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Backup · head to head

Macrium Reflect vs Rewind

Macrium Reflect logo

Macrium Reflect

Backup

Award-winning disk imaging and cloning

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Rewind logo

Rewind

Backup

SaaS backup for cloud business applications

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Macrium Reflect has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Macrium Reflect business editions (Workstation, Site Backup) publish named tiers but no self-serve figure on their own product pages; only a free trial of the management console is offered directly; Rewind cannot back up all QuickBooks Online data due to API limitations, excluding company info, exchange rates, and payroll data
  • They diverge on capability: Macrium Reflect covers Disk imaging, Rewind covers Automated backup.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Macrium Reflect and Rewind actually diverge.

Attributes where Macrium Reflect and Rewind differ
AttributeMacrium ReflectRewind
Starting priceFree$29/month
Pricing modelfreemiumUnknown
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWindowsWeb
Founded20062015

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Backup).

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 Macrium Reflect

  • Disk imaging
  • Rapid delta cloning
  • Rescue Media
  • Incremental backup
  • Scheduling
  • Email notifications
  • Windows PE
  • Hyper-V

Only in Rewind

  • Automated backup
  • One-click restore
  • Version comparison
  • Continuous protection
  • Bulk restore
  • Activity monitoring
  • Shopify
  • BigCommerce

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Macrium Reflect

  • Data protection
  • Disaster recovery
  • Business continuity
  • Ransomware protection
  • Compliance

Rewind

  • Data protection
  • Disaster recovery
  • Business continuity
  • Ransomware protection
  • Compliance

Both are used for data protection, disaster recovery, business continuity, ransomware protection, compliance, on those jobs the choice comes down to price and fit rather than capability.

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Macrium Reflect

  • Business editions (Workstation, Site Backup) publish named tiers but no self-serve figure on their own product pages; only a free trial of the management console is offered directly

Rewind

  • Cannot back up all QuickBooks Online data due to API limitations, excluding company info, exchange rates, and payroll data
  • Backup restore speed is slow for large datasets, causing significant delays during critical recovery situations
  • Cannot back up Shopify inventory tracking quantities, weight, measurement, or cost per item

Pricing, plan by plan

Macrium Reflect

Free
  • Home$70/year
    • Disk imaging
    • Rescue Media
    • Rapid delta

Rewind

$29/month

No published plan breakdown. See the Rewind review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Macrium Reflect if

  • You need disk imaging.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows.
  • You also want rapid delta cloning.
Macrium Reflect review

Choose Rewind if

  • You need automated backup.
  • You also want one-click restore.
Rewind review

Questions people ask

Is Macrium Reflect or Rewind better?
Neither clearly leads. Macrium Reflect starts at Free and Rewind at $29/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Macrium Reflect or Rewind?
Macrium Reflect has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Macrium Reflect and $29/month for Rewind.
Does Macrium Reflect or Rewind run on more platforms?
Macrium Reflect runs on Windows. Rewind runs on Web.
Can I use Macrium Reflect for free?
Yes. Macrium Reflect has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Rewind starts at $29/month.
What is Macrium Reflect best used for?
Macrium Reflect is most often used for data protection, disaster recovery, business continuity, ransomware protection.
What can Macrium Reflect do that Rewind cannot?
Macrium Reflect covers Disk imaging, Rapid delta cloning, Rescue Media, Incremental backup. Rewind covers Automated backup, One-click restore, Version comparison, Continuous protection.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Rewind: How long does Rewind keep backup snapshots?

Rewind keeps backup snapshots for 365 days, making them easily accessible for on-demand restores. This provides over a year of recovery options.

Source
Rewind: What SaaS applications does Rewind back up?

Rewind backs up Shopify, BigCommerce, GitHub, Jira, Confluence, QuickBooks Online, Trello, monday.com, Klaviyo, Mailchimp, and Zendesk Suite, among others.

Source
Rewind: Is Rewind compliant with data protection regulations?

Rewind is SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, DORA, HIPAA, and CCPA compliant with AES-256 encryption and role-based access control.

Source
Rewind: Can you restore individual items or only full backups?

Rewind supports granular, item-level recovery understanding parent-child dependencies, allowing you to restore specific files, orders, or customer information without full dataset rollback.

Source
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