Carbon Copy Cloner 6 review 2024: best way to back up your Mac

Carbon Copy Cloner 6 is the best backup software for Mac, offering powerful and reliable features to protect your data.

You can now get Carbon Copy Cloner 6, which is well worth the extra money. With the update, CCC is now the safest version of the Mac app for cloning, backing up, and basic offloading. This makes backups faster, in part because the app now uses macOS FSEvents to send updates quickly to the destination. I never thought that CCC was slow, but the new system for copying files is much faster, and if you’re waiting for a backup to finish, you’ll be less frustrated. When you open a task in Version 6, you can see what changes CCC is going to make before it makes them.

Carbon Copy Cloner 6: Description

The new-look CCC 6 has a lot of extra features, such as the ability to make bootable backups on both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs. It also has a “Quick Update” feature for existing backups that is said to be up to 20 times faster. To do this, CCC 6 no longer checks every folder for changes but instead uses the macOS FSEvents service to look for a list of folders that have been changed on the source since the last backup.

CCC 6 has a new automation feature that lets users set a task to run when a certain amount of data changes at the source. This feature uses the same technology as the “Quick Update” feature. Instead of setting tasks to run every hour or every day, CCC can set them to run when a certain amount of data on the disk has changed. It can also limit the number of automated tasks that run in a certain time window.

Carbon Copy Cloner 6: Pricing

A personal and household license for Carbon Copy Cloner 6 costs $39.99, and a commercial license for a single computer costs the same. People who use CCC 5 can get that price for 50% less, and people who use CCC 4 can get it for 25% less. You can also try out the software for free for 30 days.

Carbon Copy Cloner 6 Key Features Table

Carbon Copy Cloner 6 is a strong and flexible backup tool that can help you keep your data safe and make sure you can always get back to normal after something bad happens. It’s a good choice for both new and experienced users.

FeatureDescription
New file copierFaster, smarter, and designed to adapt to Apple’s fast pace of OS and filesystem innovation.
Redesigned interface with Dark ModeA new, cleaner user interface with Dark Mode support.
Snapshot NavigatorEasily explore older versions of your backups and get a preview of your files as they were at specific points in time.
CCC DashboardA new menubar app that gives you one-click access to starting, stopping, and monitoring your CCC tasks, plus details about recent task activity and snapshot disk usage.
Postflight verificationVerify files that were copied by the current backup task.
Ad hoc verificationVerify files that were copied by any task, source, or destination.
Task PreviewSee what will happen before you back up.
Backup AuditReview what was copied and why.
CompareVisual comparison of the source and destination.
Advanced file verification optionsVerify files using checksums, timestamps, and file sizes.
Scheduled backupsBack up your data hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, whenever you connect to your backup drive, or whenever you make changes.
Task chainingCreate complex backup strategies by chaining together multiple CCC tasks.
Scheduled task groupsRun multiple CCC tasks at the same time or in sequence.
Bootable backupsCreate bootable backups of your entire startup disk or just your system volume.
Clone drivesCreate a complete copy of one drive to another.
Exclude files and foldersExclude specific files and folders from your backups.
Filter tasksShow or hide specific CCC tasks in the main window.
Log filesReview detailed log files to troubleshoot any problems.
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Carbon Copy Cloner 6: Interface

Carbon Copy Cloner 6

You won’t find the most up-to-date interface for Carbon Copy Cloner 6, but it is simple and easy to use, and you can “drag and drop” locations (source and destination). The side panel can be hidden if you want the screen to be more focused. We have tried a lot of backup programs, and this latest CCC version 6 is one of the best. There are different ways to set the schedule, and it’s easy to get to protected disks. Everything works perfectly.

It is possible to make bootable backups with Carbon Copy Cloner 6, but since Apple released Big Sur, the security levels in the software have changed a lot. Normal Mac users are now having a hard time setting up a real bootable task in Big Sur. In this “blog,” you can read about how safe Apple is. You can set a backup task to run every day, every hour, or whenever you want. You can also choose to run a backup when the source has changed. This choice backs up “instantly.”

Dark Mode is now supported, but I’m not really a fan of it. Still, this is what Big Sur brings as an improvement for mayor. That being said, I think the new interface of CCC 6 is a huge step up from version 5. The way its features are laid out is much more up to date and cleaner. There are some special settings in the “Advanced Settings” section that might help your backup job.

