Backup Speed Review: Acronis vs Handy Backup
Handy Backup and Acronis is two very popular backup solutions. Both products are described as "fast and efficient", and it is true. However, how these parameters of backup speed and efficiency are compared with each other solution? Only an actual comparative test can provide an answer!
Either program mentioned in the title is a highly efficient, speedy or stable software capable to back up any data type existed. Therefore, we were conduct sort of "field-testing" to reveal differences between these two solutions, helping users to choose software suiting the user’s personal needs at most.
The Method of Testing
To simulate typical backup activity, the next datasets were used for proving the effectiveness of software solutions:
- Two big files of total size at 3.4 Gb;
- 10,240 small files of total size at 1.44 Gb;
- The mixed set of big and small files of total size at 2.66 Gb.
These sets of data are completely reflecting the content of any typical user backup. For example, a long-established SQL database can be a single file with data capacity from several megabytes to a couple of Gbs. Alternatively, the typical folder with documents contains hundreds of low-megabyte files.
Test Results
Some tests were conducted using Acronis and Handy Backup to the same datasets, to define the average results described in a table below.
Time for Backing up a Dataset* | Acronis | Handy Backup |
Big files | 2 minutes | 2 minutes |
Set of small files | 4 minutes | 3 minutes |
Mixed files | 3 minutes | 3 minutes |
*Note: The exact speed evaluated in these results is a product of several test conditions, such as computer speed, external processes running simultaneously with tests, and the hardware component effectiveness. Therefore, it can be used only for comparing, not by evaluating, the exact time.
The test shows a problem with Acronis, as some operations are devouring free memory, requiring much more disk space than the resulting backup dataset. Test conductors were must to remove some files manually and then return it to the dataset when using Acronis in space-deficiency conditions.
What Does It Mean?
As expected from industry-leading products, the overall performance of Acronis and Handy Backup is close to each other. Medium-size or long file copying demonstrates no significant speed differences between the two backup tools.
For example, extremely long files, such as drive images, can be backed up by either utility with almost the same speed, which can be useful, say, when you backing up the copy of operating system drive created with Acronis True Image, using Handy Backup.
Handy Backup demonstrates about 25% higher speed on tasks requiring backing up a set of relative small files, such as typical user folders, photo collections or software projects. Therefore, it can be somewhat more comfortable for tasks of backing up office clerk’s or developer’s workstation.
Conclusion
As the matter of speed and time is important, we recommend using Handy Backup for copying datasets consisting from many small files on a regular basis. Elsewhere, the two tested solutions are almost of the same speed capabilities, except the little flaw of Acronis requiring a lot of extra space to backup.
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