The Best Cloud Backup Services. Subscribe; U.S. The service does its best to keep both Mac and Windows-based customers secure. So you can sync the data that’s too big to fit on your PC. Cloud-backup services, also known as online-backup services, put your valuable information in an offsite repository that never goes offline and is available from anywhere, preventing catastrophes.
Table of Contents. It’s no secret that Windows operating systems, which are the, have had their fair share of bugs over the years.
The latest version, Windows 10, takes care of many of them, but you’ll still benefit from backing up your data. That’s why we’re providing you with a list of the best online backup for Windows, which leads. Besides software, hardware — as in your hard drive — can. You might think you can get around that with a solid-state drive because they have a rate of failure below one percent, but they are more prone to data loss than hard drives.
Might be able to help, but you can’t be sure it’ll retrieve your data. When you backup, no hardware malfunction, fire or theft will be able to compromise your data. Backup won’t make more room on your hard drive, though. If that’s what you want, you should look at our (read ). Here, we’ll give you the for Windows, but before we do, let’s review the criteria we used to make our list.
What Makes the Best Cloud Backup for Windows Supporting Windows is essential. It’s best if the desktop client is attractive, easy to use and intuitive, which goes for web and mobile clients, too. Strong will keep your files safe. The strength of security depends on the encryption the service uses, when it uses it, how safe its data centers are, etc. It’s best if the service classifies as, which makes it impossible for anyone other than you to read your files.
Will help, too, if someone steals your password. Cheap backup is better than backing up your files while emptying your wallet. Besides the price, services differ on how much backup space and how many subscription plans they offer. If you’re looking for free backup, though, read our for it. Big, cheap storage is fine, but it won’t do much good if it takes forever to transfer files. All initial uploads take a, but they shouldn’t take longer than necessary.
How fast your connection is will depend on the infrastructure of the service, how close you are to its servers and your ISP. Will help with subsequent uploads. Now that the criteria are out of the way, let’s take a look at Backblaze, our top pick for Windows. Best Cloud Backup for Windows: Backblaze is one of the most popular services today and tops our best online backup list.
© It supports Windows versions from XP to 10. Backing up using the desktop client is so simple, it proves to be the easiest experience of all the services we tested. The service backs up everything, except system and temporary files, so you don’t have to worry about how much or what you need to include. Note that the convenience makes backing up slower, so you should exclude what you don’t want to backup in the “settings” menu. The web interface works well, too. It’s intuitive and navigation is user-friendly.
The “overview” tab will show your account status, while the “view/restore” tab will let you access files. There are many security features, including private encryption.
If you disable it, Backblaze will retain your encryption key. Otherwise, the key stays with you. Regardless, recovering encrypted files requires that you send your passphrase to Backblaze for decryption. The company claims it deletes it afterward.
Besides private encryption, Backblaze encrypts your files at rest using in the Backblaze cloud. It’s not as strong as AES 256-bit, but it does the job. The TLS protocol protects files in-transit.
You won’t have issues if someone steals your password because Backblaze provides, which requires a security code every time you log in, to further enhance your security. Backblaze data centers keep copies of your files on multiple servers for redundancy using a setup. Centers can withstand natural disasters.
To access these features and unlimited backup, you’ll have to subscribe to Backblaze’s only paid plan. It’ll cost you or $50 a year. Unlike with most other services, you can cancel at any time because the subscription is month-to-month. If the service works for you, pay for a year in advance to get a $10 discount or two for a $25 discount.
$ 95 00 2 years Storage Unlimited GB Details Plan is for one computer. Other Reasons We Like Backblaze All services take a long time to do initial backups, but Backblaze is among the.
It doesn’t limit your upload or download speeds. Plus, you can increase the number of backup threads you have running to make uploading faster. How close you are to California, where Backblaze’s servers are, the better your speeds will be. Backblaze provides you with cheap unlimited backup, private encryption, great security, straightforward user experience and fast upload speeds. That makes it fit to top our list. To learn more about these features, read our review.
© You’ll have to backup files manually because IDrive doesn’t provide unlimited backup space or backup by file type. That doesn’t make for a simple user experience. Plus, there are many options that might complicate things for mainstream users. Once you set your backup plan, though, IDrive can run in the background without you having to worry about it. IDrive uses AES 256-bit encryption in transit and at rest.
There’s private encryption but you’ll have to enable it before your first backup to use it. If you don’t, IDrive will keep your encryption key. The only way to protect your password is to make a one because the service doesn’t provide two-factor authentication. IDrive keeps your data in in the United States. They are able to withstand natural disasters and fires, thanks to racks, raised floors, cooling zones and other precautions. To protect against human intrusion they employ surveillance, alarms and motion sensors.
There are two personal plans, paid annually: 2TB for $52 and 5TB for $75. These plans will also provide you with 2TB or 5TB of sync space which amounts to 4TB or 10TB of actual space. On top of that, you can backup unlimited devices with them. $ 749 25 2 years Storage 5 GB 2000 GB 5000 GB 250 GB 500 GB 1250 GB Details By paying for one or two years in advance, you can get a discount. Before deciding to subscribe for the long-term, though, you can use the free plan for 5GB of storage.
