Announcing Duplicator WP-CLI Commands (And How They Speed Up Backups)
Looking for a smarter way to manage site backups? Explore Duplicator's new features, including customizable WP-CLI commands and permission settings!
Announcing Duplicator WP-CLI Commands (And How They Speed Up Backups)
Joella Dunn
Joella Dunn
John Turner
John Turner
Do you want to find a free WordPress backup tool?
Backups are an essential part of keeping your WordPress website safe from hacks and critical errors. However, you may not be able to find an affordable backup plugin for your needs.
Fortunately, there are many free WordPress backup options available, so you don’t need to buy a premium tool. You can easily protect your data without overspending your budget.
In this post, we’ll show you the best free WordPress backup tools!
| Plugin | Key Features | Cloud Storage Options | Custom Backups | Migration/Cloning | Limitations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duplicator | Standalone installer that works even if your site is down | Limited in free version | Yes | Yes | Upgrade for cloud storage |
| UpdraftPlus | Incremental backups (premium) | UpdraftVault, Dropbox, Google Drive, DreamObjects, more | Yes | Limited (needs Migrator add-on) | Separate backup files for different components |
| BackWPup | Automatic backups and cloud storage | Dropbox, Amazon S3, Microsoft Azure, Rackspace Cloud, SugarSync | Yes | No | Complicated interface |
| Total Upkeep | Error checks and selective restores | FTP/SFTP | Yes | Yes | Limited remote storage options |
| All-in-One WP Migration | Easy data exports | Limited in free version | No | Yes | 300 MB file import limit |
| WPvivid | Staging and image optimization | Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive, Google Drive, Amazon S3, DigitalOcean Spaces | Yes | Yes | Upgrade for incremental backups |
| WP Staging | Creates staging sites | Limited in free version | Yes | Yes (focuses on staging) | Upgrade for one-click staging to production transfers |
| WP Database Backup | Custom backups and database optimization | FTP/SFTP, Google Drive, Amazon S3, Dropbox | Yes | Yes | Upgrade for custom backup scheduling |
| Everest Backup | Backups, migration, and cloning | Google Drive (free version) | Yes | Yes | Limited cloud storage options in free version |
| Backuply | One-click backup and restore | Google Drive, FTP | Yes | Yes | Limited cloud storage options |
By itself, WordPress doesn’t come with a built-in backup solution. However, many free WordPress plugins come with backup functionality.
WordPress is known for its extensive library of plugins. When it comes to backups, there’s no shortage of options to protect your website. Most of these plugins offer free versions that are perfect for beginners looking to dip their toes into the world of WordPress backups.
Some WordPress hosting providers also include free backups as part of their packages. It’s worth checking with your host to see if they provide automated backups and how frequently they perform them.
While these backups may not be as customizable as dedicated plugins, they can serve as an additional layer of protection.
Since your WordPress site isn’t automatically backed up, you’ll want to either manually back up your website or install a WordPress backup plugin.
Although it’s free to manually download your site files and database, a plugin is much more beginner-friendly and leaves no room for human error.
If you’re looking for a free WordPress backup plugin, there are plenty available on WordPress.org! Let’s show you some of the most popular options, so you can find the most cost-effective tool for your site.
With over 1 million active installations, Duplicator is a popular free WordPress backup plugin. It can back up your site, clone it, or migrate it to a new location. This makes Duplicator a flexible option for any type of website owner.
Duplicator works by backing up your entire site into a single zip file. Every backup you create will also come with a standalone installer. With both of these files, you can easily restore a backup, migrate to a new host, change your domain, and more.
The free version allows you to build full backups or database-only backups by simply checking a box.
To customize your backup even more, you can use filters. You’ll be able to filter out file extensions or paths that you don’t want to include in the backup. You can do the same with database tables.
Once you build the backup, download the archive and installer files. The archive has the full copy of your website, while the installer will help you unpack the archive in a new location.
If you ever need to restore your website, open your site files and upload these backup files to your root directory.
Then, visit https://your-domain/installer.php and the Duplicator installer will pop up. This allows you to easily restore your original website.
You can use this same process to migrate your website. After creating a complete backup, upload it to a new host, server, or domain name. Duplicator will automatically unpack the archive file, import your database, perform a search and replace, and any other complicated migration tasks!
Pricing: Duplicator Lite is completely free to use. It supports full and database backups, migrations, and cloning. If you want to use cloud storage, drag-and-drop migrations, or scheduled backups, upgrade to Duplicator Pro for only $49.50 per year.
UpdraftPlus is another free WordPress backup plugin. It is a go-to choice for many due to its user-friendly interface and comprehensive backup options.
With UpdraftPlus, you can effortlessly create complete backups of your site or specific elements like the database, plugins, themes, and uploads. It supports automated backups on a schedule that suits you best.
Pricing: The basic version of UpdraftPlus is free. You can upgrade to the premium version starting at $70 yearly. Alternatively, UpdraftPlus sells individual add-ons for specific features like multisite support, backup scheduling, and migrations.
