The Wayback Machine is a well-known web service that allows you to view archived versions of web pages as they appeared in the past. It is part of the Internet Archive, a nonprofit organization that preserves digital content for future generations. The Wayback Machine has a huge database of over 500 billion web pages, dating back to 1996. You can search for a specific URL or browse by date, domain, or keyword.
However, the Wayback Machine is not perfect. It may not have all the web pages you are looking for, or it may not capture them completely or frequently. It may also have some technical issues or limitations that prevent you from accessing the archived content. For example, some web pages may be blocked by robots.txt files, some may require login credentials, and some may have dynamic content that changes depending on the user’s location, device, or browser.
If you are looking for alternatives to the Wayback Machine, you are in luck. There are many other web archiving services and tools that can help you access historical web pages. Some of them are free, some are paid, and some have different features and functionalities. In this article, we will introduce you to 10 of the best way back machine alternatives and how to use them.
Comparison Table
Here is a quick comparison table of the 10 best way back machine alternatives that we will discuss in this article. You can see their main features, pricing, and pros and cons at a glance.
| Name | Features | Pricing | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stillio | Captures screenshots of web pages at regular intervals | Free trial for 100 screenshots per month; Paid plans from $19 to $499 per month | High-quality screenshots; Flexible settings; Integrations with other tools and platforms | Not a full-fledged web archive; Requires manual request for new snapshots |
| Archive.today | Saves snapshots of web pages as they currently exist | Free | Simple and user-friendly interface; Advanced search features; Proxy service | Not a full-fledged web archive; Requires manual request for new snapshots |
| Domain Tools | Provides various metrics and insights about any website | Free trial for limited access; Paid plans from $99 to $995 per month | Comprehensive and reliable data; Web archive feature; Integrations with other tools and platforms | Expensive; Web archive feature not very prominent |
| Pagefreezer | Archives web pages and social media content for compliance and legal purposes | Free trial for limited access; Paid plans vary depending on needs and features | Secure and compliant archiving; Social media archiving; E-discovery and litigation support | Expensive; Not suitable for casual users |
| WebCite | Allows users to cite web pages in academic publications | Free | Simple and easy-to-use interface; Various citation formats and styles; API service | Not a full-fledged web archive; Requires manual request for new archives |
| Resurrect Pages | Allows users to access archived web pages from multiple sources via a browser extension | Free | Convenient and fast access; Multiple sources to choose from; Works offline | Not a full-fledged web archive; Limited search features |
| Yubnub | Allows users to access various web services via commands in a browser extension | Free | Powerful and versatile commands; Customizable interface; Works offline | Not a full-fledged web archive; Requires knowledge of commands |
| iTools | Provides various tools and information about any website | Free | Comprehensive and useful information; Web archive feature; Easy-to-use interface | Not a full-fledged web archive; Web archive feature not very prominent |
| Time Travel | Allows users to access archived web pages from multiple sources via a web service or a browser extension | Free | Simple and intuitive interface; Multiple sources to choose from; Proxy service | Not a full-fledged web archive; Requires manual request for new archives |
| Alexa | Provides various metrics and insights about any website | Free trial for limited access; Paid plans from $19 to $299 per month | Comprehensive and reliable data; Web archive feature; Integrations with other tools and platforms | Expensive; Web archive feature not very prominent |
Stillio is a premium web service that allows you to capture screenshots of any web page at regular intervals. You can use Stillio to monitor your own website or your competitors’ websites for changes, trends, SEO rankings, ads validation, compliance, and more. Stillio has a powerful and flexible dashboard that lets you manage your screenshot projects and settings. You can choose the frequency, resolution, format, and quality of your screenshots. You can also crop, rotate, annotate, and watermark your screenshots.
Stillio has a large and reliable database of screenshots that you can access anytime. You can browse your screenshots by date, domain, project, or tag. You can also search for screenshots by keyword or URL. You can export your screenshots as ZIP files or CSV files. You can also integrate Stillio with other tools and platforms, such as Google Drive, Dropbox, Slack, Zapier, and more.
Stillio offers various plans and pricing options depending on your needs and budget. You can start with a free trial that gives you 100 screenshots per month. The paid plans range from $19 per month for 1,000 screenshots to $499 per month for 50,000 screenshots. You can also request a custom plan if you need more screenshots or features.
Stillio is a great way back machine alternative if you want to capture high-quality screenshots of web pages and track their changes over time. However, it is not a full-fledged web archive that stores the entire content and functionality of web pages. You also need to manually request a screenshot if you want to save a web page that has not been captured before.
