Carbon Copy Cloner
Everything you wish Time Machine did — and more!
Backups are important. Make sure you're doing them right.
Apple's Time Machine does backups one way — and one way only. If that's not your way, you're out of luck. And if something is wrong with your backup, you might not know until you need to restore, and then it's too late.
Carbon Copy Cloner gives you the control you always wished for: back up what you want, when you want, and how you want. Advanced verification and monitoring features ensure your data is ready and waiting when you need it.
| Back up just what you want | CCC 7 | Time Machine |
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| Back up external hard drives |
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| Back up a specific folder |
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| Smart updates: back up only new or changed files |
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| Custom task filters: control exactly what’s included in your backup |
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| Back up cloud-only files by temporarily downloading them |
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| Set your schedule | CCC 7 | Time Machine |
| Run backups automatically, even if you're not logged in |
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| Specify how often to run backups |
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| Start a backup whenever files are modified on the source |
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| Restrict backups to weekday, weekends, or certain times of day |
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| Restrict backups based on network conditions (ethernet only, only when a specific Wi-Fi network is available) |
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| One-time task scheduling: schedule a backup to run once in the future |
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| Pause a backup |
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| Decide how long to keep them | CCC 7 | Time Machine |
| Keep snapshots of historical backups |
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| Limit backup history by disk usage |
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| Limit backup history by age |
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| Precise control over backup history retention |
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| Mark specific snapshots to keep forever |
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| Restore your disk or individual files | CCC 7 | Time Machine |
| Browse through historical snapshots of your filesystem |
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| Search for older versions of files in your backup history |
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| Restore older versions of files |
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| Restore files deleted from the source |
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| Restore an entire disk |
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| Access files from your CCC backup on your iOS devices |
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| Monitor and verify | CCC 7 | Time Machine |
| Preview a backup before you run it |
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| Backup notifications via Notification Center or email |
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| Dashboard menubar app: monitor, start & stop backups |
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| Real-time backup performance chart with time remaining estimate |
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| Compare: view differences between source and destination |
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| Audit: see what was copied and why |
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| Advanced backup verification |
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| Make it quick | CCC 7 | Time Machine |
| Faster backups with next-generation copy engine |
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| Quick Updates: super quick updates without scanning your whole drive |
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| Make it easy | CCC 7 | Time Machine |
| Guided setup |
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| Backup coach with timely troubleshooting advice |
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| Simple mode |
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| Support from backup experts with 20+ years of experience |
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| Advanced features | CCC 7 | Time Machine |
| Store notes alongside backup tasks and events |
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| Organize, schedule, run, and chart groups of backup tasks |
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| Chain backup tasks to run sequentially |
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| Command line control |
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| Run scripts before and after a backup |
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| Enable encryption on the backup disk |
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Learn more about CCC's features!