05/28/2026
You've probably heard of Full, Incremental, and Differential backups. Most teams treat them as equal alternatives – and that's a mistake.
Let's break it down ⤵️
🔵 Full Backup = the foundation. A complete copy of everything. Non-negotiable. This is where every backup strategy begins – no exceptions.
🟢 Incremental Backup = only what's new. After the Full, each run saves just the changes since the last backup. Minimal storage, minimal time. The catch: restoring requires every single Incremental, chained together in sequence.
🟠 Differential Backup = everything since the Full. After the Full, each run captures all changes since that Full was taken. It grows with each passing day, but recovery never gets more complicated than two files: the Full and the latest Differential.
The key is understanding that Full is the non-negotiable starting point – and the choice between Incremental and Differential is what you layer on top.
→ Incremental = smaller backups, more complex restore
→ Differential = larger backups, simpler restore
Which strategy is your team actually running?