--- title: Paragon Backup & Recovery Community Edition canonical: https://saasranked.com/software/paragon-backup-recovery/ category: Backup Software points: 84 rank: 3 of 9 facts_checked: 2026-10-08 --- # Paragon Backup & Recovery Community Edition Free disk-image backup for home Windows PCs, with paid upgrades sold as Paragon Hard Disk Manager Advanced. 84 points out of 100. #3 of 9 backup tools. Vendor: Paragon Technologie GmbH. Website: https://www.paragon-software.com/free/br-free/ - The Community Edition is free for non-commercial use and backs up whole disks, the system, or chosen files and folders [1]. - It builds a WinPE rescue USB stick that restores the whole system when Windows will not start [1]. - Hard Disk Manager Advanced costs $19.95 the first year for one PC, then $24.95, or $79.95 once for a 3-PC perpetual licence [2]. - Backups go to local, external or network storage, with optional 256-bit AES encryption [4]. - Only 64-bit Windows 10 (1809 or newer) and Windows 11 are supported [1]. Verdict: The free Community Edition suits home users who want a system image and a bootable rescue stick at no cost [1]. Paying for Hard Disk Manager Advanced adds disk copying, partitioning and email alerts, and it is sold as a perpetual licence as well as a subscription [1][2]. The catch: Paragon lists no cloud destination, and the Community Edition is for non-commercial use only [4][1]. Best for: Home users who want a free system image backup to a local or external drive. Status: Paragon stopped selling the paid Backup & Recovery for Windows on October 8, 2025; its features now come with Hard Disk Manager, and the free Community Edition remains [3][1]. ## Points | Criterion | Line | Value | Points | Note | |---|---|---|---|---| | What it backs up | Full system image | Yes | 8/8 | Backs up disks and the OS partition with its boot partition, and restores the whole system from WinPE [1]. | | What it backs up | File and folder backup | Yes | 4/4 | Backs up files, volumes or whole disks [1]. | | What it backs up | Incremental backups | Yes | 6/6 | Full, incremental and differential backups are supported [2][4]. | | What it backs up | Scheduled backups | Yes | 4/4 | Backup schedules start jobs automatically [1]. | | What it backs up | Bootable rescue media | Yes | 8/8 | Recovery Media Builder makes a bootable WinPE USB stick or ISO to restore the system [1][2]. | | Where backups go | Destinations | Local or USB drive, Network share or NAS | 10/20 | Local folders, external drives and mapped network shares [4]. | | Safety and recovery | Encrypted backups | Yes | 7/7 | Password-protected backups can use 256-bit AES [4]. | | Safety and recovery | Backups shielded from ransomware | Not published | 0/6 | | | Safety and recovery | Restore to different hardware | Yes | 6/6 | Paragon documents restoring the OS on new hardware by injecting the needed drivers [3][4]. | | Safety and recovery | Versions and retention rules | Yes | 6/6 | Backup strategies set retention and delete old backup images automatically [1]. | | Price | Free edition | Yes | 10/10 | Community Edition is free for non-commercial use [1]. | | Price | First-year price, one PC | $19.95/yr | 8/8 | Hard Disk Manager Advanced one-year licence, $19.95 for the first year [2]. | | Price | One-time licence | Yes | 7/7 | Hard Disk Manager Advanced is sold as a $79.95 perpetual licence for 3 PCs [2]. | ## Plans | Plan | Price | Per month (USD) | |---|---|---| | Backup & Recovery Community Edition | Free [1] | $0 | | Hard Disk Manager Advanced, 1 year | $19.95 first year, then $24.95/year [2] | $1.66 | | Hard Disk Manager Advanced, 3PC | $79.95 one-time [2] | - | The one-year licence is $19.95 for the first year instead of the regular $24.95, and renews automatically [2]. Perpetual licences get free updates but discounted, not free, upgrades [2]. ## Strengths - Free system image backup with scheduling and retention for home use [1]. - The rescue media builder makes a bootable WinPE USB stick or ISO [1][2]. - Paragon documents restoring Windows on new hardware by injecting drivers [3][4]. - A one-time 3-PC licence is sold, so a subscription is optional [2]. - Backups can be encrypted with 256-bit AES [4]. ## Limits - The Community Edition is free only for non-commercial use [1]. - Backups go to local, external or network storage; Paragon lists no cloud destination [4]. - The one-year licence blocks the program when it lapses until you renew [2]. - Paragon's BioNTdrv.sys disk driver had five flaws, one abused in ransomware attacks, before a 2025 fix [5]. ## Concerns - In February 2025, CERT/CC reported five memory flaws in the BioNTdrv.sys driver of the Hard Disk Manager line; Microsoft saw one used in ransomware attacks [5]. Paragon fixed them in Hard Disk Manager 17.45.0 [5]. ## Sources 1. [Paragon Backup & Recovery Community Edition](https://www.paragon-software.com/free/br-free/), Paragon Software, accessed 2026-10-08 2. [Hard Disk Manager Advanced](https://www.paragon-software.com/home/hdm-windows/), Paragon Software, accessed 2026-10-08 3. [Backup & Recovery](https://www.paragon-software.com/backup-recovery/), Paragon Software, accessed 2026-10-08 4. [Paragon Hard Disk Manager Version 17 User Manual](https://download.paragon-software.com/doc/Paragon_Hard_Disk_Manager_17.pdf), Paragon Software, accessed 2026-10-08 5. [VU#726882: Paragon Software Hard Disk Manager product line contains five memory vulnerabilities within its BioNTdrv.sys driver](https://kb.cert.org/vuls/id/726882), CERT Coordination Center, accessed 2026-10-08