Here is an example of a screenshot captured by Stillio:
Archive.today: A Free Snapshot Tool
Archive.today is a free web service that allows you to save a snapshot of any web page as it currently exists. You can also view snapshots that have been saved by other users. Archive.today has a simple and user-friendly interface. You just need to enter the URL of the web page you want to save or view and click on the “submit” button. You will get a link to the snapshot that you can share with others or bookmark for later use.
Archive.today also has some advanced search features that let you find snapshots by domain, URL, keyword, date, or hash. You can also use filters to narrow down your results. For example, you can search for snapshots that contain images, videos, PDFs, or other file types. You can also search for snapshots that have been archived by specific sources, such as Google Cache, Bing Cache, or Yandex Cache.
Archive.today also has a Chrome extension and an Android app that make it easier to access the service from your browser or mobile device. You can also use Archive.today as a proxy to bypass censorship or geo-restrictions.
Archive.today is a good way back machine alternative if you want to save snapshots of web pages as they currently exist. However, it is not a full-fledged web archive that stores the entire content and functionality of web pages. You also need to manually request a snapshot if you want to save a web page that has not been archived before.
Here is an example of a snapshot saved by Archive.today:
Domain Tools is a premium web service that allows you to access various metrics and insights about any website. Domain Tools provides various tools and features that help you analyze your own website or your competitors’ websites for performance, traffic, audience, keywords, backlinks, and more.
Domain Tools also has a web archive feature that allows you to view historical snapshots of any website. You can use this feature to see how a website looked and functioned in the past. You can also compare snapshots from different dates or domains.
Domain Tools offers various plans and pricing options depending on your needs and goals. You can start with a free trial that gives you limited access to some of the features. The paid plans range from $99 per month for basic features to $995 per month for advanced features. You can also request a custom plan if you need more features or support.
Domain Tools is an excellent way back machine alternative if you want to access comprehensive and reliable data about any website. However, it is expensive and not very suitable for casual users. The web archive feature is also not very prominent and requires some digging to find.
Here is an example of a snapshot viewed by Domain Tools:
Pagefreezer is a premium web service that archives web pages and social media content for compliance and legal purposes. Pagefreezer helps organizations capture, preserve, and monitor their online presence for regulatory compliance, litigation readiness, e-discovery, and information governance.
Pagefreezer archives web pages and social media content in real-time and stores them securely in the cloud. Pagefreezer ensures that the archived content is authentic, complete, and tamper-proof by using digital signatures and timestamps. Pagefreezer also provides tools for searching, filtering, reviewing, exporting, and producing the archived content in various formats.
Pagefreezer offers various plans and pricing options depending on your needs and features. You can start with a free trial that gives you limited access to some of the features. The paid plans vary depending on the number of websites, social media accounts, pages, posts, comments, and users you want to archive.
Pagefreezer is a powerful way back machine alternative if you want to archive web pages and social media content for compliance and legal purposes. However, it is expensive and not suitable for casual users who
WebCite is a free web service that allows you to cite web pages in academic publications. WebCite creates permanent links to archived versions of web pages that may change or disappear over time. WebCite is supported by various publishers and organizations that endorse its use as a citation standard
Resurrect Pages is a free browser extension that allows you to access archived web pages from multiple sources via a right-click menu. Resurrect Pages uses the Memento protocol to connect with various web archiving services and platforms, such as the Way Back Machine, Archive.today, Google Cache, and more. Resurrect Pages is convenient and fast to use
Yubnub is a free web service that allows you to access various web services via commands in a browser extension. Yubnub has a powerful and versatile command system that lets you search, browse, convert, translate, and more with simple keywords. Yubnub also has a web archive command that lets you view historical snapshots of any website. Yubnub is customizable and works offline
iTools is a free web service that provides various tools and information about any website. iTools has a comprehensive and useful database that covers various aspects of a website, such as traffic, ranking, keywords, backlinks, and more. iTools also has a web archive feature that lets you view historical snapshots of any website. iTools has an easy-to-use interface and works with any browser
Time Travel is a free web service that allows you to access archived web pages from multiple sources via a web service or a browser extension. Time Travel uses the Memento protocol to connect with various web archiving services and platforms, such as the Way Back Machine, Archive.today, Google Cache, and more. Time Travel has a simple and intuitive interface and also works as a proxy to bypass censorship or geo-restrictions.
Alexa is a paid web service that provides various metrics and insights about any website. Alexa provides comprehensive and reliable data about the performance, traffic, audience, keywords, backlinks, and more of any website. Alexa also has a web archive feature that lets you view historical snapshots of any website. Alexa also integrates with other tools and platforms, such as Google Analytics, WordPress, Shopify, and more. Alexa offers various plans and pricing options depending on your needs and goals.