The BackupBuddy alternative that's faster and modern
BackupBuddy is now Solid Backups, a paid-only, tiered plugin. SafeGuard is the modern alternative: restores in a fraction of the time, everything included on every plan, with staging and push-to-live built in rather than sold up the ladder.
Why people move to SafeGuard
Top-rated overall
First of the nine plugins tested on a public benchmark that weighs what a plugin actually backs up, not only how fast it finishes. Some finish quicker than SafeGuard; the table below says which, on both counts.
Everything is included
Incremental, migration, multisite, staging and 20+ storage providers come on every plan. No per-feature addons or tiers to climb.
Claims you can verify
The benchmark is public and reproducible. Instead of trusting a marketing line, you can run the exact test yourself and check where each plugin lands.
SafeGuard vs BackupBuddy
BackupBuddy is a solid, popular plugin. Here is where the two differ in practice.
| Feature | SafeGuard | BackupBuddy |
|---|---|---|
| Public benchmark | Faster backup and restore | Tested, slower on both |
| Pricing model | Everything on every plan | Paid only, tiered plans |
| Scheduled backups | ||
| Cloud storage providers | 20+ included | Several |
| Incremental / real-time | Stash Live (higher tier) | |
| Site migration / clone | ||
| Multisite support | Higher tier | |
| Staging + push-to-live | ||
| Cloud relay for firewalled sites | ||
| REST API + 50 WP-CLI commands | Limited | |
| Money-back guarantee | 14 days | Varies |
| Support | One-hour reply, 7am to 8pm UK time, Monday to Friday | Varies |
BackupBuddy is now Solid Backups (SolidWP). Comparison based on its public product tiers and the public Backup Arena benchmark. Verify anything for yourself.
Common questions
Is BackupBuddy still around?
It was rebranded to Solid Backups by SolidWP (formerly iThemes). It is still a paid-only plugin. SafeGuard is newer and restores far quicker, though BackupBuddy writes its backup faster. Every feature is on every plan.
How does SafeGuard compare to Solid Backups on speed?
On the public Backup Arena benchmark, on identical hardware and data, BackupBuddy writes its backup faster, but SafeGuard restores in 6.1s against its 41.3s, the widest restore gap we have against any plugin on the board. The method is public so you can verify it.
Does SafeGuard include staging and migration?
Yes. Staging with push-to-live, site migration and multisite are all included on every SafeGuard plan, not gated to a higher tier.
Is there a free version of SafeGuard?
No, SafeGuard is premium only, with a 14-day money-back guarantee. For the first 5 sites I do the migration and the restore test myself.
Moving off BackupBuddy? The URL rewrite is free.
Whichever plugin moves the site, the database still points at the old domain afterwards. We publish Lucid Search & Replace on WordPress.org for that part. It handles serialized data and Elementor's escaped URLs, previews every change before it writes, and can undo the run.
Free, and free of SafeGuard. It works on its own and you never need a paid plan to use it.
Still weighing up the whole field? Our honest buyer's guide to the best WordPress backup plugin covers BackupBuddy alongside every other serious option, including the cases where they are the better pick.
Ready to switch?
Every feature on every plan, a 14-day money-back guarantee, and for the first 5 sites I do the migration and the restore test myself.
Get SafeGuard