The BackWPup alternative that's faster, with more included
Most people arriving here are not comparing feature tables. They are here because version 5 changed a plugin that already worked. BackWPup holds 22.4% one-star reviews across 1,321 ratings on wordpress.org, against 2.8% for UpdraftPlus and 1.7% for WPvivid, and the recent one-star titles are overwhelmingly about the upgrade rather than the price. If that is you, the thing worth knowing is that migration, encrypted backups and cloud restore all sit in BackWPup Pro, and SafeGuard includes them on every plan. On speed the two split: BackWPup writes a backup faster, SafeGuard restores in about half the time.
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 BackWPup
BackWPup is a solid, popular plugin. Here is where the two differ in practice.
| Feature | SafeGuard | BackWPup |
|---|---|---|
| Public benchmark | Faster restore (6.1s vs 9.6s) | Faster backup |
| Pricing model | Everything on every plan | Free tier + Pro from ~$69/yr |
| Scheduled backups | ||
| Restore inside WordPress | ||
| Restore from cloud (no WP access) | Pro | |
| Encrypted backups | Pro | |
| Site migration / clone | Pro | |
| 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 |
Based on BackWPup's publicly documented free vs Pro split and the public Backup Arena benchmark. Verify anything for yourself.
Common questions
I am here because version 5 broke my setup. Is that common?
It is the single most common thing in their recent reviews. 22.4% of BackWPup's 1,321 wordpress.org ratings are one star, which is the worst in this category by a wide margin, and the recent ones are dominated by people saying the version 5 rewrite removed or broke something they relied on, including the MainWP integration agencies use to run client sites. We are not going to tell you their plugin is bad, it was well liked for years. But if an update took away a working setup, an alternative that restores in half the time with nothing held back for a Pro tier is a reasonable place to look.
Isn't BackWPup free good enough?
For scheduled backups and restores inside WordPress, the free tier is genuinely capable. But migration, encryption, cloud restore and priority support are BackWPup Pro. SafeGuard includes all of those on every plan and restores in about half the time, though BackWPup writes the backup quicker.
Which is faster, SafeGuard or BackWPup?
On the public Backup Arena benchmark, run on identical hardware and data, BackWPup backs up faster than SafeGuard while SafeGuard restores faster, 6.1s against 9.6s. You can rerun the test yourself.
Does SafeGuard include migration and encryption?
Yes, both are included on every SafeGuard plan, along with staging, multisite and 20+ storage providers.
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 BackWPup? 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 BackWPup 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