Neumann is another Nintendo Switch save backup and restore tool, and its appeal is simplicity: it does the core job with very little around it. JKSV sits at the other end of the scale, a full-featured save manager. Neither approach is automatically better. This comparison explains what each tool does and does not attempt, so you can match the tool to your habits. JKSV is available from our download page; both tools need a Switch 1 with CFW. See the comparisons hub for more head-to-heads.
The core job, done by both
At the centre, both tools back up Switch save data to the SD card and restore it later, which is the function most users need most of the time. If your entire requirement is ‘copy this game’s save somewhere safe, and put it back if something goes wrong’, Neumann’s smaller feature set covers it without menus you will never open. A simpler tool also has less to misconfigure, which is a genuine virtue for a first-time homebrew user who just wants one game protected.
JKSV performs the same core backup and restore, then keeps going. The question is never whether JKSV can do the basic job; it is whether you will use anything beyond it.
Where JKSV goes further
JKSV covers every Switch save type, including Account, System, BCAT, Device-Shared, Temporary, Cache and System BCAT data, and adds whole-system or per-user batch backups for large libraries. It integrates Google Drive and WebDAV cloud backup with optional auto-upload, creates save data without launching the game, imports archives for uninstalled titles through SVI files, and can resize save data when a game outgrows its allocation. Its configuration and output live in predictable places, sd:/config/JKSV/ for settings and /JKSV/ for backups.
Those are not decorative extras. Cloud auto-upload is the difference between backups that exist and backups you meant to make, and batch backup is the difference between protecting a library and protecting the two games you remembered.
The case for keeping it simple
Neumann’s restraint is the right fit for a narrow, settled routine: one console, a handful of games, backups taken deliberately before a specific change, and no interest in cloud services or bulk operations. Learning one small tool thoroughly beats skimming a large one, and a focused tool leaves fewer settings in a state you do not understand. If that description sounds like you, choosing the simpler tool is a considered decision, not a lesser one.
Plenty of users also graduate: they start simple, then move to JKSV when a library grows or a lost save teaches the value of automatic cloud copies. Our roundup of best Switch save managers places both tools in that bigger picture, and JKSV vs Checkpoint covers the other major alternative.
Which should you install?
Install Neumann if you want the shortest path to basic backup and restore and do not need cloud, batch or advanced save handling. Install JKSV if you want any of those, or if your save collection is large enough that manual, per-game, local-only backups would realistically not happen. Because both are free homebrew, you can also install JKSV alongside and use each where it fits, though one consistent backup habit matters more than which icon you tap.
Whichever you choose, make a backup, restore it once as a test, and only then rely on it. That single habit puts you ahead of most users of either tool.
One final practical note applies to both tools equally: whichever you install, put it on the current release and keep it updated through the normal homebrew channels, because save tools interact with firmware and CFW changes over time. JKSV’s own release line, including the 2025 rewrite and the self-update ability added in November 2025, is tracked on our version history page, and a five-minute update check before a big backup session is time well spent for users of any save manager.