MSP360 Desktop Backup offers a surprisingly capable free version for local file backups, making it a compelling upgrade from Windows File History. However, its Pro version, which adds image backup functionality, relies on a subscription model that can become expensive over time. This review explores both versions, highlighting their strengths and weaknesses.
MSP360 Desktop Backup
Feature Comparison: Free vs. Pro
The free version of MSP360 Desktop Backup offers a wealth of features, surpassing many other free backup solutions. It provides full and incremental backups, granular scheduling down to the minute, backup culling options (including grandfather/father/son), pre- and post-program execution, NTFS permissions support, file filters, backup consistency checks, email notifications, and even a disaster recovery boot disk (though without bare-metal restore capabilities). Essentially, it acts as a significantly enhanced alternative to Windows File History.
MSP360 Desktop Backup Scheduling
The Pro version adds image backups, encryption/compression, virtual machine backup, Exchange support, and other features geared towards professional users. However, the subscription-only model for the Pro version can be a deterrent for some users.
MSP360 Desktop Backup File Filtering
One notable limitation, affecting both versions, is the lack of support for popular consumer-grade online storage services like Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, and Box. Instead, MSP360 Desktop Backup focuses on prosumer/IT-oriented services such as Microsoft Azure, Amazon S3, S3-compatibles, and Google Cloud. This limits the free version’s practicality for online backups for the average user.
MSP360 Desktop Backup Destination Selection
Pricing and Alternatives
The free version, as its name suggests, is free of charge. The Standalone Pro version with imaging costs $30 per year. There is no perpetual license option. MSP360 also offers Managed Backup, which provides online management of multiple computers for $2.50 per seat per month (or $30 annually), but storage costs extra.
MSP360 Desktop Backup Pricing
It’s important to note that restore functionality remains available even after a paid subscription expires, a crucial feature given the proprietary data containers used by MSP360.
Performance and User Experience
In testing, MSP360 Desktop Backup performed reliably. Minor issues, such as an error when selecting a destination drive without sufficient free space, were easily resolved. Image backups and restores, tested with the paid version, also functioned smoothly.
MSP360 Desktop Backup Progress
MSP360 Desktop Backup Boot Disk Creation
Conclusion
MSP360 Desktop Backup’s free version is a highly recommended upgrade for users looking for a more robust alternative to Windows File History for local backups. However, the subscription-based Pro version’s value proposition is less compelling, given the lack of significant year-over-year feature updates and the absence of support for popular consumer cloud storage services. Users seeking online backup solutions may want to consider alternative options that offer more flexible pricing and broader cloud storage compatibility.
