Differential backup vs incremental backup vs full backup, which one is the best? Or, it depends? Read this article and find all the info you desired.

1. Title: Full vs Incremental vs Differential Backup: Which Is Better?
Keywords: incremental vsdifferentialbackup,differential vsincremental backup, difference
betweenincremental and differentialbackup,differential backupvsincremental backup,full vs
incremental vsdifferential backup
Description: Differential backupvsincremental backupvsfull backup,whichone isthe best?Or,it
depends?Readthisarticle andfindall the infoyoudesired.
URL: https://www.minitool.com/backup-tips/incremental-vs-differential-backup.html
Summary: This article published by MiniTool focuses on the three types of backups: full,
incremental and differential backup. It especially compares the difference between incremental and
differential backup and helps you find which one suits you most.
Why Need to Back up Digital Data?
Withthe increasingusage of computersandthe Internet,more andmore digital data iscreatedand
it recordsmostof our information.Since the digitaldata isalsorelatedtoour financial info,orthe
data itself worthessome amountof money,manyevil peopletrytosteal itfrom itsownersby
hacking,virus, malware,spyware, ransomware,trojan,etc.
Therefore,asa computeruser,youneedtoprotectyour data fromattacks and avoidlosingthem.To
do so,you shouldonthe one handrelyon some securitysoftware,suchas MicrosoftWindows
Defender,tobuild afirewallforyou;onthe otherhand,make use of some data backupprograms
(e.g. MiniTool ShadowMaker) togetyourcrucial data backedupto a safe place or justgetmore
copiesof them.
https://www.minitool.com/news/ransomware-protection-005.html

2. Data Backup Types
As forthe typesof digital databackup,itdependsonhow youclassifythem.
Backup Types Based on How the Backup Performs
Backup taskscan be carriedoutin differentways.Accordingly,theycanbe classifiedinto fullbackup,
incremental backup,anddifferentialbackup three kinds. Itwillintroducethe 3kindsof backups in
detail laterinthisarticle.
Backup Types Classified by Data Types
Accordingto the typesof digital data,backupcan be sortedas document/textbackup,
photo/picture/image/graphicsbackup,video/movie backup,audio/musicbackup,
app/program/software backup,emailbackup,contactsbackup,SMS/message backup,system
backup,etc.
Backup Types Defined by Data Carriages
Backingup differentformsof data,the name of the backupis unlike.Generally,there are file
backup,folderbackup,partition/volumebackup,harddrive (HDD,SSD,SD card, USB flashdrive,
memorycard, etc.) backup,computer(desktop,laptop,notebook,tablet,etc.)backup,smartphone
backup, serverbackup,NAS(network-attachedstorage) backup,cloudbackup,camerabackup,TV
backup,game console (PlayStation,Xbox,Switch,etc.) backup,andsoon.
https://www.minitool.com/backup-tips/nas-backup.html
Full vs Incremental vs Differential Backup
Now,we will mainlyintroduce the backuptypesbasedonhow the backupiscarriedout, especially
the incremental anddifferential backups.
What Is a Full Backup? (Full Backup Definition)
To learnwhat incremental anddifferential backupsare,firstof all,youneedtoknow what a full
backupis.A full backup isto back up all the targets youselectedas the backupsource.Forexample,
if you choose all the photosinthe PicturesfolderonyourPC,a full backupwill completelymake a
copy of all the picturesinthe folder.If there are 200 photosthere,youwill get 200 photosbacked
up.
Tip: After backup,you willget a single imagefile. Yet, if you restorefromthe imagefile, you will get
200 photos.
Everytime youperforma full backup,youwill getasimilarimage file.Thoughthe size of the image
file mayvarydue to the changesof the source amount,it will alwayscontainall the contentsof the
source files.The followingisagraphicchart showingyouhow full backupworks.