Other Reasons We Like IDrive There’s no question that initial uploads using IDrive can drag. You can’t speed it up by enabling multi-threaded backups like you can with Backblaze, but IDrive does have a free courier backup service, called, that can help. You can use the courier for downloads, too. IDrive has competitive prices, allows you to backup unlimited devices and gives you private encryption. Unfortunately, the service doesn’t provide two-factor authentication or a simple user experience. Once we take those things into consideration, it’s clear that it ranks second to Backblaze. To learn about its other features, read our in-depth.
© You can use it to backup everything, instead of just specific files. That takes more space and it’s slower, but it makes creating a backup plan much easier.
To help speed things up, you can exclude files you don’t want to backup. Acronis uses AES 256-bit encryption to scramble files at rest, while the TLS protocol protects your data in transit. File encryption requires that you use a password that only you know and encrypted files will remain so until you decrypt them. That makes Acronis zero-knowledge, but it doesn’t provide two-factor authentication. Data centers are comparable to other services. They use key cards, patrols, biometric scanning and monitoring to prevent intrusion and their infrastructure is resistant to natural disasters.
There are several subscription plans, including a lifetime one. We don’t recommend it, though, because it omits a lot. You’re better off using an Advanced plan, which provides you 250GB of backup space for around $4 a month or 500GB for $6. Premium plans start at 1TB for around $8 a month and end at 5TB for $22. $ 199 98 yearly Storage 250 GB 500 GB 1000 GB 2000 GB Details Cost for 1 PC Cost for 3 PC Cost for 5 PC Cost for 1 PC Cost for 3 PC Cost for 5 PC Cost for 1 PC Cost for 3 PC Cost for 5 PC Cost for 1 PC Cost for 3 PC Cost for 5 PC Other Reasons We Like Acronis True Image 2018 Acronis was, which is one reason to turn a blind eye to its higher price.
Backup and recovery of a 1GB folder took only 15 minutes. We used the “optimal” limit for downloading, but there’s also a “maximum” setting, which, we presume, makes uploading even faster. Some users in the comment section of our reported much slower speeds, though.
© The mobile app lets you check your backup status, manage your account, get your files and automatically backup photos. Its minimalist interface is easy to navigate. You can do everything with the web interface, which can be accessed from any browser, that you can with the mobile app, as well. Carbonite uses AES 128-bit encryption to protect your files on its servers, but if you enable private encryption, it will switch to using AES 256-bit. Enabled or not, Carbonite will hold on to your key. To complete its tough security profile, Carbonite requires that you make a strong password and provides two-factor authentication to further protect it. Carbonite gives you three unlimited plans to choose from: Basic, Plus and Prime.
Basic provides unlimited storage for $72 a year. Plus adds external drive support and automatic video backup for $112. Prime will enhance that with courier recovery service for $150 a year, but you should only consider it if you make full backups regularly. $ 149 99 yearly Storage Unlimited GB Unlimited GB Unlimited GB Details Doesn't include external hard drives. Includes external hard drive backup and automatic video backup.
Includes courier service. Paying for two years in advance will get you a five-percent discount, while paying for three years will give you 10 percent. Before making a year-long commitment, you can use the to test the service. Other Reasons We Like Carbonite Initial backup isn’t as fast and it doesn’t even come close to competitors like Backblaze and IDrive. Once it’s finished with the long initial backup, block-level transfer will speed up the process. To learn about the service, read our.
© The client’s interface feels dated and ungraceful, but it’s not the ugliest we’ve seen. Its navigation is simple because features are divided into tabs that are easy to access. The web interface is similar, though you won’t be able to alter your backup plan using it.
You won’t be able to see your account activity, either, since there’s no home tab. The smartphone app is much the same — limited in functionality, but easy to use. Private encryption is the default at AES 256-bit, while the TLS/SSL protocols protect files in transit. Two-factor authentication is only available for legacy customers right now as SpiderOak works on upgrades. The service doesn’t keep your metadata on its servers. Instead, it uses a local database on your computer to store the data.
SpiderOak has good software protection, but that doesn’t mean its data centers are not well-protected. They are able to withstand physical attacks and natural disasters. With all these security measures, the service isn’t cheap. The cheapest plan offers 5GB for $5 a month while the next offers 400GB for $9. They aren’t good value, but the 2TB plan for $12 a month or $129 a year is a fine deal. Before deciding to subscribe, we recommend that you use the. $ 279 00 yearly Storage 150 GB 400 GB 2000 GB 5000 GB Details 21-day free trial.
Other Reasons We Like SpiderOak ONE According to SpiderOak users, it takes about an hour to upload 1GB of data and our tests confirm that claim. That’s good, considering other services, but initial backup will still take days. Once it finishes, block-level backup will speed things up. SpiderOak ONE is expensive and doesn’t provide as smooth a user experience as other services, which is why we’ve ranked it last on the list.
