10 Best Free Hard Drive Cloning Software in 2024

Protecting customer data is a steadfast priority of every business, big or small. 

While hard drives offer a cost-effective way to store data, they can fall short in terms of speed and safety. Regular backups are crucial, yet the risk of hard drive failures poses a severe problem, and restoring data from scratch can be time-consuming and disruptive.

Free hard drive cloning software is a life-saver for small businesses, offering a practical and cost-effective solution. By creating an exact replica of your hard drive, you can safeguard your data and expedite system recovery in case of hardware failure. 

To protect your business from financial loss and minimize downtime, we've put together a list of the top 10 free hard drive cloning software. Let's review their features and insights from G2 user feedback to make the best choice.

How did we select and evaluate the best free hard drive cloning software?

At G2, we rank software solutions using a proprietary algorithm that considers customer satisfaction and market presence based on authentic user reviews. Our market research analysts and writers spend weeks testing solutions against multiple criteria set for a software category. We give you unbiased software evaluations – that's the G2 difference! We didn’t accept payment or exchange links for product placements in this list. Please read our G2 Research Scoring Methodology for more details.

Top 10 best free hard drive cloning software of 2024

The free hard drive cloning software list below contains real user reviews from the free hard drive cloning software category page. It’s important to note that in the context of this list, software that requires payment after a free trial is considered free. 

To be included in this category, a solution must:

• Copy all data from hard drives, including hidden and uneditable system files
• Deploy drive images directly to hard drives
• Automate installation of a drive image onto a hard drive
• Allow one drive clone to image numerous drives
• Remotely access drive images for maintenance and use

This data was pulled from G2 in 2024. Some reviews may have been edited for clarity.

1. Acronis True Image

Acronis True Image is a popular backup and recovery software for both personal and business use. It offers comprehensive features for data protection, including hard drive cloning, file backup, and cloud storage.

What users like best:

“My experience with Acronis True Image has been extremely positive. The tool is user-friendly and simplifies the process of partitioning drives and creating 'golden' images. This functionality makes it easy to manage devices effectively, which is crucial for efficient service delivery management.”

- Acronis True Image Review, Daniel A.

What users dislike:

“The user interface is less intuitive and visually appealing, and it lacks support for older hardware.”

- Acronis True Image Review, Souhail B.

2. Macrium Reflect

Macrium Reflect specializes in disk imaging and backup. It offers fast and efficient image creation, incremental backups, and bare metal recovery. Known for its simplicity and effectiveness, it's a favorite among small business users for system protection.

What users like best:

“Macrium Reflect’s intuitive interface and step-by-step guides make it easy for beginners. You can schedule backups or create them manually for files, folders, or entire drives. Macrium Reflect excels at hard disk cloning, even if the target disk is smaller, by reallocating free space. Available for both homes and businesses, it's a reliable way to secure essential files.”

- Macrium Reflect Review, Ariya S.

What users dislike:

“When trying to perform a system restore from the site manager page, the page often times out before the process can even begin. Typically, to start a restore, I need to access the computer directly and use reflexct.exe or create a recovery disk. This process is further complicated because user accounts lack the necessary passwords to access the data backup repositories. As a result, I often have to either create a copy of the system backups to external media for restoration or temporarily adjust the permissions on the backup target.”

- Macrium Reflect Review, Greg N.

3. Active@Disk Image

Although primarily a disk imaging tool, Active@Disk Image focuses on creating exact replicas of hard drives or partitions. It's renowned for its simplicity and efficiency in backing up data, with features like selective image creation and restoration.

What users like best:

“I use Active@ Disk Image to create duplicate copies of my hard drive data, allowing me to clone selected partitions or the entire drive without restarting my computer. It efficiently produces an exact copy in a short amount of time and lets me choose to clone only important sectors and files, making it ideal for PC upgrades and regular backups.”

- Active@Disk Image Review, Lokender Y.

What users dislike:

“The free version has limited features, while the paid standard version offers options found in other free backup products. They need to enhance their offerings or reconsider the feature distribution across tiers.”

