10 WordPress Database Backup Plugins That Are Still Maintained

The best WordPress database backup plugins right now are UpdraftPlus for scheduled backups to cloud storage, WPvivid and BackWPup for free scheduled backups with more control, and WP Database Backup or WP-DBManager if you only need the database. All ten plugins below are open on wordpress.org and were updated within the last 12 months when we checked them.

Half of the plugins in the old version of this list are gone. Further down you will find what happened to them, so you can replace any that are still on your site.

How we picked these plugins

Every pick was checked against the wordpress.org plugin API on 2026-11-06: the plugin had to be open (not closed by the plugin team), updated in the last 12 months, and still developed. Features below come from each plugin's own wordpress.org description. Install counts are the figures wordpress.org shows, which are rounded.

Which plugins from the old list are dead?

What we checked: on 2026-11-06 we looked up all ten plugins from the earlier version of this article in the wordpress.org plugin API. Five are closed and cannot be downloaded, two are abandoned, and three are still alive:

• Backup Scheduler: closed on 2022-09-19 for a security issue.
• WP Complete Backup: closed on 2018-12-11 for a security issue.
• Backuper: closed on 2019-10-25 for a guideline violation.
• WordPress Backup to Dropbox: closed on 2018-02-07 for a guideline violation.
• 6Scan Backup: closed on 2013-12-03.
• DBC Backup 2: still listed, but last updated on 2014-01-05 and only tested up to WordPress 3.7.
• Database Backup for WordPress (WP-DB-Backup): its page now says it is no longer actively maintained and that no further releases, including security releases, will be made.

If any of these are still installed on your site, replace them with one of the plugins below. A plugin closed for a security issue gets no fixes. UpdraftPlus, WP Database Backup and XCloner, the three survivors, are included in the list.

The 10 backup plugins worth using

1. UpdraftPlus

Best for: scheduled full-site backups to the cloud storage you already use. UpdraftPlus is the most installed backup plugin on wordpress.org, with more than 4 million active installs. The free version backs up your database, plugins, themes and uploads to Dropbox, Google Drive, Amazon S3 (or compatible), Rackspace Cloud, FTP, DreamObjects, OpenStack Swift or email, on a schedule from every 2 hours to monthly. Restores let you choose which parts to bring back. Premium adds automatic backups before updates, incremental backups and more storage options such as OneDrive and Backblaze B2.

2. WPvivid Backup & Migration

Best for: a free plugin that also gives you a staging site. WPvivid (900,000+ installs) can back up the whole site, files only or the database only. Free scheduled backups run every 12 hours, daily, weekly, fortnightly or monthly, and can go to Dropbox, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, Amazon S3, DigitalOcean Spaces, FTP or SFTP. It also creates a staging copy in a subdirectory so you can test updates before they hit the live site. Pro adds incremental backups and database backup encryption.

3. BackWPup

Best for: flexible free schedules and several destinations at once. BackWPup (400,000+ installs) backs up the full site, just the database or just the files, on an hourly, daily, weekly or monthly schedule. One job can save the same backup to several places, and the free version supports your own server, Dropbox, FTP, Microsoft Azure, Amazon S3 and compatible storage, SugarSync and Rackspace Cloud Files. It also works with WordPress multisite and WP-CLI.

4. Duplicator

Best for: moving or cloning a site, with a backup along the way. Duplicator (1,000,000+ installs) packages your files and database into a single backup you can download and install on another server or domain. Its chunked engine is built to finish large backups on shared hosting with strict time limits, and backups can be password protected with AES-256 encryption. Scheduled backups, cloud storage integrations and multisite support are part of Duplicator Pro, so the free version suits manual backups and migrations.

5. All-in-One WP Migration and Backup

Best for: one-click exports of a whole site. All-in-One WP Migration (5,000,000+ installs) exports your database, media, themes and plugins to a single .wpress file. The plugin is upfront about the limits of the free version: to restore for free you import the file on the Import screen, and your host's upload limit decides how large that file can be. The paid Unlimited Extension adds one-click restore from the Backups page and gets around host upload limits.

6. Backup Migration

Best for: a quick first backup with free cloud space. Backup Migration (80,000+ installs) creates a full backup with one click on "Create backup now", and can schedule backups daily, weekly or monthly. Backups can be kept locally or sent to Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, Amazon S3, Wasabi, pCloud, SFTP, FTP or the developer's own BackupBliss storage, which includes 1 GB free. The free version is limited to backups of 4 GB.

7. XCloner

Best for: larger sites that need differential backups. XCloner (10,000+ installs), a survivor from our old list, schedules backups hourly to monthly and sends them to SFTP, FTP, Dropbox, Amazon S3, Google Drive, WebDAV, Backblaze or Azure. Differential backups include only files changed after a set date, which saves space, and large archives can be split into smaller parts. It can also take a backup automatically before WordPress, plugin or theme auto-updates.

8. WP Database Backup

Best for: database-only backups with simple scheduling. WP Database Backup (20,000+ installs), also from the old list, focuses on the database. It creates and restores database backups in one click, runs them on a schedule, and stores them on Dropbox, Google Drive, Amazon S3, FTP, SFTP, Backblaze or email. You can exclude tables you do not need and search and replace inside a backup file.

9. WP-DBManager

Best for: managing the database from wp-admin. WP-DBManager (50,000+ installs) backs up, restores, optimizes and repairs your database, and can run backups and optimization on a schedule and email you the backup. It also has WP-CLI commands. Its documentation makes a point every database plugin user should follow: a backup contains your users table, so keep the backup folder outside your web root, or block it from being served.

10. Jetpack VaultPress Backup

Best for: real-time backups for stores, if you are happy to pay. Jetpack VaultPress Backup saves every change to Jetpack's cloud, including WooCommerce orders and customer data, and restores with one click even when your site is offline. Backups are stored off-site, so they put no load on your server. The plugin itself is free to install, but it needs a paid Jetpack plan that includes Backup.

Which backup plugin should you choose?

• Most sites: UpdraftPlus or WPvivid, scheduled daily or weekly, with copies sent to cloud storage.
• Only the database: WP Database Backup or WP-DBManager.
• Moving to a new host: Duplicator or All-in-One WP Migration.
• Online store with constant orders: Jetpack VaultPress Backup, for real-time backups.

Whatever you choose, keep at least one copy off your server, and test a restore once on a staging site. If you prefer doing it by hand, see our guides to backing up the WordPress database manually and restoring it.

FAQ

Do I need a backup plugin if my host makes backups?

A host backup is useful, but it usually lives with the same company as your site. A plugin lets you choose how often to back up and keep a copy somewhere else, such as Google Drive or S3.

How often should I back up the database?

Match it to how often your content changes. A blog that posts weekly can back up weekly; a store taking orders every day needs daily or real-time backups.

Is it safe to keep backups on the same server?

Not on their own. If the server fails or the site is hacked, the backups can go with it. Send a copy off-site, and make sure backup files cannot be downloaded from your website.

Which free plugin backs up only the database?

WP Database Backup and WP-DBManager are built around the database. WPvivid and BackWPup can also run database-only backups.