Comparing WordPress Backup Solutions: Plugins vs Hosting Services

Summarize with:

ChatGPT

Claude

Perplexity

A WordPress backup is an essential part of website maintenance and safety. They let you quickly recover from unforeseen issues like site crashes, malware infections, or hacking attempts, preventing data loss and protecting your content. Website owners often find themselves choosing between plugins and their WordPress Hosting service. In this blog, we’ll explain why WordPress backups are so important, compare the two methods, and cover their differences to help you protect your online business.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• WordPress backups protect your site’s content, functionality, and structure by saving copies of your files and database that can be restored in emergencies.
• Regular backups aligned with your update frequency provide multiple restoration options and let you maintain and improve your site without worrying about permanent damage.
• If you want simplicity and minimal setup, hosting provider backups are a solid choice. Plugins offer more functionality but require more technical knowledge and hands-on management.
• Choose backup solutions based on your website’s needs, budget, and technical skill level rather than simply selecting the cheapest or most popular option.
• The best way to backup is to combine a reliable plugin with your hosting provider’s built-in service to ensure your site is always safe, recoverable, and up to date.

Why Every Website Owner Needs a WordPress Backup

A WordPress backup is a copy of your WordPress site’s files, data, and content that can be used to restore it in case of data loss, corruption, hacking, or human error. Think of it as an insurance policy or a safety net if something goes wrong. Without them, recovering your site could mean days of downtime, lost revenue, and irreversible data loss. With a backup, you’re not starting from square one, and you can recover your site in minutes, resuming business as usual.

Accidental deletions and database table corruption happen more often than you think. New plugins or WordPress themes break, and people overwrite files—it takes moments to lose everything. The same goes for server crashes and cyberattacks; a sudden data center issue, virus infection, or hack can wipe your WordPress website in seconds. With a backup, you’re not starting from square one, and you can restore your site in minutes, resuming business as usual.

The Importance of Regular Backups

Without site backups, you risk extended downtime, lost revenue, and irreversible data loss. Not to mention, rebuilding an entire WordPress site from scratch can take weeks and may never accurately replicate the original version.

Updates and changes may break functionality, and a recent backup of your WordPress site lets you restore to a previous state and fix things. Similarly, whether it’s bad code, failed plugins, or hack attempts, an updated backup can save hours of troubleshooting and frustration.

Having a backup plan makes sure you are covered in case the worst happens and keeps the recovery process relatively stress-free. Additionally, if you are migrating to a new host and want to keep your domain name and site as is, you’ll need to restore backups on the new hosting server. A complete WordPress website backup includes two main components:

Website Files

These are all the files and folders that make up your WordPress installation. This includes the core software files themselves, all the themes and plugins you have installed, and all your uploaded media files (images, videos, documents, etc.), usually found in the wp-content/uploads directory.

Database

This is where all your website’s dynamic content is stored. This includes posts, pages, comments, user information, theme and plugin settings, and much more. Without the database, your entire WordPress site would just be a collection of files with no content or structure.

You can create backups manually, but this process requires time and technical knowledge and can be prone to human error. You’ll use your web hosting provider’s control panel to export the database using a tool like phpMyAdmin and download your site files via an FTP client or file manager.

While this method gives you full backend control, it’s usually not the most practical, especially if you frequently update your content. The easiest way is to use automatic backups. This eliminates the human factor that often leads to performing backups too late or forgetting them completely, ensuring consistency regardless of how busy you get. This is where your WordPress hosting and plugin options come in.

Comparing WordPress Backup Plugins vs WordPress Hosting Options

When it comes to backing up your WordPress site without taking the DIY route, you have two backup options available: using plugins or your web host’s services. Each comes with its own set of benefits and drawbacks, depending on your level of experience, the complexity and size of your site, and how much control you want over the process.

WordPress Hosting Services

Many WordPress hosting providers include backup features as part of their service. These are done on the server and can be managed through your control panel (cPanel, Plesk, etc.). Since they happen at the server level, they’re often faster and less resource-heavy than plugins, meaning they don’t slow down your site and can capture elements that plugin-based solutions might miss

At the same time, you usually have a one-click restore process, which simplifies and speeds up the recovery process. If something goes wrong, have direct access to a support team for help.

Hosted.com®’s WordPress Hosting plans include daily automatic Acronis backups; no additional setup needed. We handle everything behind the scenes and store them securely on our servers with easy restorations in case of emergency.

WordPress Plugins

Plugins are additional software that is installed and run in your WordPress admin dashboard, providing full control over what’s backed up, when it’s scheduled to run, and where it’s stored. They also automate the backup process and offer features like:

• Incremental backups (only changes since the last backup are saved)
• Cloud integration (Google Drive, Dropbox, Amazon S3) and hard drive storage.
• One-click restores and migration tools.

However, they do require technical knowledge to configure and maintain properly, and can use up more server resources (RAM, CPU, and storage space) compared to server-level backups. You are also responsible for monitoring and troubleshooting issues, for example, plugin conflicts or failures.

