The 4 best services for cloud backup

The best cloud backup services help ensure you don’t lose your data because of broken hardware or natural disasters.

With the best cloud backup services, you’ll always have a safe copy of your most important files stored in the cloud, so you’ll never lose them. Each of these services constantly sends data from your computer to cloud servers in other parts of the world. These cloud servers are easy to access from anywhere with an internet connection. You need cloud backup because you can’t always trust local backup drives to keep your data safe.

This is why “off-site” backups are used by many small businesses to reduce the risk of physical disasters. People who use cloud backup services have the same peace of mind. Each cloud backup service we’ve tested and reviewed uses industry-standard encryption on its servers to keep the data safe.

The best cloud backup services

1. Right now, IDrive is the best cloud backup service.

IDrive gets high marks in every review because it has many great features and costs a fair amount. There are software versions for Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS, and Linux machines can use command-line scripts. Best of all, iDrive is giving readers of Tom’s Guide an amazing deal: for the first year, they can get the 10TB plan for just $3.98, which is a huge 95% off.

1. Personal IDrive

The best backup service in the cloud overall

SPECIFICATIONS

• Number of devices: There is no limit
• Storage limit: 10TB
• Yes, for backups on external drives
• Mobile device backups: Yes
• Yes, you can back up your system and apps, but not by default.
• Two ways to prove your identity: Yes, via email. Start shipping: Plant and grow
• The best deals for today
• 10TB for $3.98

REASONS TO BUY: Free data transfer via disc, fast upload speeds, backup mobile devices, and many ways to sync.

WHY NOT: There is no option for unlimited storage

IDrive is the best value for money because it can back up an unlimited number of machines up to either 5TB or 10TB, which should be enough for most people ($3.98 for the first year for Tom’s Guide readers). It’s the best cloud backup service, according to our editors.

2. Backblaze

SPECIFICATIONS

• One computer is the number of items.
• Storage limit: Unlimited
• Yes, for backups on external drives
• Mobile device backups: No
• Backups of the system and applications: No
• Yes, if there are two factors.
• Drive shipping: Only send back

REASONS TO BUY: It’s cheap, quick, simple, and easy to use. It has unlimited storage space and a generous drive-shipping policy.

However, Backblaze is starting to fall behind as competitors add features like cloud syncing, file sharing, and backups of networked drives. It’s also not great for people who need to back up more than one machine unless they have almost unlimited space needs. In that case, the reasonable cost of backing up each machine once a year might be worth more than one Backblaze subscription.

3. Cyber Protect Home Office by Acronis

The best cloud backup service for people with a lot of data

SPECIFICATIONS

• Up to 5 computers and as many mobile devices as you want.
• Storage limit: 5TB
• Yes, for backups on external drives
• Mobile device backups: Yes
• Yes, backups of the system and applications
• Two-step verification: No
• Transport goods: No
• Very little effect on system performance +
• The interface is modern and easy to use

REASONS TO AVOID: 1) It can get very expensive, and the pricing is hard to understand. 2) Most home users won’t need most of the features.

Acronis True Image, recently renamed Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office, is the most powerful and flexible online backup solution. It has a great desktop application and an insane number of backup and security options.

This cloud backup has options for mobile devices, external drives, and social media, as well as for syncing and sharing. It will save a copy of your main hard drive to the cloud, including all of its programmes and operating system. Also it has antivirus software, ransomware protection, a vulnerability scanner, and a file-restoration tool.

Still, Acronis can be the most frustrating of the best cloud backup services because its prices go up quickly as you add devices and storage, and its web and mobile interfaces aren’t very good. But it might be the best choice if you are an expert user or if you are also looking for antivirus software.

3. Small Business CrashPlan

The best cloud backup service for small and medium-sized businesses

SPECIFICATIONS

• Number of machines: unlimited, price per machine
• Storage limit: Unlimited
• Yes, for backups on external drives
• Mobile device backups: No
• Yes, you can back up your system and apps, but it’s not a good idea.
• Yes, if there are two factors.
• Transport goods: No
• CrashPlan’s cloud backup service was the best for consumers until the company left the market in 2017.

Almost everything can be changed, like how often backups happen, how long deleted files are kept, how secure an account is, and where to download restored files. CrashPlan can back up full images of local and networked drives formatted for Linux or Mac OS. And you can back up as many devices as you want as long as you’re willing to pay $10 per computer per month.

You won’t get the user-friendly features like drive shipping and mobile device backups that made CrashPlan for Home so appealing. Mobile apps are very safe, but they don’t have much else. CrashPlan for Small Business also uses many system resources during backups, but you can change the settings of the app to make that less of an issue.

4.  BigMIND File Streaming

One of the best things about BigMIND is that you can stream videos and edit documents in the cloud. Your BigMIND account can also be linked to other services, like Dropbox, Google Drive, and Facebook. Face and object recognition tools are built into the mobile app, but face recognition doesn’t work all that well.

BigMIND has two-factor authentication, strong encryption, and data center security, but in terms of privacy, it still leaves a bit to be desired. You can’t handle your encryption key, and the fact that most data centers are in the U.S. makes things even worse.

BigMIND is at the very bottom of the list for a reason. It’s an expensive backup service with strict limits on how many people can use it and how much space they can store. But it’s a good choice if you mostly want to back up photos and videos or want to be able to edit your files right in the cloud. you can do all of these for your sign shop.