With BackWPup, you can create full backups of your WordPress site, including the database and files. It allows you to store backups on off-site storage locations such as Dropbox, Amazon S3, FTP, and more.
BackWPup can compress all of your WordPress files into a zip file. You can customize this file to only include necessary database tables and files, optimizing your backups.
Pricing: Like the other options on this list, BackWPup is free. If you’d like to use emergency restores, multisite backups, or an extra cloud service provider, upgrade to the pro version starting at $69.
Total Upkeep by Boldgrid is a reliable free WordPress backup plugin that offers comprehensive backup and restoration features. It allows you to back up, restore, and migrate your website for free.
As a website owner, a bad update could accidentally cause software conflicts that lead to crashes. With Total Upkeep, you can automatically back up your site before updates and roll it back to this backup if anything goes wrong.
To migrate your site to another server, all you’ll need to do is install Total Upkeep on the new site. Create a download link on the old site and paste it into the new dashboard.
Before and after the migration, Total Upkeep will perform Site Checks to make sure your site isn’t experiencing any errors.
Pricing: Total Upkeep is free, and the premium version costs $2.50 per month.
All-in-One WP Migration is a powerful free WordPress plugin that specializes in site migrations. With over 3 million active installations, it has gained a reputation for its ease of use and reliable migration capabilities.
This plugin simplifies the process of moving your WordPress site to a new host or domain. It allows you to export your entire site in one click. Then, you can import this data into a new WordPress website.
Pricing: The core plugin is free. There are also premium extensions to add cloud storage, increase the file upload limit, and add multisite support. These start at $69 and are priced individually.
WPvivid offers backup, migration, and optimization tools in one package. With extensive backup options and an image cleaner, it caters to a wide range of user needs.
With WPvivid, you can back up your entire website, just the core files, or just the database. You’ll be able to send them to a local server or a staging site.
One defining feature of WPvivid is its image cleaner. Along with backups, migrations, and cloning, WPvivd can scan your media library for unused images. This helps you clean up your WordPress site.
Pricing: WPvivid has a completely free version. The premium plans start at $39.20 per year.
WP Staging is a WordPress plugin that creates a cloned copy of your website and stores it in a sub-folder on your WordPress installation. You can then use this as a staging site, pushing changes to and from your live website.
Along with staging, WP Staging has backup features. You’ll be able to customize manual backups or schedule them to run in the future. Additionally, you can upload a backup in a new location to migrate your website.
Pricing: WP Staging is free to use. To upgrade, plans start at $7.92 monthly.
As the name suggests, WP Database Backup specializes in backing up your WordPress database. It allows you to create database backups manually or on a schedule.
While it primarily focuses on the database, it is a valuable tool for users who want to ensure their critical data is protected. It supports full backups and cloud storage. Unlike other options on this list, it has a built-in search and replace function to update your database URLs after a migration.
Pricing: WP Database Backup is free. The Pro version starts at $9 for a single site license.
Another plugin for backups, migrations, and cloning is Everest Backup. This free WordPress backup tool quickly backs up your database, plugins, themes, media library, and other files. Once you create a backup, you can download and restore it.
Backups can also be used to migrate or clone your entire website. Everest Backup will generate a migration key, which you can paste into a second WordPress installation. This starts transferring your data to the new location.
Pricing: You can use Everest Backup for free, but the premium version starts at $59 per year.
If you’re looking for a simple, fast, and free way to create website backups, Backuply can help. From your WordPress dashboard, you can use Backuply to back up your site’s directories and database to your local server.
Along with a basic backup service, Backuply can migrate your website. You’ll need to add your new web host’s FTP as a backup storage location. Then, you can automatically store the backup archive in the new location and restore it when you’re ready to move your data.
Pricing: Backuply is free. The premium version starts at $18 yearly. This supports up to 10GB Backuply cloud storage.
Here are the best free backup plugins for WordPress:
The best free backup plugin for WordPress is Duplicator. At no cost, you’ll be able to back up your entire website and migrate it to another location. Plus, Duplicator Pro offers cost-effective plans at a lower price than similar backup plugins.
Alternatives: BlogVault, BackupBuddy, and Jetpack Backup are popular backup plugins that support real-time backups and other useful features, but they aren’t free. You’ll have to purchase a premium subscription to start using them.
You can back up your WordPress site for free by installing Duplicator Lite, a free WordPress backup plugin. Simply create a new backup. Then, download it so it’s available whenever you need to restore your site.
To back up your WordPress site without plugins, you’ll need to download both your WordPress files and database. You can use either an FTP client or cPanel to download a copy of your files. Then, export your database as a SQL file in phpMyAdmin.
We hope this comprehensive list helped you find the best free WordPress backup solution for your needs!
While you’re here, I think you’ll like these extra WordPress guides:
Are you ready to extend your free WordPress backup options? Download Duplicator Pro to set up automatic backups, drag-and-drop migrations, and cloud backup storage at an affordable price!
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