Duplicator
WordPress migration and backup plugin that packages a site into an archive plus standalone installer; Pro adds scheduling, cloud storage and staging.
86
Solid Backups
Premium cloud backup service (formerly BackupBuddy, now becoming Kadence Backups) with incremental daily backups managed from a central dashboard.
Est. active installs~50KLikely 25K–100K
Price from$299/yrPremium
Overview
Solid Backups is the successor to iThemes BackupBuddy, one of the longest-running premium backup plugins for WordPress. SolidWP is now part of Liquid Web’s software line, and the product is being renamed Kadence Backups; both names appear in the current documentation, and solidwp.com now redirects to Liquid Web’s Kadence pages.
There are two generations. Legacy (the original BackupBuddy-style plugin) ran entirely inside WordPress, sent archives to destinations such as Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, Amazon S3, FTP/SFTP or Stash, and restored through the standalone importbuddy.php file. Legacy is now in maintenance mode, with no new features planned. The current NextGen product is a cloud service: vendor servers connect to your host over SSH/SFTP, take incremental backups and keep them in the vendor’s cloud (US or EU data centres).
How NextGen works
- Daily incremental backups of the database, files, core and configuration.
- Retention of 7, 30 or 120 days or a full year, chosen at enrolment.
- File and folder exclusions, adjustable transfer speed and an integrity check.
- Roll back from the Central dashboard timeline, even when the site is down.
- Downloadable ZIP archives and email alerts for failed backups or lost connections.
Pricing
Backups are no longer sold as a standalone product. They are included in the Kadence Pro and Elite bundles, alongside the theme, security tools and other add-ons. Pricing is per site, and Elite adds Kadence Central multi-site management and white-label branding.
Limitations
NextGen needs SSH access, WP-CLI and Application Passwords on the server, so some hosts are not supported. It stores backups only in the vendor’s cloud, with no Dropbox, S3 or Google Drive destinations. It has no dedicated migration or staging tool (moving hosts is a credentials-swap workaround), and multisite and encryption details are not documented. The ongoing rebrand also makes it harder to follow the product’s roadmap.
It suits Kadence users and agencies already buying the Pro or Elite bundle who want off-site incremental backups without a separate backup subscription.
Best for: Kadence Pro or Elite customers who want off-site incremental backups included in their bundle rather than a separate backup subscription.
Solid Backups NextGen is a capable cloud backup service with incremental backups, flexible retention and restores that work on broken sites. Now that it is bundled into Kadence plans and lacks the destinations, migration and staging tools of the old BackupBuddy plugin, it mainly makes sense if you are already buying Kadence Pro or Elite.
Pros
- Incremental daily backups stored off-site in the vendor's cloud
- Backups run from vendor servers over SSH, so less load on WordPress
- Restore from the Central dashboard even if the site is down
- Flexible retention from 7 days to a year
- Email alerts for failed backups and lost connections
- Long track record dating back to BackupBuddy
Cons
- No longer sold standalone; bundled in Kadence Pro/Elite
- Requires SSH access, WP-CLI and Application Passwords on the host
- No third-party storage destinations in NextGen
- No dedicated migration or staging tools in the current product
- Ongoing rebrand to Kadence Backups makes the product line confusing
Key features
What Solid Backups highlights on its own website, split by version.
Included features From $299/yr
- Daily incremental cloud backups
- Off-site vendor cloud storage (US/EU)
- Retention from 7 days to 1 year
- File and folder exclusions
- Full rollback from Central timeline
- Restore even when site is down
- Downloadable ZIP backup archives
- Email alerts on backup failures
- Adjustable transfer speed for hosts
- Backup integrity verification
- Kadence Central multi-site management (Elite)
- Bundled with Kadence Pro and Elite
Feature checklist
11 of 23 features we track in Backup & Migration, feature score 50/100
Backups 4/6
Scheduled backups Key
Automatic backups on a schedule (daily, weekly and so on).
Automatic daily backups are included with every Kadence plan that has Backups.
Included
Incremental backups Key
Only backs up what changed since the last backup, saving time and space.
NextGen takes incremental daily backups and stores only what changed.
Included
Real-time backups
Backs up changes as they happen, useful for stores with constant orders.
NextGen runs daily backups; real-time backups are not offered.
Not included
Choose what to back up
Database-only or files-only backups, include/exclude folders and tables.
Exclude files or folders by path; database and file backups are managed separately.
Included
Built-in cloud storage
Backups stored on the vendor's own cloud, no separate storage account needed.
Backups are stored in the vendor's cloud in US or EU data centres.
Included
Encrypted backups
Encrypts backup archives or the database export.
Encryption of stored backups is not covered in the current documentation.
Not verified
Storage destinations 0/6
Google Drive
Send backups to Google Drive.
NextGen is cloud-only; Google Drive was a Legacy plugin destination (maintenance mode).
Not included
Dropbox
Send backups to Dropbox.
Not in NextGen; Dropbox was supported only by the Legacy plugin.
