Online Backup Service Comparison Review
This Online Backup Service comparison table features vendor offerings that we feel are most appropriate for home and family use or perhaps an individual work computer.
We have a separate comparison review for business online backup (including server backup).
Every vendor has a little bit different focus and our goal is to best match up your online backup needs and budget with the service that best fits you. Three different areas of differentiation in this space are:
- Backup vs. Backup AND Storage – Backup just duplicates what is on your computer; storage allows items NO LONGER ON YOUR COMPUTER
- Mobile device support – iPhone, iPad, Android, Blackberry, Windows Mobile and others. Some vendors support nearly all, others few or none
- Synchronization – Some users want data synchronized among several computers or devices, for others this is not important
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| OnlineBackupSpot Rating |  |
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| Plan Size (GB) | 30, 60, 100, 250, 500 | 50, 125 | Unlimited | 100, 500 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| File Size Limits | No | No; Large files ignored1 | Free Plan: 100MB Personal: 1GB Family: 2GB Enterprise: 5GB |
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| No. of Devices | unlimited | 1, 3 (more available $) | 1 | 2 Personal, 5 Family | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| OS Support* | W, M, L | W, M, 64 | W, M (Limited) | W, M | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| External Drive Support | Yes | No | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Network Drive Support | No, see Mozy Pro | Unclear, doubtful | Enterprise Plan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Local Backup | No | Yes | No | No | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Synchronize Devices | Yes | Yes, as of Q2 2011 | No | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Share Online Files** | Yes | New | No | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Public Links | Yes | No | No | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mobile Support: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| – Mobile Website | Yes | No | No | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| – iPhone, iPad | Stream | Yes | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| – Android | Stream | Yes | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| – Blackberry | Stream | No | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| – Windows Mobile | Yes | No | No | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| – Symbian | Yes | No | No | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Online Editing of Files | Yes | No | No | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Online Storage + | No | No | No4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Versioning | 5 Versions | 30 Days | Schedule3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Recycle Bin | No | No | No | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Backup Types: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| – Scheduled | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| – Manual | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| – Continuous | Yes | “Near Continuous“2 |
Yes |
Enterprise Only | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| – Open Files | Yes | Enterprise Only | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| – Locked Files | Yes | Enterprise Only | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| – User Bandwidth Throttle | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| – Vendor Bandwidth Throttle | Yes, after 200GB | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| – Ship Media | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Restore Types: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| – Software | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| – Website | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| – Ship Media | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Play Media from Cloud | Yes | No | No | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Integration # | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Encryption (Transfer/Cloud) | SSL / 128 AES | SSL / Mozy 448 Blowfish or User Key 256 AES |
SSL / 128 Blowfish (User Key Optional, Disables Mobile Support) |
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| Geo Diversified Servers | Yes | Yes (Not Free Plan) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Access Cloud as Drive Letter | No | No | No | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Firewall Friendly | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pricing |
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$59 /year per device | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discounts | 2 months free with 1 year prepay |
1 month free : 1 year 2 months free : 2 year |
None | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Free Trial | 30 Day Free Trial | MozyFree – 2GB Limit | 15 Day Free Trial No Credit Card Required |
* OS Support: (W)indows, (M)ac, (L)inux, (64) Bit
** We don’t consider attaching a file to an email as “sharing”
+ Online Storage: Store files online that do NOT exist on your computer; hence, not “Online Backup” but “Online Storage“
# Integration: Windows Explorer integration
1 Large files appear to be not automatically backed up in “near continuous” mode
2 Backup may be delayed significantly if computer is not idle
3 Carbonite keeps old versions of your files for up to three months. It keeps one version of the file for each day of the past week, one version for each of the previous three weeks, and one version for each of the previous two months that the file has been backed up.
4 Files deleted from cloud 30 days after disappearing from device.
Help Make This The Best Online Backup Comparison
Getting all of this information out of the vendors of online backup services is not easy, and some of it is a moving target as providers one up each other and try to improve their service to gain market share. Consider it a continuous work-in-progress to give you the best comparison, feature to feature, of each option available to you for the protection of your important data.
Naturally, most companies only tell you what they really want you to know. We want you to be able to know EVERYTHING about the service, though, to make sure it really is what you want and what you think you are paying for.
If you see a feature in the comparison table above that is not filled in or incorrect, please contact OnlineBackupSpot and let us know!