Carbon Copy Cloner 6: Features

You can get rid of Time Machine with a new scheduling option. When files are changed on the source, CCC 6 can run a backup task and handle backup exceptions. You can back up your content in a lot of different ways, including this one. For instance, you could use the new scheduling feature to back up to a NAS that is always connected and set up weekly backups to other media. Other changes focus on keeping data safe and making sure the backup is identical to the source.

The first feature in this group lets you see a visual comparison of the source and destination. The backup audit in the Task History is a more advanced new feature. The second one has a list of transactions that you can look over. At the end of a backup task in Version 6, there is also advanced file verification that lets you check files on both the source and destination against a hash that was recorded when the file was last copied.

There are also improvements and new features like a Snapshot Navigator that makes it easy to look at older versions of files, task-by-task control over how much CPU the file copier uses, and the ability to stop a backup task temporarily. By clicking on the source or destination selector, CCC 6 gives you a lot more information about your source and destination volumes. It also gives you several ways to check if the files you backed up are the same as those on the source.

You’ll be able to see a lot of information about the chosen volume through labels of different colors and nice graphics. You no longer have to go to the menubar to get to many of the features you used to find there. Instead, they are in the context menus for the source and destination volumes. In the long toolbar, you can find other functions. It’s easier to restore from a CCC 6 backup than it was in version 5, and the updated Task Filter can now respect macOS “backupd” exclusions, such as those set up for Time Machine.

Schedule and Automation Options

Carbon Copy Cloner 6 has many scheduling and automation options that make it simple to set up and keep up a strong backup plan. You can set tasks to run every hour, every day, every week, every month, or even when files are changed on the source. You can also give tasks time limits to make sure they don’t go on longer than they need to. When a volume is mounted, you can run tasks. This is one of the best automation features in CCC 6. This is a great way to protect disks or external drives that you don’t use often. You can set up CCC to do things when you log in or when your Mac wakes up from sleep.

The ability to make smart tasks is another useful feature. There are things called “smart tasks” that will only run when certain conditions are met. You could make a smart task that only backs up your Mac to an external drive when the drive is plugged in and has at least 10GB of free space. Carbon Copy Cloner 6 has a lot of scheduling and automation options that can be used in a lot of different ways. With this, it’s simple to set up a backup plan that works for you.

FeatureDescription
Hourly, daily, weekly, monthly schedulingSchedule tasks to run at regular intervals.
Time limitsApply time limits to tasks so that they don’t run for longer than necessary.
Run tasks when a volume is mountedConfigure CCC to run tasks when a volume is mounted, such as an external drive.
Smart tasksCreate tasks that only run when certain conditions are met, such as when an external drive is connected.
Pre-flight checksPerform checks before running a task, such as checking for enough free space on the destination volume.
Post-flight checksPerform checks after running a task, such as verifying the integrity of the copied files.
Email notificationsReceive email notifications when tasks start, finish, or fail.

For many years, I’ve used Carbon Copy Cloner, and I’ve always liked how flexible it is when it comes to scheduling and automating tasks. They’ve been very reliable and flexible for me. One task I have runs every day at midnight and backs up my Mac to an external drive. Along with that, I have a task that backs up my Mac every week to the cloud.

These two things are done for me, so I don’t have to think about them. The smart tasks feature has also been very helpful to me. One smart task I have backs up my Mac to an external drive every time I connect it. These steps make sure that the latest files from my Mac are always on my external drive. For the most part, I’m pleased with Carbon Copy Cloner 6’s scheduling and automation features. I trust them and find them to be very flexible.

Carbon Copy Cloner 6: Performance and Speed

Carbon Copy Cloner 6

A lot of people use Carbon Copy Cloner (CCC) to back up their Macs. People like it because it works well, is simple to use, and has lots of useful features. The most recent version of the software, CCC 6 and has a lot of performance and speed improvements. One big change that you can see in CCC 6 is how fast it is. The macOS FSEvents service is now used by CCC to keep track of changes made to files and folders. This means that CCC doesn’t have to look through the whole source drive to quickly find the files that need to be copied during a backup.

