Cobian Backup (Cobian Reflector)

Cobian Backup is a freeware file-level backup scheduler for Windows, long popular with small offices and IT generalists who want scheduled copies of folders to a NAS, a second disk or an FTP server without agents or a backup server. If you are looking for a Cobian Backup download today, you should know one thing first: the product line has ended. Cobian Backup 11 “Gravity” was replaced by Cobian Reflector, and Reflector 2.7.20 (July 2024) was announced by the author as its last update.

The software still installs and runs, and it is free even in commercial environments, so existing jobs keep working. This page explains what it does, how admins typically configure it, what to watch out for, and which maintained tools to move to when you plan the next refresh.

Cobian Backup at a glance

What it does

• Runs full, incremental and differential file backups of folders and individual files.
• Writes to local drives, network shares, FTP, FTPS and SFTP servers (SFTP was added in Reflector).
• Compresses backups into standard Zip or Zip64 archives, so there is no proprietary format to unlock at restore time.
• Encrypts archives with AES 256, AES 192 or AES 128.
• Schedules tasks once, daily, weekly, monthly, yearly or on a timer.
• Runs events before and after a task, for example closing a program that locks its data files and starting it again afterwards.
• Uses Volume Shadow Copy to read open files on local NTFS volumes.
• Runs as a Windows service or as a regular application, and can mail the task log to you.

How sysadmins use it

Nightly backup of a shared folder to a NAS

1. Install Reflector in service mode and give the service a domain or local account that has write access to the NAS share (see the install notes below).
2. Create a new task, name it, and choose the backup type: full on the first run, then incremental or differential.
3. Add the source folders and set the destination as a UNC path, for example \nas01backupfileserver, rather than a mapped drive letter that the service account cannot see.
4. Set the schedule (daily at night is typical) and how many full copies to keep so old sets are rotated out.
5. Run the task once by hand and read the log before trusting the schedule.

Encrypted off-site copy over SFTP

1. Create a second task with the same sources.
2. Enable Zip compression and AES 256 encryption, and store the password in your password manager: without it the archive cannot be opened.
3. Choose SFTP as the destination and enter the host, port and account of the remote server.
4. Schedule it after the local task so the two jobs do not compete for disk and bandwidth.

Backing up an application that locks its files

1. In the task’s events, add a “before” event that stops the application’s service, and an “after” event that starts it again.
2. Alternatively, enable Volume Shadow Copy for the task. It only works on local, native NTFS volumes, not FAT, remote or emulated volumes.
3. Test a restore of the application data on a spare machine: backups of live databases copied at file level are not guaranteed to be consistent.

Install and first run

Cobian Reflector needs Windows Vista SP2 or later (including Windows 10, Windows 11 and Server 2008 or newer) and .NET Framework 4.6 or newer. It runs as a 64-bit program on 64-bit Windows and as 32-bit on 32-bit Windows. Cobian Backup 11 targets Windows XP to Windows 10 and should only be kept on machines where it already runs.

• Service vs application. For servers and unattended PCs, install as a service so tasks run without a logged-in user. Run the installer with administrator rights.
• Network shares. The service cannot reach network shares as Local System. Choose “Use the following account” during installation, or later under Tools > Application and Service Control, and enter an account with rights to the share. Windows does not allow empty passwords for service logons.
• Password changes. If the service account’s password changes, the engine will fail to start. Re-enter the credentials and check Event Viewer for the exact error.
• Firewall. Outbound FTP, FTPS or SFTP traffic must be allowed to the backup target; passive FTP may also need a port range opened on the server side.

Limitations

• No further updates are planned. Security fixes, new Windows versions and new cloud targets will not be addressed.
• It is a file-level tool: no disk images, no bare-metal restore, no application-aware backups for SQL Server or Exchange.
• There is no dedicated restore wizard. You restore by copying or extracting files back, which is simple but manual.
• No native cloud object storage targets such as S3; you need an SFTP or FTP server in between.
• No central console: each machine is configured separately.

Cobian Backup vs alternatives

For new deployments, pick a maintained tool. FreeFileSync covers mirror and versioned folder copies to disks, SFTP and FTP, with batch jobs you can schedule; note that organisations need its Business Edition. AOMEI Backupper Standard adds disk and system images for workstations. Syncthing keeps folders continuously replicated between machines, which suits off-site copies but is not a backup on its own. Areca Backup is another older freeware option, but it has not been released since 2015, so it does not solve the maintenance problem.

FAQ

Is Cobian Backup free?

Yes. Cobian Backup and Cobian Reflector are freeware and may be used for free even in commercial environments. The author accepts donations but nothing is locked.

What is the difference between Cobian Backup and Cobian Reflector?

Cobian Reflector is the successor to Cobian Backup 11 “Gravity”. It keeps all of Gravity’s features and adds SFTP transfers, a DPI-independent interface and native 32/64-bit operation, and it requires .NET Framework 4.6 or newer.

Does Cobian Backup work on Windows 11?

Cobian Reflector is supported on Windows 10 “or newer”, so it runs on Windows 11. Cobian Backup 11 Gravity was built for XP to Windows 10; on new systems use Reflector.

How do I fix “The engine is not found”?

The message usually means the backup service did not start. Check the service account credentials under Tools > Application and Service Control, make sure the password is not empty or outdated, and look in Event Viewer for the reason.

How do I restore files from a Cobian backup?

There is no proprietary format: copy the files back, or extract them from the Zip archives with the bundled decompressor or a current Zip tool that handles Zip64. Encrypted backups also need the password set in the task.

Incremental or differential: which should I choose?

Incremental copies only what changed since the last backup of any type, so it is fastest but a restore needs the full set plus every increment. Differential copies everything changed since the last full backup, so it grows over time but a restore needs only two sets.

Is there a Cobian Backup for Linux or Mac?

No, it is Windows-only. On mixed fleets, FreeFileSync (Windows, macOS, Linux) or Syncthing are the usual replacements.

What is a good Cobian Backup alternative?

For folder copies, FreeFileSync; for system images on PCs, AOMEI Backupper Standard; for continuous replication between sites, Syncthing. All three are actively maintained, unlike Cobian.

Last checked against official sources: 30 September 2026 (developer website: cobiansoft.com). Versions and licence terms change — confirm on the developer's site before deploying in production.