

If this were a personal list of the best online backup services, I’d rank it number one. 1.25 TB, $374.62 the first year, $749.25 for two years.įull disclosure, I use Backblaze for our home computers.Business (unlimited users, unlimited computers or servers).Personal (one user, unlimited computers).Will mail you a hard drive of your backups if needed for disaster recovery.Accepts drives by mail for the initial backup.Snapshots for system recovery available.Back up mobile devices as well as desktop computers.The initial upload for a typical computer can take days, even for the fastest online backup service. For those who have terabytes of files to backup, that can be a convenient option. If upload speed is an issue, IDrive provides the option to mail them a hard drive for the initial backup. Though in fairness, I’ll point out that most other reviewers have not had the same experience. I have to say I found its initial upload speed to be painfully slow. It certainly provides the most bang for the buck (in most scenarios), and it’s easy to use. IDrive is consistently ranked as the best cloud backup service. We’ve provided pricing basics, but you should check the features and long-term pricing for any backup service you’re considering.

Some prices quoted don’t include features or services that are available for additional fees. Online backup service pricing varies greatly, with multiple options for terms, number of users, and devices covered. The online backup services detailed in this article:Ī note on the pricing information in this article.

That’s what this guide is intended to do…help you make an informed decision. Then you can choose the one that best meets your needs. The best way to decide which is best for you is to see what each service can do. Meaning any time you change and save a file, the change is uploaded to the backup service.Īs you can see, while the services are similar, there are a lot of different moving parts. But some go even further and back up continuously. They all do scheduled backups – daily, weekly, monthly, etc. Some services allow system file backups and will back up files on external or network drives. With others, like IDrive or Acronis True Image, you manually select which files or directories will be backed up. You don’t have to go through a lengthy or complicated configuration (though that option is available). Some, like Backblaze, will automatically upload every important file. But they vary in how they perform and manage your backups. I mentioned that the services do essentially the same thing, and that’s true.

If you’re lucky, you’ll never have to think about (or need) your computer backups.īut if you ever do need them, you’ll be really glad that you have them. From the technical tinkerers to those who prefer to set-it-and-forget-it. There are also considerations around storage, another area where we may not all have the same needs.īut, there is something on the list for each of us. So what may be best for a large family might not be best for a young solo entrepreneur. While each of the online backup services here does essentially the same thing, their options and pricing differ. It isn’t meant to be used for file-syncing or sharing (though many backup services offer those features). Online backup is intended to automatically protect documents and media files. Online backup services are not the same as cloud storage or file-syncing services like Dropbox, OneDrive, or Google Drive. In the event of a system or hard drive failure, in many cases, a physical hard drive containing all of your backed up files can be sent to you. If a file is inadvertently deleted or corrupted, a copy can be downloaded from the backup. What Are Online Backup Services?Īn online backup service copies files from your computer or mobile device to a cloud storage location. When your files are safely stored in a remote location, a hard drive failure doesn’t have to be a disaster. But online backup services have made computer and mobile device backup painless and convenient. Only 9% of us back up our computers daily. If you’re reading this, you have at least one computer that needs to be backed up regularly.