Depending on the one you choose, there are costs involved for premium versions and cloud storage services. Having said that, if you want the extra features and are comfortable with managing them, plugins are a solid choice.

5 Best WordPress Backup Plugins and Tools

The WordPress library offers a range of options, from simple, free plugins to comprehensive enterprise-level tools. Here are some of the most popular and widely used paid and free WordPress backup tools.

UpdraftPlusBackups

UpdraftPlus is a leading backup and migration plugin known for its flexibility, extensive integration with remote storage options, and user-friendly interface in the free version. The premium version includes incremental and partial backups, which only save changes made since the last backup, reducing server load. It also automatically creates restore points before any WordPress core files, plugins, or theme updates. Restoration is relatively straightforward and also lets you select which components to restore to a previous version.

Duplicator

The Duplicator plugin copies your entire WordPress site, including files and the database, into a single downloadable archive (zip file). The Pro version adds scheduled backups to cloud platforms, encrypted archives, and the ability to roll back to hourly restore points. Additionally, it includes auto-cleanup tools to delete temporary or outdated backup files.

Jetpack Backup

Developed by Automattic, Jetpack offers real-time and daily cloud backups that automatically capture changes to your website, including new posts, updates, and interactions. WordPress users can restore their sites at any time with just one click. Designed with WooCommerce in mind, it backs up orders and transactions to prevent lost revenue. Jetpack VaultPress Backup maintains a 30-day archive of your backups and includes detailed logs to track site changes, making it a good choice for business sites and online stores.

BlogVault

BlogVault is known for its real-time backup capability, advanced malware scanning, and staging environments for testing before publishing to your live site. It performs incremental backups rather than copying the entire site each time. BlogVault’s backups and restoration processes run on their external servers, improving your site’s performance. It includes one-click malware scanning and automatic removal, a real-time firewall, uptime monitoring, and detailed activity logs. Its single-click staging environments and easy migration tools make it a popular solution for businesses of all sizes.

WP Time Capsule

WP Time Capsule offers a streamlined approach to WordPress backups. After a full backup, it switches to incremental mode, minimizing server load and reducing the amount of storage used. It allows users to schedule backups in real-time or intervals and stores them in your cloud accounts. WP Time Capsule also supports one-click staging sites, automatic backups before updates, encrypted database backups, and full-site migration or cloning.

Keep in mind that if you decide to add a plugin, follow best practices by checking compatibility, making a full backup of your site, and testing it before deploying it, as even the best backup plugin can cause conflicts.

How to Choose the Right Backup Solution for Your Website

Choosing the best WordPress backup solution depends on your website’s size, complexity, and your familiarity with the software and processes involved.

Start with the type of website you have. A small portfolio or a basic personal site would get by with daily backups from your hosting provider. However, if you publish multiple blog posts and content updates or an online store, adding more frequent and customizable backups provided by plugins can be a better approach.

Your technical knowledge is another important factor. Hosting server backups don’t take much effort. They’re managed via your hosting dashboard and run automatically, making them perfect for beginners. On the other hand, plugins offer more advanced features and control, which can be extremely useful for experienced WordPress users familiar with the platform’s backend.

Next, look at your budget. While many plugins offer free versions with basic features, upgrading to paid ones gives you options but is more expensive. Hosted.com®’s WordPress Hosting includes backups as part of your plan.

The next important thing is where you want to store backups. Hosting services typically keep backups on servers, which poses a risk if something fails. Having said that, our servers are backed by a 99.9% uptime guarantee with multiple redundancies, security features, and failovers in place, keeping your site up and your files and data safe.

Plugins allow you to store your site offsite in cloud services like Google Cloud, Dropbox, and Amazon S3, as mentioned above, or even in several locations for added protection.

In fact, the best option is usually a combination of both. By combining backup systems, you can cover more potential scenarios and increase your chances of a successful recovery process.

Hosting backups are a great hands-off option for a daily WordPress site backup with quick recovery, while a plugin allows for more frequency and customization. This layered approach ensures you always have multiple recovery points and are never dependent on a single solution, giving you peace of mind no matter what happens.

Whether you choose a plugin, rely on your hosting provider, or use both together, make sure you back up your site regularly and store them in a secure location.

* Ts & Cs apply.

Free Domain Registration depends on the selected hosting plan and only applies on 12, 24, and 36 month billing cycles. Free Domain Registration and all Special or Promo and Listed Domain Prices exclude Premium domain names.

Free Domain Registration applies to the following domain name extensions: .com, .online, and is only applicable at time of purchase.

FAQS

Other Blogs of Interest

– The Importance Of Regular Website Backups For Business Security

– WordPress Website Maintenance Plan: What to Include

– Top 7 Best Free WordPress Plugins For 2025

– Is WordPress Easy To Learn? A Beginner’s Guide

– WordPress Hosting & Softaculous: Simplifying Website Management