Top 5 Best Hard Drive Cloning Software for 2024

We've reviewed over 20 disk cloning software developed by companies from the US, Australia, UK, and China, and narrowed down the list to the top 5 best hard drive cloning software options for you. The overall top picks were determined after a fair evaluation and a thorough comparison of their reliability, user-friendliness, popularity, compatibility, success rate, and customer service.

Here are the test statistics for a period of over a month:

Based on our research, we chose five backup software programs that perform well on various types of hard drives and finish the cloning process in under 10 minutes.

• 1. Disk Copy Tool
• 2. Macrium Reflect
• 3. Acronis True Image
• 4. Paragon Hard Disk Manager
• 5. Clonezilla

Best Hard Drive Cloning Software Infographic and Speed Comparison:

What is hard drive cloning software?

Hard drive cloning software, often referred to as HDD or SSD cloning software, is used to copy the contents of one hard disk drive in a computer to another hard disk drive or to copy a disk volume to another disk volume. Everything on the original hard drive, such as the operating system, drivers, software, patches, and data, is copied sector by sector, block by block, bit by bit.

After cloning, both hard drives or disk volumes will be identical, with the same disk layout, partition style, and content. If you plan to replace an old hard drive in your desktop or laptop, a disk cloning tool can spare you the time-consuming technical process of reinstalling and configuring the system from scratch. Typically, disk cloning software is essential when replacing a hard drive without repeatedly migrating data or reinstalling Windows.

Best Software to Automatically Clone Hard Drive [2022 Review]

Do you know what automatic hard drive cloning software is? Are you aware of how to choose the best one? This article provides a comprehensive review of one of the top automatic disk cloning and backup tools, Disk Copy.

1. Tool: Disk Clone

#1 choice for hard drive cloning software – 85% of people prefer it

Trustpilot Rating: Excellent 4.7

AOMEI Backupper - Disk Clone is an efficient cloning software designed specifically for Windows systems, equipped with powerful cloning capabilities. It offers a comprehensive solution to Windows users, including system cloning, disk cloning, partition cloning, and the creation of a bootable Windows disk.

Reasons why people opt for cloned software:

• Supports Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, and earlier Windows versions.
• Compatible with various types of HDDs and SSDs, allowing operation on virtually any hard drive from any manufacturer.
• Features sector-by-sector cloning to copy only used space to the target disk and clone disks with bad sectors.
• Intuitive user interface and step-by-step wizards make each function easy and quick to use.
• After cloning, you can adjust disk layout and resize partitions.
• Supports cloning between larger or smaller HDDs/SSDs.
• Direct cloning between MBR to MBR, GPT to GPT, MBR to GPT, or GPT to MBR without worrying about boot issues.
• Works with all storage devices, including internal HDDs, SSDs, M.2 SSDs, NVMe SSDs, and hybrid drives.
• Combines Windows backup and disk/partition cloning features for maximum protection of your computer system and data.
• Offers 24x7 phone, online chat, email, and remote support services.
• Starting price is $19.95.

Our Verdict:

Overall, Disk Copy is a powerful, reliable, and high-quality disk cloning tool with an easy-to-use interface. For individual users looking to upgrade to a faster SSD, it's currently the most beginner-friendly software we've tested. Its business edition, in particular, is ideal for IT professionals and companies to create system images for disaster recovery, clone hard drive images, and even deploy Windows 11 on multiple computers simultaneously to boost productivity.

Runner-up: Macrium Reflect

– 67% of experienced users and practitioners think it's great

Trustpilot Rating: Excellent 4.7

Though not particularly newbie-friendly, Macrium Reflect offers plenty of choices for advanced users comfortable with the industry jargon on its menus. As it says, “Protecting your data is our business,” and Macrium often appears on lists of the best disk cloning software, usually for good reason. Open Macrium Reflect, and you'll find a clean interface filled with useful tools.

Reasons Why People Choose Macrium Clone Software:

- Supports systems from Windows 11 down to Windows XP. - Displays detailed information about the selected disk or volume, such as file system, available space, total size, etc. - Offers rescue media creation settings based on the Windows Boot Menu and ISO file. - Accelerates cloning with quick incremental cloning that enhances speed by copying file system increments. - Provides flexible options for adding target disks, allowing you to drag partitions to the target disk or click "Copy Selected Partition." - Supports both MBR disks and GPT disks. - Offers a free version with basic backup features and a 30-day free trial for the Home edition. - Provides phone support and online assistance. - Pricing starts at $69.95.

Our judgment:

Macrium Reflect has the most positive reviews and feedback from users, which truly reflects its reliability as a disk cloning product. The first time we tried cloning a disk or partition, we were initially confused as we couldn't find the entry point. Its navigation isn't as straightforward as with Disk Copy, and the process can be somewhat complex. Average users might need to learn a few curves to take full advantage of all its practical features, while experienced users won't have much trouble navigating. Common issues when cloning with Macrium Reflect are Clone Error 0, Error 8, and Error 9. If you encounter similar errors, try reaching out to their technical support.

Top 3: Acronis True Image

The most popular questions are also the most frequent discoveries.

Trustpilot Rating: Poor, 1.6 out of 5 stars

Acronis True Image (now named **Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office**) is a popular choice worldwide for ransomware protection and [local/cloud backup](/backup-recovery/cloud-backup-vs-local-backup.html). It was famous for creating disk images for backups and allowing users to clone disks and resize partitions after cloning. However, it has recently received many negative reviews about bloatware, poor customer service, and frequent product failures. In our view, it's not all bad. A brand like Acronis has its value and unique features.