3. Alt=Full Backup
Situation
Day 1: You originallyhave 200photosinthe Picturesfolderandyouperformafull backup.Youget
an image file of 200 photos.
Day 2: You addanother200 photosintothe Picturesfolderandnow youhave 400 photos.You
performa full backupandget an image file of 400 photos.
Day 3: You make nochangesto your Photosandyou still have the 400 photos.Youperforma full
backupand get an image file of 400 photos.
Day 4: You delete 100photos from the Picturesfolderand editanother100 photosthere.Now you
have 300 photos.Youperforma full backupandget an image file of 300 photos.
Result:You get 4 imagesfilesandtheycontain1300 photosintotal.
Restore Full Backup: Just take the newestimage file(day4) to restore andyouwill getyour300
photos.
Full Backup Pros
 Easy to understand.
 Easy to manually selectasource to back up.
 Onlythe newestimage fileisneededtorestore currentfiles.
Full Backup Cons
 Takingthe most time of the three types of backups.
 Imagesfilestake the largeststorage size of the 3 typesof backups.
 Many duplicatedphotosinimage files.
What Is an Incremental Backup? (Incremental Backup Definition)
The incremental backupisbasedonthe verylastbackup; the verylastbackup can be any kind,a full
backup,an incremental backup,orevenadifferentialbackup. Whatdoesan incremental backup
do? Anincremental backupistoback up the changedcontentssince the verylastbackup,suchas
the new-addeditemsandthe changeditems.

4. Alt=Incremental Backup
Situation
Day 1: You originallyhave 200photosinthe Picturesfolderandyouperformafull backup.Youget
an image file of 200 photos.
Day 2: You addanother200 photosintothe Picturesfolderandnow youhave 400 photos.You
performan incremental backupandgetanimage file of the newlyadded200 photos.
Day 3: You make nochangesto your Photosandyou still have the 400 photos.Youperforman
incremental backupandnothingwillbe backedup.So,yougetno image file.
Day 4: You delete 100photosfrom the Picturesfolderandeditanother100 photosthere.Now you
have 300 photos.Youperforman incremental backupandgetanimage file of onlythe edited100
photos.
Result:You get 3 imagesfilesandtheycontain500 photosintotal.
Restore Incremental backup: You have to restore all the image files sincethe lastfull backup,
includingthe lastfull backupandthe laterincremental backups,togetyour 400 photos (including
the deleted100 photos).
Incremental Backup Pros
 Costingthe leasttime of the three kindsof backups.
 Requiringthe smalleststorage space tosave image files.
Incremental Backup Cons
 Difficulttounderstand.
 Difficultformanual operation.
 Restorationcan’t complete if anyone of the image filesismissing.
What Is a Differential Backup? (Differential Backup Definition)
Basedon the firstfull backup, what doesa differential backupdo duringthe backup? The
differentialbackuponlybacksupthe new addedor changeditemssince the firstfull backup. Asfor
differentialsystembackup, adifferential backupcoverswhat data on a system? Onlythe added
and changedsystemfilessuchassystemupdate files.

5. Alt=Differential Backup
Situation (Differential BackupStrategy)
Day 1: You originallyhave 200photosinthe Picturesfolderand youperformafull backup.Youget
an image file of 200 photos.
Day 2: You addanother200 photosintothe Picturesfolderandnow youhave 400 photos.You
performa differentialbackupandgetan image file of the newlyadded200photos.
Day 3: You make nochangesto your Photosandyou still have the 400 photos.Youperforma
differentialbackupand getan image file of the newlyadded200 photos onday 2.
Day 4: You delete 100photosfrom the Picturesfolderandeditanother100 photosthere.Now you
have 300 photos.Youperforman incremental backupandgetanimage file of the added100 (left
afterdeletion)photosand the edited100photos.
Result:You get 4 imagesfilesandtheycontain 800 photosintotal.
Tip: If the edited 100 photosareall added oneson day 2, then you will only get an imageof 100
photos on day 4.
Restore Differential Backup: To get all yourfinal 300 photosback, youshouldrestore boththe last
full backupandthe last differentialbackup.
Differential Backup Pros
 Costinglesstime thana full backup.
 Image filesrequiresmallerstorage space thana full backup.
Differential Backup Cons
 Difficulttounderstand.
 Difficultformanual operation.