FeatureImprovement
SpeedUp to 20x faster than CCC 5
Backup updatesSignificantly faster
Multi-threadingUses multiple threads to copy files, improving performance on multi-core Macs
Core Copy EngineOptimized for APFS-formatted drives

From my own experience, I can say that CCC 6 is much faster than earlier versions. As an example, I just used CCC 6 to back up my 500GB MacBook Pro to an external hard drive. It took just over an hour to finish the backup, which is about half the time it took to use CCC 5 to do the same thing. Updating backups is also faster with CCC 6. CCC only copies the files that have changed since the last backup when it updates a backup. This means that backup updates happen very quickly, even on big drives.

In addition to making things faster, CCC 6 also makes a lot of other things work better. For instance, copying files in CCC 6 now uses more than one thread, which can make it run faster on Macs with multiple cores. There is also a new “Core Copy Engine” in CCC 6 that works best with APFS-formatted drives.

Carbon Copy Cloner 6: System Requirements

For CCC 6, you need macOS 10.15 Catalina or later. It also works with Apple Silicon Macs and Intel Macs.

Here are all the specific system needs for CCC 6:

  • macOS 10.15 Catalina, macOS 11 Big Sur, macOS 12 Monterey, macOS 13 Ventura, or macOS 14 Sonoma
  • To back up the macOS startup disk, you need a volume that has been formatted with APFS.
  • SSDs and hard drives in Thunderbolt and USB 3.0+ enclosures.
  • A screen resolution of at least 1024×768 is needed.
RequirementDescription
macOS versionmacOS 10.15 Catalina or later
ProcessorIntel or Apple Silicon
StorageAPFS formatted volume required for a backup of the macOS startup disk
PortsThunderbolt or USB 3.0+ enclosures for SSDs and hard disk drives
DisplayMinimum screen resolution of 1024×768

Carbon Copy Cloner 6: Pros and Cons

The backup and cloning software Carbon Copy Cloner 6 for macOS is great. It works well, can be changed, and has lots of features. When it comes to backing up your Mac, CCC is one of the best options you should think about.

Pros

  • Extremely reliable and well-tested
  • Flexible and easy to use
  • Comprehensive backup and cloning features
  • Advanced filtering and data integrity verification
  • Supports a variety of storage devices

Cons

  • Not free
  • Can be complex to set up for advanced users

Final Words

Bombich has made a lot of improvements to Carbon Copy Cloner 6 since version 5. For a fair price, it runs faster and has more features than ever before. The drag and drop interface makes it easy to set up backup jobs. A detailed “filter interface” lets you change or pick which files to back up. There are a lot of choices, and the package also comes with a bootable copy. Carbon Copy Cloner is the easiest backup tool because it atomizes your whole backup.

How to Install Carbon Copy Cloner 6

The following steps will show you how to set up Carbon Copy Cloner 6:

  1. To get the latest version of Carbon Copy Cloner, go to its official website and download it.
  2. Open the disk image file and drag the Carbon Copy Cloner app to your Applications folder when the download is done.
  3. To run the Carbon Copy Cloner app, open the Applications folder and double-click on it.
  4. You will be asked to make a new backup task when you use CCC for the first time.
  5. Click the “Create New Task” button to make a new backup task.
  6. The next screen lets you choose the volumes that will be used for the backup.
  7. To move on, click the “Continue” button.
  8. Choose which backup options you want to use on the next screen.
  9. Your backup task will be made when you click the “Create” button.

As soon as you set up a backup task, CCC will schedule it to run automatically. From the CCC main window, you can see your backup tasks and take care of them.

Amy Hinckley
Amy Hinckley
The Dell Inspiron 15 that her father purchased from QVC sparked the beginning of her interest in technology. At Bollyinside, Amy Hinckley is in charge of content editing and reviewing products. Amy's interests outside of working include going for bike rides, playing video games, and watching football when she's not at her laptop.

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Carbon Copy Cloner (CCC) 6 is a powerful and reliable backup software for Mac. It offers a wide range of features, including flexible scheduling, versioned backups, smart updates, bootable backups, and security features. CCC 6 is also very user-friendly and reliable. If you are looking for backup software for your Mac, CCC 6 is an excellent choice.Carbon Copy Cloner 6 review 2024: best way to back up your Mac