- Active@Disk Image Review, Dylan S.

4. O&O DiskImage

O&O DiskImage offers comprehensive backup solutions, including disk imaging, file backup, and system cloning. It is used for its user-friendly interface and ability to perform bare-metal restores even on different hardware.

What users like best:

“O&O DiskImage is an essential tool for my team, enabling us to efficiently back up data and easily clone disks. Its clean and intuitive user interface makes it simple for everyone on the team to use, even without extensive technical knowledge.”

- O&O DiskImage Review, Tommy Y.

What users dislike:

“The main downside of O&O AutoBackup is that it doesn’t restore your data, which I wish it did. Instead, you have to do it manually, which can be time-consuming. Additionally, there’s no option for a straightforward full backup.”

- O&O DiskImage Review, Jasmine M.

5. Iperius Backup

As a versatile tool, Iperius Backup stands out for its support of various backup destinations like the cloud, Network-Attached Storage (NAS) and File Transfer Protocol (FTP). With a strong focus on disk imaging and disaster recovery, it offers efficient incremental backups and bare-metal restore capabilities.

What users like best:

“It's easy to use and set up for backing up company-shared files. Adding source drives or folders and selecting the destination drive, like a USB, is straightforward. The backup creates a password-protected zip file, making it simple to restore if needed. If there's an error, the log file helps identify and fix the issue. Plus, you get nightly email alerts with the backup status.”

- Iperius Backup Review, Marwan M.

What users dislike:

“The interface isn't user-friendly, and some configuration steps are unclear, leaving you uncertain whether everything is set up correctly. A backup solution should inspire confidence, but this one falls short.”

- Iperius Backup Review, José Román B.

6. EaseUS Todo Backup Business

EaseUS Todo Backup Business is a backup and recovery solution. It offers disk imaging, file backup, system restore, and disaster recovery features. Known for its user-friendly interface, it's well-suited for businesses requiring robust data protection strategies.

What users like best:

“I have configured EaseUS Todo Backup Business to perform monthly backups on my Windows system, and I've only encountered a minor issue that customer support promptly resolved. Their quick and efficient customer support minimizes downtime, which is really reassuring. Acronis covers everything—system files, programs, and even emails. Having used it for over three years, I can confidently say it’s the best backup program I've used.”

- EaseUS Todo Backup Business Review, Keith A.

What users dislike:

“The main issue with this software is that the licensing key is tied to specific versions. If you install the wrong version, it can be difficult to remove before reinstalling the correct one.”

- EaseUS Todo Backup Business Review, Jason W.

7. Paragon Hard Disk Manager Business

Paragon Hard Disk Manager Business holds its mark among system administrators and IT professionals for its disk management and data protection skills. It supports disk cloning, partitioning, data recovery, and backup.

What users like best:

“For one of my consulting gigs, I assisted a startup in demonstrating their ability to maintain business continuity in the event of a disaster, ensuring they could securely transfer data to an offsite location. Paragon's performance was impressive, and as a result, I helped the startup secure a government contract, giving them a significant boost towards business success.”

- Paragon Hard Disk Manager Business Review, Brad E.

What users dislike:

“Paragon Hard Disk Manager Business has several drawbacks. The customer support is not very reliable, and the software can be buggy, showing glitches at times. Additionally, it offers limited support for outdated operating systems and can be costly for small enterprises.”

- Paragon Hard Disk Manager Business Review, Tarun M.

8. Daemon Tools

Daemon Tools is primarily a virtual drive software, allowing users to mount disc images as virtual drives. While not directly related to disk cloning, it can be used indirectly to back up or transfer data by creating disc images. It stands out for its ability to emulate various disc formats.

What users like best:

“Using Daemon Tools, I can easily create disk clones and test ISO images. I’m very satisfied with the program and would recommend it for regular use. It’s my favorite disk emulation tool for Windows, running flawlessly nearly every time. Creating virtual disks has never been easier, and despite a few minor hiccups, I've been using this software reliably since 2006.”

