GWS Backup review
A free, operator-controlled backup application for teams with up to 10 workspaces.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
GWS Backup is a self-hosted backup application for Google Workspace, aimed at MSPs, IT teams, and internal administrators. It protects Gmail, Google Drive, Shared Drives, Calendars, and Contacts, with restoration available at workspace, account, folder, email, file, or different-user level. Small teams can use the Free licence for up to 10 workspaces, while the Larger licence is intended for more than 10 workspaces.
Pricing is straightforward for smaller deployments: the Free licence costs £0 for up to 10 workspaces and includes the complete application, unlimited accounts within those workspaces, no trial clock, and operator-owned storage destinations. The Larger licence includes the same application and features for more than 10 workspaces, with pricing by arrangement. The product is currently presented as beta software, so teams should account for that status when evaluating it for important backup operations.
Its strongest differentiator is control over backup and recovery. Incremental backups, quota-aware scheduling, configurable retention, point-in-time rollback, file version restoration, cross-account restoration, audit logging, investigations, branded reporting, and multi-workspace management cover a broad administrative workflow. Backups can be stored in Google Drive, Amazon S3-compatible storage, Azure Blob Storage, or on local disk or NAS. That flexibility suits teams able to manage infrastructure and storage themselves. It is less suitable for buyers seeking a fully managed service, included storage, or a simpler cloud-only setup. Choose GWS Backup if operator control, broad Google Workspace coverage, and a free small-workspace licence matter most; consider an alternative if deployment and storage administration are unwanted responsibilities.
GWS Backup pros and cons
- Where it wins
- Free licence covers up to 10 workspaces with unlimited accounts
- Restores workspaces, accounts, folders, emails, files, or different users
- Supports configurable retention and point-in-time rollback
- Where it doesn't
- Requires self-hosted deployment on Windows, macOS, Linux, or similar environments
- Storage is operator-owned rather than included with the application
- Larger licences are priced by arrangement
GWS Backup fact sheet, pricing and score →
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