Iperius Backup Free

Iperius Backup Free is the freeware edition of Iperius Backup, a Windows backup tool for copying files and folders to a NAS, USB or RDX drive, or another computer on the network, on a schedule. It suits admins who look for an Iperius Backup free download to protect a small server, a front-desk PC or a department share without buying a backup suite. It is free with no expiry, and the developer also allows it on Windows Server.

It is a file-level tool. You get full, incremental and differential copies, zip compression, email reports and pre/post scripts. Open-file (VSS) copies, disk images, databases, cloud, FTP and tape all belong to the paid editions. If you know that boundary from the start, the free edition is a dependable way to get files off a machine every night.

Iperius Backup Free at a glance

What it does

• Backs up files and folders to local disks, USB and RDX drives, NAS devices and network computers.
• Runs full, incremental and differential backups and can keep several backup copies.
• Compresses to zip with no limit on archive size, file count or path length.
• Schedules jobs by day and time, with an unlimited number of jobs.
• Filters files and folders with advanced include and exclude rules.
• Authenticates to network destinations automatically with stored credentials.
• Sends email notifications and runs external scripts or programs before and after a job.
• Restores incremental and differential sets automatically.

How sysadmins use it

Nightly incremental backup of a share to a NAS

1. Create a new backup job. On the Items tab, add the folders to protect (for example D:SharesFinance) and set exclusions such as *.tmp.
2. On Destinations, add a folder destination with a UNC path such as \nas01backupfileserver, enter network credentials, and choose incremental or differential mode plus the number of copies to keep.
3. On Scheduling, pick the days and a time outside office hours.
4. On Options, enable email notification with your SMTP server so failures do not go unnoticed.
5. Save the job, run it once by hand and check the log before trusting the schedule.

Dump a SQL Server Express database before the file backup

Database backup is a paid feature, but you can still protect a small database with a pre-backup script, provided Iperius picks up the resulting .bak file:

@echo off
sqlcmd -S .SQLEXPRESS -E -Q "BACKUP DATABASE [AppDB] TO DISK = N'D:DumpsAppDB.bak' WITH INIT"
if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1

1. Save it as C:Scriptsdump-appdb.cmd.
2. In the job’s Options, set it as the program to run before the backup.
3. Add D:Dumps to the job’s items so the .bak file is copied to the destination.

Rotating external drives for an offline copy

1. Create a second job that targets the USB or RDX drive letter and uses full or differential mode.
2. Schedule it weekly and swap drives on a fixed day, keeping one drive off site.
3. Check the email report after each swap to confirm the new drive was written.

Install and first run

Windows desktop and Server. Run the installer with administrator rights. The official compatibility list covers Windows 7 through 11 and Windows Server 2008 through 2025. Keep an eye on the official news page for releases; the developer ships updates several times a year.

No service mode. The free edition cannot be installed as a Windows service. Scheduled jobs therefore depend on Iperius running in a logged-on session. On a server, keep a dedicated backup account signed in, or accept that a reboot without logon will skip jobs.

Network destinations. The account running Iperius, or the credentials stored in the destination, needs write access to the share. Use a dedicated backup user with rights only on the backup folder, so ransomware running as an ordinary user cannot reach older copies.

Email. Notifications need an SMTP server you are allowed to relay through. Test from the options screen before the first scheduled run.

Limitations

• No open-file backup (VSS). Files locked by running applications, such as Outlook PST files or live databases, can fail to copy.
• No Windows service, so scheduled jobs need a logged-on session.
• No synchronisation mode that deletes files from the destination when they disappear from the source.
• No disk image, bare-metal restore, tape, cloud (OneDrive, Google Drive, S3), FTP or database backup. These are in the paid editions.
• No technical support for the free edition.
• Windows only. There is no macOS or Linux version.

Iperius Backup Free vs alternatives

Areca Backup is open source, runs on Windows and Linux, and offers encryption and versioning, but its interface takes more effort. zBack is a simple folder-sync and backup utility that has not been updated since 2020. If you need image-level backups for bare-metal recovery, use a dedicated imaging tool alongside Iperius Free, or move to a paid Iperius edition that combines both.

FAQ

Is Iperius Backup really free?

The Free edition costs nothing, does not expire and may be used on Windows Server. The Desktop, Essential, Advanced and Full editions are paid and add the advanced backup types.

What are the Iperius Backup Free limitations?

No service mode, no sync, no VSS open-file copies, and no image, database, tape, cloud or FTP backup. There is also no support. File backup to disks, NAS and network shares is not limited.

Does Iperius Backup Free support VSS?

No. Open-file backup through Volume Shadow Copy is listed among the paid features, so close applications or dump their data to a file before the job runs.

Can the free version back up to Google Drive or OneDrive?

Not directly. Cloud destinations are paid features. A workaround is to back up into a folder that a sync client already uploads, though that is not a true offsite backup.

Is there Iperius Backup for Mac or Linux?

No. Iperius Backup runs only on Windows. Mac users usually rely on Time Machine, and Linux admins use rsync-based tools.

Does it work on Windows 11 and Server 2025?

Yes. The developer lists Windows 11 and Windows Server 2025 among the compatible systems.

Iperius Backup vs Veeam: which is better for a small office?

Veeam’s free Windows agent is strongest at whole-machine and volume images. Iperius Free focuses on scheduled file copies with compression and email reports. Many small offices use one tool for system images and another for file-level versions.

Last checked against official sources: 1 October 2026 (developer website: iperiusbackup.com). Versions and licence terms change — confirm on the developer's site before deploying in production.