Though CrashPlan home subscription won’t discontinue immediately, it seems only natural that we seek out the best CrashPlan alternatives for your cloud backup needs before the time runs out (which is about 14 months from now). So, without further ado, let’s get started.
1. Backblaze
Backblaze is one of the best alternatives for CrashPlan. At almost the same price, it offers the same features that CrashPlan offered — including backing up videos and large files. The USP of this backup service is that it’s not picky and uploads all files and data. In fact, if you choose not to upload a particular type of files, all you need to do is go to Settings > Exclusions and enter the data as per your choice.
What Gets Backed Up?
Apart from creating a backup of the user data by default, it also lets you back up multiple hard drives and videos of any file size. However, when it comes to backing up external hard drives, do remember to plug in the device at least once in every 30 days.
What Doesn’t Get Backed Up
Backblaze doesn’t backup your Operating system (OS), application files and folders, and temporary files. If you are a Mac user, Backblaze won’t include the iTunes podcasts in the backup. However, Backblaze doesn’t let you back up on a local computer or an external hard disk. Aforesaid, you can also change your exclusion settings in the Settings menu.
Security
Backblaze uses a 128-bit encryption key that changes after every backup session. Plus, users can also opt for the two-factor authentication methods or a private encryption key if they want to take security a notch higher.
Plan
Backblaze has a single price plan of $50/year, costing you less by $9 per year.
2. iDrive
The next on our list is iDrive. Unlike the above cloud backup services, iDrive charges based on the amount of storage you are using, much like Dropbox, and is very fast compared to its contemporaries. For instance, the first 5 GB is free and then it charges around $52.12 for 2TB of space. It allows you to backup data from multiple devices — whether it’s a PCs, Macs, smartphones or an external drive.
What Gets Backed Up
The function and the backup process of iDrive aren’t typical of the other apps. For starters, its lets you create a backup copy of your entire disk image. What’s more, iDrive also backs up the pictures uploaded to Facebook or Instagram. And if you want an option for creating a local backup of your data, it’s also there. However, if you are using the free storage options, do note that iDrive stores the deleted files too. So, at the end of the day, it also accounts for the storage of your account.
Security
On the security front, you get a 256-bit AES encryption. Plus, it lets you create a unique private key. Also, all the data is encrypted and then stored, similar to the other service
Plan
Aforesaid, the first 5 GB of storage is free and never expires. The additional storage options are iDrive Personal ($52.12 for 2 TB for one user) and iDrive Business ($74.62 for 250 GB for unlimited users).
3. Acronis True Image
Third on our list is the Acronis True Image tool. Feature wise, it’s almost similar to CrashPlan, however, this one has a better interface that is easier to use and navigate and boasts of a ‘Back up in just two clicks‘ process. The only disadvantage of this tool is that it occupies a considerable space on your system, so you can opt for Acronis True Image only if you have ample disk storage. What’s more, you can see the backup status, file sizes, backup speeds, versioning of your backup files.
What Gets Backed Up
Acronis True Image backs up everything from individual files and folders, social media backup to full system disk or a selected partition. Plus, with the 2018 version, it lets you create a backup of your Windows system to a local drive or external USB device. Plus, it has a continued non-stop backup process much like Backblaze.
Security
Acronis True Image sports end-to-end AES-256 encryption. Given that there are many potential threats when it comes to online security or malware threats, the tool monitors and identifies these potential threats
Plan
Acronis True Image is a tad cheaper when compared to the others. The standard package starts at $49.99. The one-year Advanced subscription costs $49.99 while the Premium plan retails at $99.99.
4. Carbonite
Moving on, the last on our list is Carbonite. Carbonite is one of the official recommendation from the house of CrashPlan and is similarly priced. Plus, it offers a 50% discount for the migrating CrashPlan users. And just like CrashPlan it also supports versioning of its backup files. What’s more, the installation process is easy and takes barely a few minutes. The best thing about this cloud backup service is its easy-to-configure interface.
What Gets Backed Up
Similar to CrashPlan or Backblaze, Carbonite also supports unlimited file backup — including pictures, videos, and email messages — regardless of the size and a support for the external hard disk backup. Although for videos, you might need to select the files manually. Carbonite also keeps a backup of deleted files but only for 30 days, after which it will proceed to delete it.
What Doesn’t Get Backed Up
Few cloud backup services offer to backup the operating system or files related to it and Carbonite is also no different. It doesn’t backup your regular software files, applications, and operating system.
Security
It offers the same 128-bit encryption key and a second-tier private encryption key similar to the one offered by Backblaze.
Plan
The yearly plan for Carbonite starts at $59.99 a year for one computer. The Plus plan starts at $75/year and goes up to $150 for the Prime plan.
That’s a Wrap!
So, these were some of the hardcore cloud backup services. This list doesn’t include the usual suspects like Dropbox, Google Drive, iCloud since they are more of productivity enhancement tools and sync and share tools that can be used between various systems. So, which one will you go for? See Next: Android User? Bookmark these 5 Apps for Backup and Restore
