Wayback Machine Alternative: Which Is The Best Website Archive? 

It’s no wonder that the internet evolves every passing minute. That is, with new websites popping up and older versions vanishing in thin air, it can be tricky to capture your favorite sites. 

That’s where website archives come in handy. These little internet gems allow users to capture a specific version of a website. Making it easier to go back to the favorite pages instantly. 

Now, among the many web archives, the Wayback Machine has been at the forefront with its website snapshots. That is, saving a version of the site on a specific date. 

But it isn’t the perfect solution. That is, its snapshots can be inconsistent at times, and the archiving can be limited. So, choosing one of its alternatives is the need of the hour. 

But the question is — “Which Wayback Machine alternative is the best?” Well, that’s exactly what I am going to delve into today. 

In this blog, I have listed down 5 Major alternatives to Wayback Machine based on their— 

• Features and unique capabilities, 

• Pros and cons of each alternative, 

• Pricing models, and more. 

Stay tuned! 

What’s The Need For A Wayback Machine Alternative? 

First things first, the Wayback Machine is one part of the Internet Archive that is primarily designed to let users see a specific version of the archived websites. 

That is, it captures the version of the website through snapshots. Now, it has been on the internet since 2001, capturing over a billion website versions and archiving them. 

Moreover, it allowed users to revisit the older versions of the websites to research, analyze the changes, or collect data. Making it a powerful tool for businesses to monitor their competitor’ websites. 

As the report from Search Engine Journal highlights— 

• “The Wayback Machine is like a big online library that saves copies of websites from different times. It’s run by the Internet Archive, and it doesn’t make any money from it. With the Wayback Machine, you can see what a website looked like in the past, even if it’s changed or gone offline now.” 

But the archive is not a perfect model. That is, it has limitations with consistently archiving the various webpages, sites, and other online resources. 

In addition to this, its load times have slowed down over time. Making users seek its alternate options. 

Top 5 Alternatives To Wayback Machine 

Among the countless alternate options, here are the 5 major Wayback Machine alternatives to try for website archiving. 

1. Archive.today 

Unlike other alternatives, Archive.today is a popular platform that allows users to manually capture the exact website version from specific URLs.

Moreover, it can bypass web restrictions to capture the dynamic versions. So, users can easily archive the version they want to store. 

According to the report from Search Engine Journal— 

• “It offers a simple way to preserve content and generate unalterable links to the archived versions. Following the link will send users to an unalterable version of the page.” 

2. Perma.cc 

Perma is mainly used for academic purposes for its unique citation features. Moreover, it allows users to permanently store the links in the archive. So, users can go back to the links whenever they want. 

As the report from Appvizer explains— 

• “Created by Harvard Law School, Perma.cc is a web archiving tool designed to combat link rot: the phenomenon whereby links cited in articles, court rulings, or research papers disappear or become inaccessible over time.” 

3. Stillio 

Unlike the other two website archives, Stillio is an automated platform. That is, it allows users to automate the website snapshots to archive them for a long period. 

Moreover, it comes with a comprehensive set of customization options. So, users can decide on the resolution, snapshot area, and custom cookies on the site. 

According to the report from Appvizer— 

• “Stillio automates the taking of regular screenshots of web pages, at the frequency of your choice. It’s a particularly useful tool for professionals in SEO, competitive intelligence, brand management, or marketing compliance.” 

4. Pagefreezer 

Generally, Pagefreezer is used by financial services, healthcare, and government agencies to comply with specific laws. That is, its public transparency allows users to manage the public records efficiently. 

Moreover, it allows users to archive the websites comprehensively. Also, it captures dynamic websites. That is, be it an e-commerce site or a social media site, Pagefreezer captures the exact version. 

As the report from BloggerJet points out— 

• “This type of comprehensive digital recordkeeping solution can be used by businesses for eDiscovery and legal purposes, evidence collection, social media monitoring, as well as proving compliance with CCPA and GDPR.” 

5. Memento 

Finally, Memento is one of the popular alternatives to Wayback Machine for its highly customizable fields. That is, users can customize the texts, URLs, groups, barcodes, images, and more. 

In addition to this, it offers AI assistance for organizing the database with the website version snapshots. So, users can find all the items in one place. 

Moreover, it is compatible across diverse platforms and OS. So, users can access the database from any kind of device. 

As the report from Search Engine Journal points out— 

• “Memento’s other distinct feature is the Chrome extension, which allows you to select the date on which you’d like to view your current page. This brings the tool to where you’re browsing instead of forcing you to enter a URL into a form.” 

Troubleshooting Common Issues With The Website Archives 

Even though using the website archives is quite simple, users can face certain issues. So, here are some common troubleshooting methods for minor challenges— 

• Choosing a different browser or checking the stability of the connection if the platform is not loading. 

• Ensuring the platform allows snapshots of websites that have dynamic content like JavaScript or interactive elements. 

• Taking a break once in a while to allow the archive to load the databases without major glitches. 

• Temporarily switching to the public DNS, like Google’s 8.8.8.8, and disabling the VPN service for the platform to work. 

• Using the customizable options to change the file format to PDFs for storing the dynamic or complex websites. 

How To Choose The Right Alternative? 

Just having the list is not enough. Knowing which one to choose for keeping the website snapshots is the key. So, here are some tips to choose the best Wayback Machine alternative— 

• Ensuring the platform allows users to capture an exact snapshot of the websites. 

• Checking the frequency of the snapshots for speedy records of the sites. 

• Identifying the details from the website being captured, like images and links. 

• Ensuring the accessibility of the database from various devices. 

Now, with this list of the best alternative website archives, anyone can choose the right platform to store website versions for research and analysis. 

So, if you haven’t tried these cool internet gems to record the website versions, it’s high time to try them. Just open the portal and store your favorite sites today! 

FAQs 

Here are some of the common questions around the Wayback Machine alternatives that most users look for. 

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