There are only a few serious save managers for a modded Nintendo Switch, but they make different trade-offs, and ‘best’ depends entirely on what you do with your saves. This guide gives a clear shortlist — JKSV, Checkpoint and Neumann — with an honest recommendation for each kind of user, plus a note on a tool that is often miscategorised. All of them need a Switch 1 with CFW such as Atmosphère. JKSV itself is on our download page, and detailed matchups are on the comparisons hub.
JKSV: the full-featured default
JKSV, JK’s Save Manager by J-D-K, is the most complete Switch save tool in this list. It handles every save type the console uses — Account, System, BCAT, Device-Shared, Temporary, Cache and System BCAT — backs up the whole system or one user’s saves in a batch, and uploads to Google Drive or any WebDAV server, automatically if you let it. It can create save data without launching a game, import archives for uninstalled titles via SVI files, and resize saves that need more room. For most Switch-only users who want one tool that will not run out of features, JKSV is the recommendation.
Its depth is explored across this site, from the cloud backup hub to the game save guides. The 2025 rewrite means the current version shares no code with the old JKSV some older guides describe.
Checkpoint: the two-console choice
Checkpoint, currently at v5.3.0 (October 13, 2026) from BernardoGiordano/Checkpoint, is the pick if your save life spans a Switch and a 3DS, because one project serves both platforms. On Switch it covers the core backup and restore workflow and can share saves over FTP and WiFi, which suits users who constantly move files to a PC. It does not offer JKSV’s native Google Drive or WebDAV auto-upload, so off-device protection is a manual step rather than a system.
The full head-to-head is in JKSV vs Checkpoint. Checkpoint is actively developed and a legitimate first choice for the right user, not a legacy leftover, whatever older pages claim.
Neumann: the minimal option
Neumann keeps the job small: back up and restore Switch saves, without the surrounding machinery. For a user with a few games and a deliberate, occasional backup habit, that focus is a feature — less to learn, less to misconfigure. It does not attempt JKSV’s batch operations, cloud integration or advanced save handling, and it does not pretend to. The detailed comparison is JKSV vs Neumann.
A related name worth placing correctly is EdiZon SE. It is primarily a cheat and memory-editing tool, not a save manager in the sense of this list, so it is not ranked here; users looking for it want a different category of software altogether.
So, which is best for you?
Choose JKSV for the deepest Switch feature set, automatic cloud backup and large libraries. Choose Checkpoint if you also manage a 3DS or live on FTP and WiFi transfers to your PC. Choose Neumann if you want basic protection with the least possible complexity. All three are free, so the real decision is which workflow you will actually maintain, because the best save manager is always the one whose backups exist when you need them.
Our default recommendation for a Switch-only reader is JKSV, set up once with cloud auto-upload and local copies kept. Install it, back up everything in one batch, test one restore, and your save collection is properly protected from that day on.
Before you settle on any tool from this list, run the same small test: install it, back up one game you can afford to experiment with, delete nothing, restore the backup, and launch the game to confirm your progress is exactly where you left it. That single rehearsal teaches you more about a save manager’s menus and behaviour than any comparison table, and it proves your personal setup works while the stakes are still zero. Then extend the habit to the whole library.