Why do people choose Acronis True Image?

- Supports multiple operating system platforms, including Windows and macOS. - Features a modern and intuitive user interface that simplifies tasks for beginners. - Has partnerships with hardware manufacturers such as M.2 Crucial, Western Digital, and Sabrent. - Offers robust online cloud backup services. - Excels in cloning hard drives to another drive with a different capacity. - Includes additional features like system cleanup and disk partitioning alongside backup, cybersecurity protection, and disk cloning. - Pricing starts at $49.99.

Our verdict:

The original Acronis True Image had a great design and a very clean interface that packed a lot of useful solutions into one product. The downside was that user reviews were low. After browsing Acronis's official website and its mobile version, we were quite disappointed. Both the desktop and mobile experience are terrible and don't hold a candle to most competitors. We couldn't even find a download button on its homepage. The new name Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office is also difficult to remember. These basics make it hard for us to recommend it to individuals. Besides, it's relatively expensive for what it offers – basic features. However, if you're willing to pay $124.99 for the advanced version, it's definitely in the running for the best disk cloning software out there.

4th place: Paragon Hard Disk Manager

* 56% used an HDM to migrate data and the operating system

Trustpilot rating: Poor, 1.4 out of 5

Paragon Hard Disk Manager, also known as HDM, is a feature-packed data management software with multiple useful features. It lets you backup and restore data, manage partitions, clone disks/partitions, wipe data, and create disk images. What we love about Paragon Hard Disk Manager is how it introduces visitors to its product trial! It gives us an elaborate product tour guide. On the other hand, what we don't like is how it lures visitors into purchasing the product. You can no longer go back to the homepage unless you close the purchase window.

Why do people choose Paragon Hard Disk Manager?

- An exclusive hard disk management tool designed for Windows PCs and Macs. - The Recovery Media Builder is now part of the Disk Manager application. - User-friendly with an interface that matches the Windows version you're currently running the closest. - A one-time purchase gets you a 4-in-1 software that helps protect, maintain, and manage your PC's hard drive. - Disk Clone Wizard is as easy to use as the Disk Copy utility. - Exclusion of files and folders is possible when cloning an operating system to a new drive. - Pricing starts at $79.95.

Our judgment:

Paragon Hard Disk Manager is an all-around solution for managing your disks and partitions in every way, without any bells and whistles. You might find that even the home-user license is too expensive (business licenses range from $99 to $899), but if all you need is a tool that can clone a disk quickly and successfully, we still think it's worth considering. It's a competitive piece of software for both home users and businesses. Note that Paragon doesn't offer a trial version, so you can't test it out before buying.

Top 5: Clonezilla

The only free disk cloning software available for all platforms

Trustpilot Rating: /

By now, you might have noticed that the first four recommendations are more than just disk cloning tools. Also, they're all designed for Windows. Clonezilla, on the other hand, is a different kind of partition and hard drive imaging/clone utility. For starters, it's cross-platform. More importantly, it's a free and open-source disk cloning software that relies on a command-line interface rather than a GUI.

Why do people choose Clonezilla for disk cloning?

• Supports almost all operating systems, including Windows, macOS, Linux, Chrome OS, and more.
• Completely free of charge, with no hidden fees.
• Runs independently of the operating system for backing up, restoring, or cloning hard drives.
• Based on command-line interface, offering flexibility in usage and customization.
• Ability to restore a single image to multiple local devices at once.
• Supports imaging as well as direct cloning to another physical disk.

Our verdict:

There's no reason not to mention Clonezilla when talking about the best disk cloning software every year. Its excellent system compatibility, feature-rich imaging and cloning, and customizable settings make it perfect for every detail. Given its interface is obviously not for regular computer users, we recommend it for system administrators, as long as you don't mind typing in a string of command lines for simple operations.

Guide: How to Clone a Hard Drive with the Best Disk Cloning Software

The five products we reviewed here are all famous disk cloning software, aiming to help users migrate their system, data, and apps from one hard drive to another without any loss. Disk cloning can significantly boost work efficiency and productivity, and that's why we always need it.

Nothing is perfect unless it fits your goals well enough. We were looking for a tool that could support our goals at minimal cost and with rapid response. We settled on Disk Copy. If you agree, try it free now.

Advance notice:

• "Clone by Sector" requires the target disk to be the same size or larger than the source disk. Do not select this if you are cloning a larger drive to a smaller one. • All data on the target disk will be completely erased. Exercise caution when proceeding.

Step 1: To start copying/ cloning an entire disk to another, select the disk in Disk Mode, then click Next.

Step 2: Select another disk as the target disk.

Step 3: Check the layout of the two disks. You can choose to "Automatically adjust the size of target disk," "Keep the same as source disk," or "Edit disk layout" to manage the layout of the target disk.

• "Auto-Adjust for Disk" makes some modifications to the target disk layout by default to optimize it. • "Copy as Source Disk" leaves the target disk unchanged, with the same layout as the source disk. • "Edit Disk Layout" lets you manually adjust/move the partition layout of the target disk.

Check the “Optimize for SSD” option to ensure best performance if your target drive is an SSD.

A warning message will appear, telling you that your data will be lost. Confirm this by clicking “OK,” and then click “Next.”

Step 4: Click “Proceed” to officially kick off the task.