UpdraftPlus Vs BackupBuddy: WordPress backup plugins compared

BackupBuddy Vs UpdraftPlus – Which Is Better?

One of the biggest risks you face when setting up your own WordPress website is when your site inevitably encounters a problem such as hacks, plugin issues, a bad update, malware or compatibility problems. After all the time and money you spent building and launching your site, it’s possible that you could lose everything in a blink of an eye. It’s all too easy not to even think of these problems, until it actually happens. This is why having a WordPress backup plugin is so important. With the right backup plugin, you can restore your website to it’s working state with a click of a button. In a crowded marketplace with so many options, it can sometimes be difficult to evaluate which plugin is the best for you. In this blog and video we will look at and review two of the most popular backup plugins – UpdraftPlus and BackupBuddy – evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of both, and assess the benefits of Premium versions.

Free plugin versions

The free version of the UpdraftPlus plugin is used on over 3 million WordPress sites all over the world and is the highest rated backup plugin on WP.org. The free version can quickly backup and restore your site and comes with enough features and tools to satisfy most users. This plugin can also easily be downloaded directly in your WordPress site plugin settings, allowing you to start backing up straight away.

BackUpBuddy does not currently offer a free version of it’s backup plugin. As such, it is not possible to compare the free versions of both plugins at this time.

What to look for in a backup plugin

When deciding which backup plugin is best to backup your WordPress site, there are several criteria you should look at, including options that will allow you to backup all your files, database, plugins, themes, uploads and any other directories found, as well as most importantly allowing you to easily restore your site should the worst happen. 

When backing up your site, it is important to choose the right remote storage location. With UpdraftPlus Premium, you have 10 well known remote storage options such as Amazon S3, Google Cloud and Dropbox, as well as 6 additional backup location options including email and FTP.

BackupBuddy’s options are limited to 5 of the well known remote storage options, with 3 additional backup locations. 

Tutorial guides

The plugin itself isn’t the only factor you should consider when making your decision. Setting up and using all the different features in these plugins can sometimes be tricky and confusing, especially for those who may not be IT experts. UpdraftPlus has dozens of up to date video guides on YouTube that can show you everything from how to update from the free version, to the Premium version, to how to connect your UpdraftPlus account to the remote storage provider of your choice.

BackupBuddy’s list of video guides is somewhat limited in comparison, with minimal instructions and only a few (if any) guides on how to connect BackupBuddy to a remote storage location.

Scheduling

Making regular scheduled backups of your WordPress site is essential, as you always want to have the latest version on your site on hand should the worst happen. Both plugins offer scheduling backup options ranging from automatically backing up every hour or so, to every year. With UpdraftPlus however, you can select how many copies of your backup you want to keep within the same page on your site.

While this option is also available in BackupBuddy, it is hidden away in a sub-menu – making it difficult to find.

UpdraftPlus or BackupBuddy?

So which backup plugin should you choose? UpdraftPlus is the world’s most trusted and popular plugin that is trusted by over 3 million users worldwide. With this level of trust, support and development, as well as the ability to backup and restore your site quickly and easily, UpdraftPlus gives you everything you need to backup and restore your site with just a press of a button. 

Be sure to check out all of our WordPress backup comparison pages:

UpdraftPlus vs. BackupWordPress comparison
UpdraftPlus vs. BackupBuddy comparison
UpdraftPlus vs. Akeeba comparison
UpdraftPlus vs. Jetpack comparison 
UpdraftPlus vs. WP Vivid comparison
UpdraftPlus vs, BackWPup comparison