Greatest cloud backup providers 2025: Carbonite vs. iDrive vs. Backblaze

On-line backup is your guard towards any catastrophe that may influence your laptop or native storage units. Mechanical failure, acts of malice, or pure disasters are severe threats to the recordsdata and folders you may have saved in your PC.

Whereas I all the time advocate retaining an area backup for fast restores (see our roundup of one of the best Home windows backup software program for desktop options), importing your information to a web-based backup service is a dependable approach to cowl your bases. The “backup rule of three” exists for a cause.

The excellent news for shoppers is that there are numerous reasonably priced and handy cloud storage choices, every providing distinctive promoting factors. My major concern right here is backup, however I do be aware different roles {that a} service can fulfill, corresponding to file sharing, multiple-device assist, and emergency-restore choices. 

You would possibly surprise why you don’t see providers like Google Drive, OneDrive, or Dropbox right here. These are extra precisely outlined as cloud storage. Apart from usually missing a desktop consumer, and providing restricted, if any, computerized backup performance, on-line storage syncing includes mirroring — the place any deletions or adjustments are mirrored on the opposite finish. Whereas on-line backup makes use of versioning, so older information is retained — an necessary failsafe.

iDrive On-line Cloud Backup – Greatest cloud backup total

Professionals

• On-line and native backup in the identical job
• Helps a number of PCs and units on the identical account

Cons

• One of many pricier providers, past the free model, although justifiably so

Simply as once we initially reviewed all the most important on-line backup providers, iDrive stays probably the most complete on-line backup service. And although it’s not the most affordable, it’s nonetheless reasonably priced and comes with backup shoppers for almost each PC and system. The corporate additionally supplies extra storage for syncing all of your units and PCs, permits sharing of recordsdata with anybody, and has the power to again as much as an area drive. 

Since our overview, iDrive has expanded its backup choices to cowl a wide range of private and crew wants. Apart from a really spare 10GB free tier, there’s a Mini tier that provides as much as 500GB for $9.95 a 12 months, a Private plan that begins at 5TB for $69.95 the primary 12 months (or $149.25 for 2 years), and $99.50 every year after, masking one person and a number of units.

Further Private tiers supply 10TB, 20TB, and 50TB choices, with related worth will increase. There are additionally Crew plans that cowl a number of customers and a number of computer systems, at varied storage capacities and totally different worth steps.

Learn our full

iDrive On-line Cloud Backup overview

Livedrive – Greatest for limitless storage

Professionals

• Quick, glitch-free efficiency
• Syncing briefcase with on-line modifying (Professional model) or separate service
• Limitless backup

Cons

• Mac Shopper requires third-party software program for briefcase performance

In our most up-to-date overview of Livedrive, the reviewer summed it up with one phrase: easy. That’s actually not a shock, since Livedrive’s elegant setup, ease of use, and reliability — all of the issues that make it such easy operator, so to talk, are the very issues that made it one in all our prime picks for on-line backup over the past a number of years. There’s one thing to be mentioned for the way reassuring it may be to make use of a product that’s artfully designed and executed.

And it additionally stays true that Livedrive’s worth proposition is made much more candy with the addition of limitless storage. The usual Backup plan for one PC is roughly $99.90 for the primary 12 months and $119.88 per 12 months after that (being a UK-based firm, costs are listed in kilos and the conversion to {dollars} will fluctuate); a Professional Suite that covers 5 machines is $246.90 for first 12 months and $329.88 for subsequent years.

Regardless of the servers being positioned “throughout the pond,” we skilled a brisk 5- to 10MBps add charge from our base in San Francisco, CA, which ought to reassure U.S.-based prospects.

Sure, Backblaze and Carbonite additionally supply limitless storage, and are sturdy providers in their very own proper, however there are caveats to each that push the extremely polished Livedrive consumer forward.

Learn our full

Livedrive on-line backup overview

Internxt Drive – Greatest funds backup

Professionals

• On-line storage, sync, and backup
• Fantastically reasonably priced lifetime plans
• Extraordinarily safe and personal
• Free 2TB account

Cons

• Might use higher assist and activity suggestions
• Occasional connection errors

What in order for you a simple storage and backup choice that prices subsequent to nothing and nonetheless supplies backup options and a ton of storage? Internxt presents a 200GB storage plan for beneath $4 per 30 days or you’ll be able to go for the lifetime 2TB plan for a one time fee of $149—that’s 2TB of cloud storage and backup endlessly.

One other nice perk is that every one of Internxt’s plans, no matter value, supply the very same options. Which means that even should you go for the most affordable plan they’ve, you’ll nonetheless profit from the total characteristic set together with on-line storage, sync, backup, and sharing. The service can also be extraordinarily straightforward to grasp and use, and for just a few {dollars} a month you’re ready to make use of options which aren’t supplied in free providers.

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Internxt Drive on-line backup overview

Arq 7 Backup – Greatest for consolidating on-line storage

Professionals

• Tremendous-clean interface and setup
• Reasonably priced on-line storage
• Native and on-line backup
• Helps all kinds of third-party on-line storage providers
• Flawless in our testing

Cons

• No plain file backup
• Solo consumer software program is a tad dear

Over time you’ve seemingly used multiple cloud or on-line storage providers. Whether or not that be Dropbox, Google Drive, SharePoint, you title it. You seemingly additionally use a number of of those providers to retailer totally different buckets of your information. With all of those totally different storage choices the wires can get crossed and it could actually turn into more and more troublesome to make sure all your information is backed as much as the proper service. That’s the place Arq 7 is available in.