Not included
Amazon S3
Send backups to Amazon S3.
Not in NextGen; Amazon S3 was supported only by the Legacy plugin.
Not included
S3-compatible storage
Backblaze B2, Wasabi, DigitalOcean Spaces and other S3-compatible services.
NextGen stores backups only in the vendor's cloud storage.
Not included
Microsoft OneDrive
Send backups to OneDrive.
Not in NextGen; OneDrive was supported only by the Legacy plugin.
Not included
FTP / SFTP
Send backups to your own server over FTP or SFTP.
SFTP is used to read your site, not as a backup destination; FTP/SFTP was a Legacy destination.
Not included
Restore & migration 3/6
One-click restore Key
Restore a backup from the WordPress dashboard.
One-click full or partial restore, run from the Central dashboard timeline.
Included
Restore when the site is down
Restore from outside WordPress (vendor dashboard or standalone installer) if the site won't load.
Rollbacks run from the Central dashboard, so they work when the site is down.
Included
Site migration / cloning Key
Move or clone a site to a new host or domain.
No migration tool; workaround is to repoint server credentials to a new host and restore.
Partial
URL search & replace
Rewrites URLs and paths in the database during migration.
No URL search-replace during restore is documented for NextGen.
Not verified
Staging sites
Create a staging copy to test changes, then push them live.
NextGen has no staging feature; the Legacy plugin had push/pull deployments.
Not included
Multisite support
Back up and restore WordPress multisite networks.
Multisite support is not documented for NextGen.
Not verified
Management 4/5
Retention rules
Keep a set number of backups or delete old ones automatically.
Choose 7, 30 or 120 days or 1 year retention at enrolment.
Included
Backup notifications
Email reports when backups succeed or fail.
Automatic email alerts for failed backups, disconnections and authentication errors.
Included
Multi-site dashboard
Manage backups for many sites from one dashboard.
Kadence Central multi-site management is part of the Elite plan.
Paid version Elite
WP-CLI commands
Run backups and restores from the command line.
NextGen requires WP-CLI on the server, but no user-facing backup CLI commands are documented.
Not verified
White label
Rebrand the plugin for client sites.
Elite lists white-label branding; how far it covers the backups module is not documented.
Paid version Elite
Pricing
Kadence Pro
$299per year1 site
Priced per site. Includes Kadence Backups (Solid Backups) daily backups and one-click restore, plus Security, Shop Kit and Memberships.
Kadence Elite
$499per year1 site
Priced per site. Everything in Pro plus Kadence Central multi-site management and white-label branding.
Prices are list prices from the vendor's site, checked 14 Oct 2026. Many vendors discount the first year.
How many sites use Solid Backups?
Free installs from WordPress.org, the vendor's own claim, and our estimate of paid installs.
Free version (WordPress.org)
—
No free version on WordPress.org.
Vendor claim
—
The vendor does not publish a total.
Estimated active installs
~50K
Our estimate, see method below.
How we estimated this: Low confidence: no current site count published. Assumed the remaining BackupBuddy/Legacy base plus NextGen enrolments in Kadence Pro/Elite total roughly 30K-80K active sites. Likely range: 25K to 100K. This counts sites running the paid version, including sites whose licence has lapsed. Estimates are rough and based on public figures as of 14 Oct 2026.
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FAQ
Is Solid Backups free?
No. Solid Backups is a premium plugin. Paid plans start at $299/yr.
How many sites use Solid Backups?
We estimate around 50K active installs.
Does Solid Backups have scheduled backups?
Yes: included. Automatic daily backups are included with every Kadence plan that has Backups.
Does Solid Backups have incremental backups?
Yes: included. NextGen takes incremental daily backups and stores only what changed.
Does Solid Backups have one-click restore?
Yes: included. One-click full or partial restore, run from the Central dashboard timeline.
Does Solid Backups have site migration / cloning?
Yes: partial. No migration tool; workaround is to repoint server credentials to a new host and restore.
Is Solid Backups the same as BackupBuddy?
Solid Backups replaced iThemes BackupBuddy. The BackupBuddy-style plugin lives on as 'Legacy' in maintenance mode, while the current NextGen product is a cloud service. It is now being renamed Kadence Backups.
Can I still buy Solid Backups on its own?
No. Liquid Web now includes Kadence Backups only in the Kadence Pro ($299/year per site) and Elite ($499/year per site) bundles.
What does my server need for NextGen backups?
SSH or SFTP access (not root), WP-CLI, the PHP Phar extension and WordPress Application Passwords. Firewalls may also need to allow the vendor's IP addresses.
Can I send backups to Dropbox or Amazon S3?
Not with NextGen, which stores backups only in the vendor's cloud. The Legacy plugin supported Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, S3 and FTP/SFTP destinations, but it no longer gets new features.
How do I migrate a site with it?
There is no dedicated migration tool. The documented workaround is to back up the site, change the server credentials to point at the new host, then restore.
Last updated 5 Oct 2026. Spotted something wrong? Suggest an edit.