Hard drive cloning is a procedure that involves creating an identical copy of a hard drive. Most commonly, contents will be saved in an image file, which can be easily moved on to various devices or hard drives – from CDs and DVDs to USB sticks or drives.
If your drive breaks down, swapping it with the clone is fairly simple and prevents the time-consuming job of reinstalling everything.
Whether you rely on a free disk cloning software or a premium program, your options are quite diversified. Generally speaking, most of these programs do the same thing, yet they have a few small features that make the difference.
Deciding on the best cloning software is fairly simple when you know what to expect.
Whether you are after backing your stuff up or you have to transfer data to another drive, here are your best-rated options.
List Of The Best Cloning Softwares
1. AOMEI Backupper Standard
AOMEI might have designed the best cloning software if you are after a free product that can get the job done. It allows you to restore all sorts of applications or files.
Cloning with this software is fairly simple and easy. You can also create images to use it later on. In fact, you are even free to boot different clients with the image within the same network.
A few extras allow this software to compete against premium alternatives. Data compression is one of them, but you can also split data or encrypt your backups for more security.
You can also take automatic back up of files with the use of the scheduled backup or the Cloud storage feature. The Cloud storage allows the access to sensitive files on the go via mobile tablets, Android as well as Apple devices.
Pros
- Free to use
- Backup encryption
- Can backup full partitions
- Easy to use
Cons
- Takes a while to complete a backup
Supported Platforms
Windows 7 or newer
2. Macrium Reflect
The Macrium Reflect is very popular among personal users as well as business organizations. This is because of the free license and the intuitive, user-friendly interface.
It aids the effective cloning of hard disk contents, restoration of images of different formats through the Rapid Delta Restore feature, and protection of a computer system against malware. The users get the additional protection of files with the files encryption feature. Thus, sensitive data is kept well secured and ready for restoration at all times.
Virtual restoration of images is a great feature of this software program, as users can achieve this with the aid of Hyper-V machines designed by Microsoft.
Image files on a computer are also kept up to date due to the Live Imaging component. Scheduled files backup is possible with the preinstalled backup templates.
Pros
- Can create bootable drives
- Multiple options for subscriptions – free option included
- SSD trim support
- Can clone disks or partitions
Cons
- Cannot sync backups
Supported Platforms
Windows 7 or newer
3. EaseUS Todo Backup
The free to use EaseUS Todo Backup cloning software allows you to clone and backup the contents of a hard disk very easily and quickly. It comes with a user-friendly interface for first-time users.
If your system is crashed, you can take advantage of the advanced file recovery feature. Files storage on a variety of devices such as SSD, HDD, USB hard drives, or FTP servers is also feasible with the use of this cloning software.
The users can take automatic backup of files at a particular time with the help of the scheduled files backup feature.
So you can be assured that your files are safe even when your computer crashes. Data is further protected and restored at any time with the automatic Cloud backup feature.
Pros
- Straightforward interface
- Incremental backups
- Cloud backups
Cons
- Doesn’t support mirrors
Supported Platforms
- Windows
- Mac
4. Paragon Software Hard Disk Manager
The easy to use Paragon software is a great tool for seamless cloning of operating systems wholly or partially within a short time. The OS of your computer can be cloned and moved to a USB hard drive as well.
So, the use of your desktop on the go is practically possible. Backing up of hard disk contents for safekeeping is also possible with this software program.
Furthermore, you can get speedy file recovery with this software due to the pre-installed help wizard. This is especially handy when there is an urgent need to restore images no matter their formats.
You can organize the files properly on a hard disk with this cloning software through resizing the disk partitions. Users can customize their files recovery platform with the Recovery media builder feature. This software application supports MBR and GPT formats.
Pros
- Basic and sophisticated backup solutions
- Easy to use and intuitive
- Microsoft Dynamic Disk Support
- Can clone hard disks to larger drives
Cons
- No free version or trial
Supported Platforms
- Windows 7 or newer
5. MiniTool Partition Wizard
This free cloning software is a versatile one. It does not only perform the standard functions of a disc cloning tool but also helps in analyzing how the space of a hard disk is used. In other words, you get proper disc management.
When it comes to disk cloning, users can use this software to work on a variety of devices such as SD memory cards, USB drives, SSD, HDD, and external hard disks.
Recovery of partitions and deleted files, partition resizing, and the conversion of files from NTFS to FAT format is also doable with this software.
Disc management on an efficient level is maximized with the Space Analyzer component. This helps to remove files that are not useful to conserve space for more important files. OS migration from system to SSD is achievable with the Minitool Partition Wizard.