Its assist for myriad third-party on-line backup providers is second to none. Arq 7 additionally helps a number of jobs which you can tailor to every service corresponding to backing up important paperwork to free cloud storage, or bigger recordsdata to a premium service you employ as nicely. The interface is clear and easy-to-use, which is a large boon contemplating how intimidating backing up may be for brand new customers.

Our solely minor quibble with the service is that it’s a little bit of a one-trick pony—it solely does backup. There aren’t any extra options corresponding to partition or drive-image backups, cloning, sync, or restoration through boot media. Nonetheless, with regard to backup, Arq 7 does a wonderful job, and with its assist for third-party providers it’s one of the vital versatile backup providers we’ve ever examined.

Learn our full

Arq 7 Backup overview

Professionals

• 5GB free account
• Browser interface and native apps
• Syncs throughout units
• Vault for non-distributed backup
• Consumer definable expiration dates for file and folder shares

Cons

• No scheduled backups for Vault

Sync.com presents each a paid and a free tier service. The free tier comes with 5GB of backup cloud storage and a lot of the options supplied of their premium providers as nicely. The Sync.com service is simple to make use of and as safe as some other on-line backup service we’ve come throughout. It has each a pretty and well-designed internet interface in addition to a desktop app out there for Home windows, macOS, Android, and iOS.

Sync.com additionally makes syncing recordsdata throughout your units straightforward to do and even has a Vault choice to again up recordsdata with out transferring them to the native Sync folder in case you want to hold recordsdata unchanged or separated for any cause. Whereas 5GB of storage is probably not sufficient for energy customers or companies, should you’re simply seeking to hold recordsdata saved on-line and the power to sync them throughout a number of units with out having to pay something, Sync.com is a dependable service with nice performance. Plus, you’ll be able to all the time improve to a paid tier for extra storage as wanted.

Learn our full

Sync.com overview

Backup software program with cloud backup/storage assist

Sometimes, we separate our opinions of cloud backup providers from native backup software program (as seen in our greatest Home windows backup software program roundup.) However these traces have been blurred with backup software program that features assist for cloud backup and storage. The next are opinions of such hybrid choices:

• R-Drive Picture 7.3: This nice backup program will get even higher with expanded assist for cloud storage providers — together with the Amazon S3 and S3-compatible repositories
• Iperius Backup Primary: This backup program presents energy aplenty, however the studying curve and interface would possibly often flummox less-experienced customers.
• EaseUS ToDo Backup 2025: A full-featured program that ranks among the many prime; it’s free model is specific strong.
• Helpful Backup 8.5 Skilled: Prime-notch options would possibly’ve garnered an Editors’ Alternative award had it been completely glitch-free and a bit simpler to study.
• Ashampoo Backup Professional 26: Overarching assist for myriad backup chores with easy-to-understand wizards.
• Zinstall FullBack: Distinctive amongst backup packages, it presents full migration of backed up information and apps to a brand new OS set up — for a comparatively steep worth.
• Aomei Backupper Professional: A whole backup resolution able to preserving your necessary information each regionally and remotely.
• Acronis True Picture: Apart from being feature-packed, together with assist for cloud backup storage, Acronis throws in safety towards viruses and malware.
• R-Drive Picture: Our prime decide for finest Home windows backup software program simply retains getting higher with every new iteration.

Even native backup software program that doesn’t supply a proper cloud element may be made to include the preferred on-line storage providers, utilizing a cloud storage supervisor.

The excellent news is that you’ve a number of choices for placing collectively a complete backup technique together with native and distant copies of all of your information!

How we examined

As famous above, the efficiency of on-line backup providers will range wildly in accordance with their location and the community gear between you and the info depository. We put in the software program and backed up the identical 2GB information set to examine for any main points or glitches within the consumer software program. These are famous within the opinions.

See our article on how PCWorld exams cloud backup providers for all the main points.

Why it is best to belief us: It’s in our title, PCWorld. Our reviewers have been testing PC {hardware}, software program, and providers for many years. Our backup evaluations are thorough and rigorous, testing the guarantees and limitations of each product — from efficiency to the practicalities of normal use. As PC customers ourselves, we all know what makes a product stand out. Solely one of the best on-line backup providers make this listing.

The way to decide a web-based storage and backup service

Cloud backup has distinctive concerns. Familiarizing your self with the next key areas can assist you discover the cloud backup service that finest meets your wants.

Capability

Clearly, you’ll want as a lot storage as you may have information, plus a bit, or presumably lots, extra if you wish to monitor adjustments and save earlier variations of recordsdata. Some providers hold a number of variations of recordsdata, some don’t. In lots of instances there’s a time restrict.

Value

Practically all on-line providers cost for a most allowable quantity of knowledge, and customarily uploads are free. Apart from the free tiers out there from a service like Dropbox, pricing is pretty constant throughout providers, although you positively get extra capability on your cash from some distributors, notably Backblaze.

Options

As we talked about beforehand, along with backup, chances are you’ll need to share your recordsdata with others, work with them from cellular units, and even edit them with workplace purposes corresponding to these out there with Dropbox, Google, and OneDrive. In the event you do intend to work on-line, we advocate that you just keep an area copy as backup, and a hedge towards web downtime. 

OS and system assist

Most providers present consumer backup software program for the most important working programs (Linux, OS X, and Home windows) and each Android and iOS. Be sure that the service you join helps your total panoply of computer systems and units.

Privateness

In the event you’re involved in regards to the privateness of your information, be sure you use a service that enables the usage of a private encryption key that you just outline. Do NOT lose it, as it’s completely required to revive your information. Sadly, utilizing your individual key usually limits the varieties of providers (e.g., no cellular backup) out there.

If non-public encryption keys aren’t out there, learn the privateness coverage, particularly with the free providers—there are vital variations.