Backup & Disaster Recovery · head to head
Borg Backup vs AOMEI Backupper
Borg Backup
Backup & Disaster Recovery
Deduplicating archiver with compression and encryption
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
AOMEI Backupper
Backup & Disaster Recovery
Complete backup and restore solution for Windows
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Borg Backup linux, macOS and BSD only; Windows is not a supported platform; AOMEI Backupper windows only, covering Windows 7 through 11
- They diverge on capability: Borg Backup covers Content-defined chunking, AOMEI Backupper covers System backup.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Borg Backup and AOMEI Backupper actually diverge.
| Attribute | Borg Backup | AOMEI Backupper |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | free | freemium |
| Platforms | Linux, Mac | Windows |
| Founded | 2015 | 2010 |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Backup & Disaster Recovery).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in Borg Backup
- Content-defined chunking
- Deduplication
- Compression
- Authenticated encryption
- Pruning
- Mount archives
- SSH
- BorgBase
Only in AOMEI Backupper
- System backup
- Disk clone
- File sync
- Real-time sync
- Universal restore
- Bootable media
- OneDrive
- Google Drive
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Borg Backup
- Deduplicated backups where daily full snapshots would otherwise be expensivenot AOMEI Backupper
- Encrypted backup to a server you do not fully trust, since the server never sees plaintextnot AOMEI Backupper
- Browsing previous versions by mounting an archive over FUSEnot AOMEI Backupper
- Scripted server backups with no agent or daemon to runnot AOMEI Backupper
AOMEI Backupper
- Free disk and file backup on a personal Windows machinenot Borg Backup
- System image and bare metal recoverynot Borg Backup
- Cloning a drive when upgrading to a larger disk on the paid editionsnot Borg Backup
- Scheduled incremental backupsnot Borg Backup
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Borg Backup
- Linux, macOS and BSD only; Windows is not a supported platform
- Command-line only, with no graphical interface in the project itself
- Version 2.0 is still in beta, so production use means staying on the 1.4 line
- Restoring requires the Borg tooling, since archives are a deduplicated chunk store rather than plain files
AOMEI Backupper
- Windows only, covering Windows 7 through 11
- The free Standard edition is licensed for personal use; business use requires a paid edition from $39.95
- Differential backup, cloud backup and system cloning are all withheld from the free edition, which clones data disks only
- The free edition reads from disk more slowly than the paid ones
- Email notifications on Standard are limited to Gmail and Hotmail servers
- Support on the free edition is business hours rather than 24/7
Pricing, plan by plan
Borg Backup
Free- FreeFree
- Deduplication
- Compression
- Encryption
AOMEI Backupper
Free- Professional$40/year
- System clone
- Universal restore
- Real-time sync
Which should you pick?
Choose Borg Backup if
- You need content-defined chunking.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Linux, Mac.
- You also want deduplication.
Choose AOMEI Backupper if
- You need system backup.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Windows.
- You also want disk clone.
Questions people ask
- Is Borg Backup or AOMEI Backupper better?
- Neither clearly leads. Borg Backup starts at Free and AOMEI Backupper at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Borg Backup or AOMEI Backupper?
- Borg Backup starts at Free and AOMEI Backupper at Free.
- Does Borg Backup or AOMEI Backupper run on more platforms?
- Borg Backup runs on Linux, Mac. AOMEI Backupper runs on Windows.
- Can I use Borg Backup for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Borg Backup best used for?
- Borg Backup is most often used for deduplicated backups where daily full snapshots would otherwise be expensive, encrypted backup to a server you do not fully trust, since the server never sees plaintext, browsing previous versions by mounting an archive over fuse, scripted server backups with no agent or daemon to run. Of those, deduplicated backups where daily full snapshots would otherwise be expensive and encrypted backup to a server you do not fully trust, since the server never sees plaintext are not what AOMEI Backupper is typically brought in for.
- What can Borg Backup do that AOMEI Backupper cannot?
- Borg Backup covers Content-defined chunking, Deduplication, Compression, Authenticated encryption. AOMEI Backupper covers System backup, Disk clone, File sync, Real-time sync.