Pros
- Both free and paid options – with a free trial for paid versions
- GPT and MBR support
- Can recover lost files and partitions
- Windows dynamic disks
Cons
- A bit confusing for new users
Supported Platforms
- Windows XP or newer
6. Acronis True Image
The Acronis True Image is one of the fastest disk cloning tools in the market today. This is because of the great user-friendly interface. It is not just a standard hard disk cloning tool as it also provides comprehensive disc management which includes files recovery, disc partitioning, resizing, and splitting.
One can format discs in a variety of formats such as NTFS, SWAP, Reiser3, or Linux. Another outstanding feature of this cloning software is its capacity to automatically backup the contents of files stored in a hard disk onto Cloud storage.
So you can rest assured of double protection for your files anytime. This automatic backup feature is also available for people who work on the go via their Android and Apple devices.
Files encryption is also possible via the advanced AES 256-bit encryption feature. All these features work smoothly even when the computer is in use.
Pros
- 30-day free trial version
- Cloud backups and management
- Superior encryption
- Incremental backups
Cons
- Requires lots of resources to run
Supported Platforms
- Windows 7 or newer
- Mac 10.11 or newer
- iOS 10.3 or newer
- Android 5.0 or newer
7. Clonezilla
Clonezilla enables users and organizations to easily backup and retrieve the contents of a hard disk. It is a great time-saving cloning program, as it can smoothly handle the hard disk cloning process of 40 computer systems at the same time.
You can do hard disk partitioning in the GPT and MBR formats. Disk emulation is also speedily achieved with the aid of this free software.
Files encryption is easy as this cloning software comes with eCrpyts and AE-256 encryption capabilities for maximum protecting and transferring sensitive files.
Clonezilla comes in three downloadable versions: Clonezilla SE and Clonezilla Lite Server for use by business organizations, and the Clonezilla Live for cloning hard disks of personal computers. It is compatible with Windows and Linux OS.
Pros
- Available for free – open source
- Superior encryption standards
- GPT and MBR support
- Suitable for more operating systems
Cons
- Not suitable for everyone
Supported Platforms
- Windows
- Mac
- Linux
8. O&O Disk Image
The cloning software by O&O is great for the extensive management of a computer’s hard disk on personal and professional levels.
This cloning software comes with a very user-friendly interface. The user can back up the contents of a hard disk even when using the computer system. This is possible via the Virtual Hard Disk feature.
Transferring the contents of a cloned hard disk to another system is seamlessly achieved with this software. You can also use it to boost the working performance and get malware protection.
The O&O Disk image hard disk cloning software is available in three affordable subscription prices. The version with the standard hard disk managing features costs just $49.95. For first time users of this software, there is a trial period of 30-days available to use it.
Pros
- Differential and incremental backups supported
- Can backup disks while they are in use
- Virtual hard drives
- Compatible with GPT and dynamic volumes
Cons
- No advanced features and extras
Supported Platforms
- Windows 7 and newer
9. Daemon Tools
The Daemon Tools software is the best in terms of versatility. It is not just used as a cloning software but as a fast means of carrying out disc emulation on a variety of devices at the same time such as HDD, SCSI, and DT devices.
It is also a great tool to use for encrypting sensitive files with the password protection feature. With this software app, mounting images in any format is possible.
The stand out the detail of the Daemon Tools cloning software is the Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) backup feature. This allows you to backup the contents of your hard disk even when you have to format your system.
Gaining access to the VHD is possible with the iSCSi initiator pre-installed in the software. For Windows and Mackintosh OS users, this software comes with a great user-friendly interface.
Pros
- Unlimited devices at the same time
- Emulation is extremely fast
- Can take 256 different hard drives
- Encryption is default
Cons
- Not a specific cloning software, but a program with cloning capabilities
Supported Platforms
- Windows 7 and newer
- Mac
10. DriveImage XML
If you want to easily copy the content of the hard disk on your computer or any another hard disk DriveImage XML is a great option.
It comes with a user-friendly interface for first-time users. With this software application, getting images saved in the XML format is quite simple. You can even work on the XML images with another software.
The user can extract files, browse images, and restore images earlier deleted with this cloning software. If you want to have the contents of your hard disk saved automatically at a particular time, you can use the scheduled automatic backup feature. You just have to input the time you want the feature to kick in automatically.
This cloning software works smoothly for users of the Windows OS. The software can also be run without installation on a computer.
Pros
- 100% free, but only for personal uses
- XML images can be accessed from other supporting software
- Allows scheduling backups
- Quick and easy to use with no experience
Cons
- No advanced or sophisticated options for professional users
Supported Platforms
- Windows XP or newer
Conclusion
The bottom line, choosing the best cloning software can be tricky with so many options. The good news is that no matter what you need, any of the options mentioned above will provide excellent results.
Let us know if this article helped you find a cloning software that you were looking for.
