Top 4 Microsoft 365 Cloud Backup Solutions Comparison

There are plenty of backup tools for MS Microsoft 365 services on the global cloud backup market that can help prevent data loss. Combined with the lack of understanding of what features to look for, it makes the choosing process a game of chance. Most cloud-to-cloud Microsoft 365 backup services provide you with the same baseline functionality: they support the same services, let you restore data to the source accounts, use public cloud services like Azure or AWS, and so on.

But there are much more nuances to it that make a certain service the best match for your particular business needs. Some of them include the minimum number of licenses, the availability of ransomware detection, or the ability to migrate data between domains.

To simplify the process of selecting the right Microsoft 365 cloud backup solution, we’ve created a comprehensive comparison table that highlights all the features that can impact the value of the backup software. This table includes critical details like the availability of ransomware detection, a minimum number of licenses, data migration capabilities, and Microsoft cloud backup pricing.

Microsoft 365 Backup Solutions Comparison Table

We’ve picked four solutions – SpinBackup, Datto (Backupify), Spanning, and Afi basing our choice on their functionality scope and recognition in the cybersecurity field.

	Afi	Backupify	Spanning	SpinBackup (by Spin.AI)
Services	Exchange OneDrive SharePoint Teams Calendar Contacts	Exchange OneDrive SharePoint Teams Calendar Contacts	Exchange OneDrive SharePoint Calendar Contacts	Exchange OneDrive SharePoint Teams Calendar Contacts
Price	$3 user/month	$3 user/month	$4 user/month	$3 user/month
Score
Overall	4.7	4.1	3.7	4.7
Ease of setup & use	4.8	4.1	3.9	4.8
Customer Service	4.7	3.9	3.3	4.7
Features	unavailable	3.8	3.8	4.5
Value for money	unavailable	3.8	3.5	4.4
Restore success rate	unavailable	92%	95%	99.9%
Backup Features
Cloud-to-cloud backup
On-demand backup
Backup scheduling /Automated backup
Incremental backup
Archive
Versioning		—
Recovery Features
Disaster recovery
Point-in-time restore		—
Search-based restore
Granular recovery
On-Demand Restoration
Security Features
Ransomware detection and protection		—	—
Encryption at-rest and in-transit
Activity/audit logs	—
Intrusion Detection	—	—
Compliance	SOC1 – SSAE-16, SOC2, PCI DSS Level 1, ISO 27001, HIPAA, FIPS 140-2.	SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA	SOC 2 Type II, GDPR, HIPAA, BBB EU PRIVACY SHIELD, UE-EU and Swiss-US Privacy Shield Certified	SOC1 Type II, GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA, PCI DSS, ISO 27001, UE-EU Privacy Shield Certified
OAuth 2.0		—
Deployment & Support
Web-Based, Cloud, SaaS
Starting number of licenses	5	100	50	10
Email, phone, web support 24/7	Email	—	—
Functionality & Management
Fast file-based search
File Sharing	—	—
Licensing for archived users	—
Managing multiple domains	—	—	—
Data migration inside the domain	—
Domain-to-domain migration	—	—
Customized backup retention	—

If you’re looking for the best Microsoft 365 backup solution for your business, you first need to know what features are most important to you. Many businesses prepare a requirements checklist to get started. To help you in your selection process, we’ve compiled some of the top sought-after features of Microsoft 365 cloud backup solutions. 

Microsoft 365 Backup Features Checklist

• Regulatory Compliance: Choose a storage location that meets regional regulations.
• Data Security: Ensure complete data protection with encryption both in transit and at rest.
• Automated Backup: Schedule and perform backups to AWS, GCP, Azure, or your own storage solution including incremental backups
• Seamless Restoration: Restore files and folders along with their metadata, including hierarchy and sharing settings.
• Retention Policy: Set data retention periods from 6 months to indefinitely, either organization-wide or by Security Groups.
• Local Data Access: Download your backed-up data directly to your local device.
• Data Migration: Easily transfer data between accounts to streamline user management.
• Prevent Data Loss: Monitor changes with access to the 100 most recent snapshots.
• Quick Data Search: Use the search feature to quickly find specific entries in your backed-up data.
• Detailed Activity Reports: Gain better oversight with weekly and monthly data activity reports.

Your list may also have additional features you’re looking for like user access permissions, pricing limitations, alternate storage solutions, and other requirements. Working with your IT professionals will help you make this list as comprehensive as possible.

The Best M365 Backup Solutions

To provide you with specific product research as you evaluate the best M365 backup solution for you, here is a top vendor report our experts have compiled:

Insert the table found here, https://spin.ai/blog/office-365-cloud-backup-solutions-comparison/, under the “Microsoft 365 Backup Solutions Comparison Table” section.

