Game Save Manager vs Playnite Save Manager

Game Save Manager (GSM) is a Windows desktop application for organizing, backing up, and restoring game saves. Its PCGamingWiki-powered database covers more than 14,000 save locations, and it scans game installation folders and known locations such as Registry, AppData, and Documents. GSM keeps rolling backup history, supports permanently pinned backups, and can rotate older saves automatically. Automatic backups can run on a regular interval or when save files change, and persist across app restarts. For custom games, users can add folders, files, or registry keys and use dynamic path placeholders. The app exports save history to a .gsmr archive that can be imported and merged on another PC. The maker says it detects installations from Steam, Epic, Battle.net, and more, as well as account IDs for Steam, Ubisoft, Epic, Xbox, and Rockstar. The free GitHub plan provides a Windows 64-bit installer under GPL-3.0. The maker's privacy policy says the app runs locally and personal files are not uploaded, stored, or analyzed on its servers. It connects to download necessary data files and does not track in-app usage. A separate download option mentions optional support without stating an amount; website purchases grant a personal, non-transferable license.

Playnite Save Manager is a Windows plugin for backing up, restoring, and organizing PC game saves within Playnite. It detects save locations automatically, including paths under a user profile, game directory, or emulator directory, and supports relative paths. Backups can include optional notes; when restoring, users can choose an earlier backup and keep selected files or folders from being overwritten. An optional setting creates a backup when a game stops, and the per-game backup limit can be set to 0 for unlimited copies. The plugin also imports and exports save-path configurations, ZIP backup packages, and global configurations with backups. Cloud synchronization runs through Rclone and is described as experimental. Users choose a provider through a setup wizard, but the project does not enumerate providers. Cloud sync can have upload or deletion issues; syncing configuration before a game starts may increase startup time, and restoring before uploads finish can cause cloud pulls or conflicts. Optional version tracking records CRC32 checksums. The plugin is free: free.