoration processes were observed in testing.
• The free version is “surprisingly full-featured”.

Cons:

• No off-site storage is directly provided; it defaults to the site server until a cloud service is linked.
• No real-time backups.
• Free tier limits to 3 backups, removed in Pro plan.
• The interface is fairly basic and not intuitive.

Pricing: $49/year.

9. WP ALL Backup

Primarily a database backup plugin in its free version, making it useless for full site restoration.

Key Features:

• Scheduled automatic backups.
• Multisite support.
• Integration with Dropbox is only on the free tier; others are on the Pro plan.

Pros:

• Fast backups observed in testing.

Cons:

• Free version only backs up the site database, not files, rendering it useless for full site recovery.
• No off-site storage provided.
• Unreliable restores, often throwing unclear error warnings.
• Underwhelming user experience (UX) despite clear options.

Pricing: Mostly free, with a Pro plan available at $22/year.

10. Backup Guard

Backup Guard is intuitive; it lacks real-time backups, and automated backups are a premium feature.

Key Features:

• Automatic scheduled backups (premium).
• Complete and partial backups.
• Migration capabilities.
• Integration with cloud services.

Pros:

• Fast and easy backups were observed in testing.
• Intuitive and well-designed dashboard, clear instructions for beginners.
• The free version allows seamless backups and restores, and connection to Dropbox.

Cons:

• No real-time backups.
• Manual restores.
• No off-site storage is provided directly.
• Minimum hourly backup frequency is not sufficient for WooCommerce or high-traffic sites.
• Automatic backups require premium plans.

Pricing: Free version available. Premium plans start at $25/year for more cloud storage options (though no off-site storage is provided by the plugin).

Understanding the Differences: Backup Plugin vs. Backup Service

It’s important to clarify the differences between a WordPress backup plugin and a WordPress backup service:

• Backup Plugin: This is software you install directly on your WordPress site. It initiates the backup process from your site’s server.
• Backup Service: This refers to the company or platform that provides the storage and technology infrastructure behind a plugin. Many top-tier backup plugins (like BlogVault and Jetpack VaultPress Backup) connect to external backup services to store your files securely offsite.

How Often Should You Backup Your WordPress Site?

The ideal frequency for backing up your WordPress site depends heavily on how often your content changes and how critical your data is.

• Daily Backups: For most active blogs or news sites, daily backups are highly recommended. This ensures that you don’t lose too much data (posts, media files) in case of a hack or server failure.
• Real-time or Multiple Daily Backups: For e-commerce sites (like WooCommerce stores) or high-traffic websites, real-time backups are essential. These sites have constant changes (new users, orders, and inventory updates), and losing even minutes of data can mean significant financial loss and compromised customer information. BlogVault, for instance, offers real-time backups at 5-minute intervals for WooCommerce sites.
• Weekly Backups: For more static business sites where content doesn’t change frequently, weekly backups may be sufficient.
• Before Updates: It’s always a good practice to backup your website before you make any WordPress updates (plugins, themes, or core). This provides an immediate rollback point if an update introduces conflicts or breaks your site.

Ultimately, the general rule of thumb is: “it’s better to have too many backups than not enough when you need them”.

Final Thoughts

Website backup is important for any site owner. As WordPress doesn’t come with backup features, using a reliable backup plugin or service is essential.

The best WordPress backup plugins offer features such as complete site backups, unlimited offsite storage, scheduled backups, easy one-click backup options, and one-click restores.

We would recommend that you choose the plugin that best suits your needs and do some initial testing of backups and restores, and start using it. Protecting your website data is crucial to running your site worry-free and smoothly. We hope this guide helps you find the right backup plugin.

FAQs

What are the 3 best WordPress automatic backup plugins?

For automated backups, the three best WordPress backup plugins are BlogVault, UpdraftPlus, and WPvivid.

What’s the best way to backup or restore a WordPress blog?

The easiest and safest way to backup or restore your WordPress blog is by using a dedicated backup plugin, which allows you to schedule off-site backups and restore them easily, even if your site has completely crashed.

What is the best backup plugin for WordPress?

With its quick sync, alerts, reliable incremental backups, quick restore capabilities, and unlimited offsite storage, BlogVault is considered the best WordPress backup plugin. It not only backs up your website but also helps you manage backups and restore them easily, significantly reducing downtime and risk of data loss.

How do I backup my entire WordPress site?

To backup your entire WordPress site, you need to use a comprehensive backup plugin like BlogVault. Such plugins can be scheduled for daily or real-time backups, and if they offer offsite storage, your backups are safe even in emergencies. Duplicator and UpdraftPlus are also good options for full site backups.

Does WordPress do automatic backups?

No, WordPress does not have a built-in capability to take automatic backups of your entire site.

How do I backup my WordPress site without plugins?

If you prefer to backup your WordPress site without using any plugins, you can do so through your web host’s control panel (if they offer backup services) or manually using an FTP client. However, manual methods are often unreliable for large sites, time-consuming, and require you to manage storage yourself.

How often should I backup my WordPress site?

You should back up your WordPress site daily to minimize data loss. If your site is an e-commerce site, then your website should do real-time backups, meaning backing up data every 5-10 minutes, to avoid order, customer, inventory, or any other data loss. For blogging sites that update weekly, weekly backups are sufficient.

How does a WordPress backup service work?

A WordPress backup service encrypts your website backups securely off-site. It stores all the data on the cloud across multiple data centers.

What’s the difference between a backup plugin and a backup service?

A backup plugin is installed on your site, and you need to manage it to back up your site. A backup service is different; typically, a company or the technology infrastructure that handles the storage of those backups.

Do backup services slow down my website?

Backup services are designed to operate in the background with minimum resources; hence, they won’t affect website performance.

Can I access my backups if my website is completely down?

Yes, this is a crucial advantage of using a dedicated backup service. They typically provide independent dashboards that are separate from your WordPress admin area. This means you can log into their platform and access your backups even when your website is offline or inaccessible, allowing you to initiate a restore when you need it most.

How much does a WordPress backup plugin cost?

WordPress backup plugin costs may vary. You can check the details of the features and pricing on the relevant website pages.