Free alternatives to Clonezilla

3 backup & recovery programs worth considering instead of — or alongside — Clonezilla.

Alternatives to Clonezilla

Duplicati

Open Source
by Duplicati Team

Encrypted, incremental backup to any cloud storage.

  • AES-256 encryption before upload
  • Works with most cloud storage providers
  • Incremental deduplicated backups
WindowsmacOSLinux

Syncthing

Open Source
by Syncthing Foundation

Continuous file sync between your devices, with no cloud in between.

  • Direct peer-to-peer encrypted sync
  • No third-party server stores your data
  • File versioning
WindowsmacOSLinuxAndroid

About Clonezilla

Clonezilla creates complete disk and partition images for bare-metal restore or mass deployment, booting from its own live media so it can image a system drive safely. The open-source counterpart to commercial imaging suites.

It is open source and runs on Windows, Linux. Below are 3 backup & recovery programs that cover the same ground — some open-source, some cross-platform, each free to use.

Clonezilla alternatives compared

ProgramLicencePlatformsBest known for
DuplicatiOpen SourceWindows, macOS, LinuxAES-256 encryption before upload
SyncthingOpen SourceWindows, macOS, Linux, AndroidDirect peer-to-peer encrypted sync
Veeam Agent for Windows FREEFreeWindowsFull image-level machine backup

The alternatives in detail

Duplicati Open Source

Duplicati backs up to almost any cloud destination — S3, Backblaze B2, Google Drive, OneDrive, FTP and more — with strong client-side encryption applied before anything leaves your machine, plus incremental, deduplicated storage. Notable for aes-256 encryption before upload and works with most cloud storage providers. Runs on Windows, macOS, Linux.

Syncthing Open Source

Syncthing keeps folders synchronised directly between your own devices over encrypted peer-to-peer connections, with no third-party server ever holding your files. Notable for direct peer-to-peer encrypted sync and no third-party server stores your data. Runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android.

Veeam Agent for Windows FREE Free

Veeam Agent brings backup technology developed for enterprise data centres to individual Windows machines at no cost, supporting full image-level backup and bare-metal recovery via its own recovery media. Notable for full image-level machine backup and bare-metal recovery media. Runs on Windows.

How to choose

2 are fully open source (Duplicati, Syncthing) — pick one of these if you value auditable code you can self-host. For the widest platform coverage, Duplicati, Syncthing run on three or more operating systems. On a Mac, Duplicati, Syncthing support macOS natively.

All 3 are free to download from the publisher's own website, so installing two or three and testing them on your own files is the fastest way to decide — it costs nothing but a few minutes.

Head-to-head comparisons