XYplorer Beta Club

Homepage: https://bvckup2.com
Feature list (& version comparison): https://bvckup2.com/features

This software is not freeware...

I didn't pay for it, though (I've helped during the beta test before the first version was released and got a very generous license because of this).

Why do I recommend it? Because it's so incredible fast!
I'm syncing a 55 GB dataset with 58k files and 10k folders in under 6 seconds with it (ofc the initial data was already copied over, this is the time it needs to scan for changes and copying only these).

I've tried about a dozen backup tools over the last 20 years beginning with cwrsync via a .bat file in the good old days and settled with the pro version of SyncBackSE in the last years but got annoyed that they practically release a new major version every year (to charge for it, not because the new feature list would want you to upgrade)...

If you're a speed fanatic, give this tool a test drive (a two week trial is available)...

I paid for it :-) It’s much much faster than my previous backup software I used and it covers my needs.

Bvckup2 has to be the "slickest" pure utility I've ever used. (I'm not comparing to XY which has a far greater range of functions). As the dev claims, it does what it's designed for better than anything else. And using it is a joy. Altogether, an incredibly polished and robust tool for file backups / syncing.

I use the exceptional Macrium Reflect Free for drive images and can't recommend it too highly either, for bullet-proof functionality.

The only thing that neither can do simply is making a numbered set of compressed archives. For example, zipping all your browser bookmarks into one file every Monday, and keeping the last 8 of those archives somewhere. The paid version of Reflect can apparently do that. I use Cobian Gravity (free) for now.