Backing up your Windows Server is one of the most important tasks for ensuring data protection, business continuity, and fast recovery after failures. While many enterprise backup solutions are expensive, there are several powerful and reliable free tools that work perfectly for small businesses, home labs, and testing environments.

In this guide, we’ll look at the best free backup tools for Windows Server, what they offer, and when to use them.

1. Windows Server Backup (WSB)

Windows Server Backup is Microsoft’s built-in solution available for free in all modern Windows Server editions.

Key Features

• Full server backup and restore
• Bare-metal recovery
• VSS-based incremental backups
• Scheduled backups
• System state backup

Best For

Small and medium-sized servers with simple backup needs where ease of use and reliability are important.

2. Veeam Backup & Replication Community Edition

Veeam Community Edition is one of the most capable free backup tools on the market.

Key Features

• Full VM and volume-level backups
• Instant VM recovery
• Fast compression and deduplication
• Support for Hyper-V and VMware
• Restore to Azure or AWS (manual steps required)

Best For

Virtualized environments (Hyper-V or VMware) with up to 10 workloads for free.

3. AOMEI Backupper Standard

AOMEI Backupper Standard is a free and easy-to-use backup tool for physical Windows Server machines.

Key Features

• System backup & disk imaging
• Scheduled & incremental backups
• File and folder backups
• Clone HDD → SSD
• Bootable rescue media

Best For

Administrators who want a simple, lightweight backup tool for small servers.

4. Iperius Backup Free

Iperius Backup Free offers a flexible backup system for files, databases, and application data.

Key Features

• File/folder backup
• SQL Server backup
• FTP/SFTP transfer
• ZIP compression
• Email notifications

(Note: System image backup requires paid version.)

Best For

Servers that need frequent file-level backups and database exports.

5. EaseUS Todo Backup Free (Workstation)

Although the free version is officially for workstation, it works for many server backup scenarios (non-commercial use).

Key Features

• Disk/partition imaging
• Scheduled and incremental backups
• System migration
• Simple restore options

Best For

Lab servers, home servers, or test environments.

6. UrBackup

UrBackup is an open-source client–server backup system that works on Windows Server.

Key Features

• File and image backups
• Web interface
• Incremental and differential backups
• Backup to local disk, NAS, or remote storage

Best For

Admins who want a fully open-source solution with central management.

7. Cobian Backup

Cobian Backup is free and supports robust file-level backup automation.

Key Features

• Scheduled backups
• Incremental and differential
• Encryption support
• Backup to FTP and network shares

Best For

File-based backup routines and lightweight server setups.

Conclusion

Choosing the right backup tool depends on your environment:

• Physical Server? → AOMEI Backupper Standard or Windows Server Backup
• Virtualized Environment? → Veeam Community Edition
• Open-source needed? → UrBackup
• Flexible file backups? → Iperius or Cobian

No matter which tool you choose, a reliable backup strategy is essential to avoid data loss and ensure quick recovery when disaster strikes.

Best Free Backup Tools for Windows Server (2025 Edition) (F.A.Q)