- Daemon Tools Review, Godfrey C.

What users dislike:

“Daemon Tools can struggle with damaged ISO files, often failing to open them if there's a small bad sector. The excessive banners in the application can be visually overwhelming and tiresome.”

- Daemon Tools Review, Haydar S.

9. AOMEI Backupper

AOMEI Backupper is a backup and restore software catered towards small business owners. Praised for its feature-set and competitive pricing, AOMEI Backupper supports system, disk, file, and partition backup, as well as disk cloning and restoration.

What users like best:

“AOMEI Backupper offers low licensing costs compared to competitors and features a straightforward setup with intuitive notifications.”

- AOMEI Backupper Review, Matthew W.

What users dislike:

“AOMEI Backupper takes an unusually long time to process documents and offers limited flexibility. You can only use backups within their system and cannot convert them to universal formats like .zip, .rom, or .iso. The settings menu lacks extensive control and options, which could be beneficial. While the program works well for my needs, additional choices and settings could improve its usefulness in various situations.”

- AOMEI Backupper Review, Lucia O.

10. MiniTool Partition Wizard

MiniTool Partition Wizard is a partition management tool with disk cloning capabilities. It offers features like resizing, merging, and creating partitions. Beyond a primary focus, it provides reliable disk cloning functionality for users needing basic partition management tasks.

What users like best:

“The best version for organizing disks in Windows allows you to merge and resize partitions, manage data, and control memory efficiently. It also supports migrating data and generating bootable drives for Windows, making it ideal for managing various software installations on your PC.”

- MiniTool Partition Wizard Review, Maria U.

What users dislike:

“I dislike the lack of fine calibration for space assignment, such as resizing partitions by just a few megabytes. The software doesn’t accept exact space values when entered textually, forcing me to adjust the partition margins manually with the mouse, which is not very precise.”

- MiniTool Partition Wizard Review, Andrea L.

Comparison of the best free hard drive cloning software

If you feel overwhelmed by the wealth of information about free hard drive cloning software, this comparison table will help you with all the important aspects:

Frequently asked questions on free hard drive cloning software

Q. What features should I look for in free disk cloning software?

Prioritize features that allow you to clone both your operating system and data to a new drive. Look for support for different drive sizes and types (HDD, SSD), sector-by-sector cloning for exact copies, and options for resizing partitions during the cloning process. 

Q. Are there any limitations to free hard drive cloning software?

Free disk cloning software often have limitations compared to paid software. These can include restrictions on drive size, limited technical support, lack of advanced features like dynamic disk support, or watermarks on the cloned system. Explore paid hard drive cloning software for advanced features.

Q. How do I choose the right free hard drive cloning software?

It depends on your specific needs. Pay attention to user interface simplicity, compatibility with your hardware, and the software's reputation for reliability. Testing the software on a non-critical partition can help you assess its performance and ease of use before cloning your entire system.

Q. Can I clone a larger hard drive to a smaller one using free software?

Yes, but it's important to ensure the target drive has enough space for all essential data and the operating system. You might need to manually select partitions or use the software's built-in resizing options.

Q. Is it safe to use free hard disk cloning software?

The best free disk cloning software options discussed in this article are safe to use. However, as with any software, it’s essential to back up your important data before initiating the cloning process.

Q. What happens if the cloning process fails?

If the cloning process fails, your data might be at risk. That's why backing up important data beforehand is crucial. Some cloning software offers rollback or recovery options in case of failures.

Mirror, mirror on my drive!

Safeguarding your business's critical data is essential for its success. A hard drive failure can disrupt operations and lead to potential losses. By using free hard drive cloning software, you can create a duplicate of your hard drive, protecting your data and minimizing downtime in case of unexpected issues.

While cloning is a valuable tool, it's important to remember that it's not a substitute for regular backups. By investing a small amount of time in setting up a cloning solution, you can significantly reduce the risk of data loss.

 Enhance your data protection strategy with reliable backup software.

Edited by Monishka Agrawal