6. Incremental vs Differential Backup: Which Is Better?
Now,youcan compare the above three kindsof backupsandmake your decisionof whichone to
choose,especially differential vsincremental backup.
Backup Type Backup
Strategy
Backup Speed Image File
Size
Images
requiredfor
Recovery
Restore
Speed
Full Backup Backup all
filesevery
time
Slowest Largest Most recent
image
Fastest
Incremental
Backup
Basedon the
verylast
backupand
onlyback up
the new&
changedfiles
Fastest Smallest Most recent
full image +
all later
incremental
images
Slowest
Differential
Backup
Basedon the
firstfull
backupand
onlyback up
the new&
changedfiles
Medium Medium mostrecent
full image +
mostrecent
differential
image
Medium
Configure fromthe above table,if youcare more aboutthe backup processanddo more backup
tasksthan restoration,incremental backupisrecommended.Vice versa, afull backupisyourchoice
and it’seasyto operate if youmanuallycreate abackup simplybycopying.If youvalue bothbackup
and restore processes,maybe differential backupsuitsyou.
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Incremental vs Differential Backup: How to Do?
Justas mentionedinthe above content,youmaychoose tomanuallycarryout the backuptasks. In
the above situation,onDay2, afteryouhave added200 photosintothe original 200 pictures,you
have to selectthe 200 newphotosoutno matter you are goingto performanincremental backupor
differentialbackup.It’stroublesome,right?
Yes,you can relyon incremental backupsoftware.Whenitcomesto computerdatabackupand
recovery,manyuserswill thinkabout BackupandRestore of Windows7 or Windows10 File History.
Yet,both of themcan’t performadvancedincrementalordifferential backup;theycanonlycarry out
the full backup.
However,you canturn to ask helpfromthird-partyprograms,suchasthe professional andreliable
MiniTool ShadowMaker,whichcanassistyou to complete incrementalbackup,differential backup,
as well as a full backup.Let’ssee howto operate.
To make use of thispowerful program,youneedtofirstlydownloadandinstallitonyourmachine.
SM-trial
Step1. Launch the software andselect KeepTrial on the upperright.
Step2. On its mainUI, switchtothe Backup tab.

7. Alt=Backup Tab in ShadowMaker
Step3. Clickon the Source rectangle onthe leftandchoose the file(s) youwanttoback upin the
pop-upwindow.

8. Alt=SelectBackupSource
Step4. Clickon the Destinationrectangle onthe right and selectthe addresswhere youplantosave
the image file inthe pop-upwindow.

9. Alt=SelectBackupDestinationPath
Step5. Then,on the lowerleft,click Scheme buttontotriggerthe Backup Scheme window.Itis
turnedoff bydefault.So,youneedtoturn it onin the bottomleftcornerfirstand thensetup your
backuptype there.

10. Alt=Backup Scheme
You can decide howmanybackupimage versionstokeeponyourbackupdestination.
Step6. When all settingsare done,justclick Back up Now inthe lowerrightandit will redirectyou
to the Manage tab. There,youcan viewthe statusof your backup.Justwaituntil itfinishes.

11. Alt=Mange Backup Task
If you alreadycreateda full backup,youcan setfurtherfull,incremental,ordifferential backup
basedon itfrom the Manage section.
Way 1. Clickthe invertedtriangle besideBackupNow and choose the backuptype you prefer.

12. Alt=Set BackupType Way 1
Way 2. Clickonthe three slashesonthe rightendof the backuptask graphic bar andselectEdit
Scheme.Then,followthe above Step5to finishthe settings.

13. Alt=Set BackupType Way 2
Besidesdifferentbackuptypesbasedonhow the backupperforms, MiniTool ShadowMakeralso
supports mostbackuptypes classifiedbydatatypesordata carriageslisted atthe start of this
article.Moreover, MiniTool ShadowMakerenablesyoutoseta schedule to automaticallybackup
your importantdatadaily,weekly,monthly,orevenon the event(whenyoulogonor logoff the
computer).