Other Tips to Finding the Best M365 Backup Solution

Backing Up the Entire Microsoft Office 365 Suite

Keep in mind, too, that Microsoft Office 365 is a suite of products that includes Outlook, Outlook People, OneDrive, Calendar, Sharepoint, and Teams. Make sure that the best M365 backup is equipped to backup any or all of these products depending on what you use. 

Outlook

Maintaining important emails, contacts, and calendar events critical to day-to-day business operations requires backing up Microsoft Outlook. Have a system in place that can recover your data quickly without significant loss of productivity or business-critical information from accidental deletions, system failures, or cyberattacks.

Outlook People

If you’re worried about losing contact data from hackers or employees leaving your company, be sure that your M365 backup solution can save and restore all of your Outlook People data. People (customers, employees, partners) are the lifeblood of a business so don’t risk losing this critical data. 

OneDrive

Make sure that your provider can keep the original organizational structure of all your OneDrive files and folders, restore different versions of files so you get the right one back, and it’s easy to select and recovery what you’re specifically looking for. 

Microsoft Calendar

Microsoft 365 is a secure data management suite, but it doesn’t safeguard your Calendar schedules from the most frequently occurring incidents, such as data deletion, ransomware, compliance fines, and cyberattacks. Make sure your selected vendor can backup and recover all of your employees’ calendars so don’t miss out on important meetings and events. 

Sharepoint

A robust SharePoint backup strategy not only protects vital business data but supports disaster recovery efforts, minimizing downtime and maintaining operational efficiency. Scheduling and automating regular backups safeguards against all kinds of prospective data mishaps.

Microsoft Teams

Communciating platforms like Microsoft Teams have become a central hub for teamwork. Without a Teams data backup system, critical information shared and stored in chats, decisions made in meetings, or documents added in Teams could be lost. Your backup ensures that all aspects of Microsoft Teams—from messages and meeting notes to shared files and team settings—are recoverable.

How to Evaluate the Best Microsoft Office 365 Backup

After compiling what you’re looking for, now you have the harder task of combing through all of the available options on the market. Whether you start with colleague recommendations or a Google search, you’re going to find a variety of opinions and options. Here’s some places to get started:

What Does Reddit say is the Best M365 Data Backup Solution?

Opinions are as varying as there are sub-Reddits and often you have to take the comments with a grain of salt. You’ll probably find more comments of what solution to stay away from vs. actual recommendations. 

If you do go scour Reddit for answers, you’re going to find popular products like SpinBackup, Synology, Veeam, Avepointe, AFI, Backupify, Spanning, Dropsuite, and others. And then a long comment thread supporting or debating each one. 

People like to argue to the ends of the earth about what is the best solution to backup data, what they can/cannot do and so on. Again, use Reddit for advice on software (or anything) with great discretion. 

The Best Microsoft 365 Backup Solution from Software Review Sites

There are a lot of software review sites that have done comprehensive research on nearly every software that exists. Some of the more popular ones include G2, Gartner Peer Reviews, Software Advice, SelectHub, GetApp, and Capterra. 

When you use these sites to do your software research keep in mind that there are a lot ways vendors take advantage of these sites to make their solution appear to be the best. They can pay for placement/richer profiles, provide financial incentives to satisfied customers to write reviews, and other tactics to make their solution stand out. 

These review sites have lots of useful data and insights on products you’re evaluating and we recommend using them as a gut check for your research vs. a primary source of research. 

The Best Way to Find The Best Microsoft 365 Backup

After all of your requirements gathering and product research, the ideal way to decide if a product is a great fit your for your business is to try it out yourself. The best solutions offer a free, fully functional trial version of their software and make it really easy to get started. For example, our M365 backup free trial let’s you authenticate with your M365 account credentials to immediately connect your data without having to first speak with a company representative. 

A free trial let’s you play around with the tool to make sure it has a great user experience and can do what you’re looking for. Once you have shortlisted some vendors, go see if they have a free trial and take the solution for a test drive. 

What Do We Recommend for the Best M365 Backup Solution?

Obviously this is a subjective question and reliant on your specific requirements. However, here’s why we think SpinBackup should be considered one of the best Microsoft 365 backup software solutions currently available:

• Cost-effective pricing starting at $3/user/month
• Works for Outlook, OneDrive, Calendar, People, Sharepoint & Teams
• Automated daily data backup
• Popular storage locations (AWS, GCP, Azure, or your own cloud storage) with regional settings
• Easy data management
• Quick granular recovery
• 99.9% accurate data restoration
• Detailed incident reporting 
• Backup archived M365 users
• Flexible retention settings and policies
• Support by phone, email, or chat available 24/7
• SOC 2, EU Privacy Shield, and GDPR compliance 

If you’re ready to back up Microsoft 365, give our free trial a spin or request a customized demo. 

Frequently Asked Questions