If you’re looking for more information about the service, read our. Final Thoughts It’s easy to find cloud backup services that work on Windows because they all do. We’ve ruled out the bad ones and left you with a choice of five quality services. Has proven to be the best among the five, considering it’s cheap, easy to use and provides unlimited backup space.
The rest are also fine choices, if you dislike Backblaze. Do you agree that these services are easy to use on Windows?
If not, do you use another service that’s not on the list? Tell us about it in the comments below. Thank you for reading.
Arguably the most important things we carry around with us on our iPhones are our photos: they're personal, unique, and irreplaceable captures of moments in our lives, and if something were to happen to and we hadn't properly backed them up, then our treasured memories would be lost forever! There are a handful of fantastic apps for backing up and storing your photos in the cloud, which will keep them safe no matter what happens to your iPhone. It all depends on what features you think are most important! Here are the absolute best photo backup services available for iPhone, iPad, and Mac!. Apple iCloud Photo Library. For those fully immersed in the Apple ecosystem, the iCloud Photo library is a must-have. Not only can you automatically back up all of your photos the moment you take a picture on your iPhone, but you can also quickly access them from any Apple device instantly, including iPhone and iPad, Mac, Apple TV, and any computer or mobile device via iCloud.com.
High-resolution originals are stored in iCloud, while smaller mobile versions are kept on your iOS device, saving precious storage space while giving you access to all of your photos. The Photos app on iOS and Mac has basic photo editing features, like cropping, retouching, adding filters and manually adjusting levels, white balance, and other tweaks. With iCloud Photo Sharing, you can show off your vacation pics to friends and family with iOS devices so they can 'like' and comment on them. Cloud storage for Apple is free for the first 5 GB and jumps up to 50 GB for only $0.99 per month. The average person will need more than 5 GB (especially because iCloud storage syncs more than just your photos — it's also where your iPhone backs up). The 50 GB tier is just right for most users at just $12 a year.
If you need more, iCloud storage pricing is reasonable with 200 GB costing $2.99 and 1 TB running $9.99. If you are an Apple family, the iCloud Photo Library is deeply integrated into all of your devices and keeps your original photos safe and easily accessible across multiple devices. Integrated in iOS - Amazon Photos. If you have an Amazon Prime account, storage limits are not an issue when it comes to backing up your photos.
You can take advantage of unlimited storage to automatically upload all of your pictures to Amazon Cloud. The desktop app, Amazon Cloud Drive, grabs all pictures from your computer automatically, while the iOS app uploads your entire camera roll (including iCloud Photo Library pics).
Photos are accessible from, or your Amazon Cloud account. Amazon Photos does not have any editing features, but it has decent organizational tools that let you quickly create albums and sort pictures by date. You can easily share individual photos, or share an entire album, using the app Share feature, to email, SMS, Facebook, Twitter, and more. If you have a massive amount of photos, especially high-resolution pictures that take up a lot of data, and you have an Amazon Prime account, the Amazon Cloud service is a great way to back up your photos without worrying about space. Free - Adobe Creative Cloud.
Adobe's photo syncing service, Creative Cloud includes an amazing, feature-rich application for photography enthusiasts and professionals. With Creative Cloud, you can access and edit images across multiple devices and sync changes as you work. The key to Adobe's service is project creation and photo editing. You must have a Creative Cloud account, which costs $9.99 per month, to upload and sync photos and edits, but the service also includes access to a number of photo and video project apps, like Photoshop, Slate, and more. Once uploaded, you can meticulously adjust picture quality using Lightroom for tone curve, split-tone, noise reduction, lens correction, camera calibration, and more.
All of your changes are immediately available between and devices. It is ideal for taking your pictures one step further.
If you are a heavy photo editor and want access to robust and professional tools, Creative Cloud with Lightroom and Photoshop is a great backup service to use. Free - Google Photos. These days, practically everyone is connected to Google in some way or another, whether it is through Gmail, Hangouts, or YouTube. Having a Google account can be beneficial if you want to use the company's cloud storage to back up your photos. You can add pictures to Google Drive, which will automatically sync to the Photos app, or back up your entire collection of pictures using the. Google Photos provides some pretty amazing organizational tools. For example, it will automatically recognize such things as people, places, food, and events, and organize them into collections for you.
Plus, you can build your own personal albums, or create shared albums that others can access via a link. You can even let the recipients add their own content to a shared album. Google Photos also includes some basic editing features, like adding filters, tweaking lighting, and color balances. Google Drive includes 15 GB of free storage with additional plans starting at $1.99 for 100 GB. If you are big on sharing albums with others for collaborative purposes, Google Photos is a great option. Free - Microsoft OneDrive. Microsoft's cloud storage service may be great for keeping your work documents in the cloud, but it also has a nifty camera uploader that can automatically send your iPhone's camera roll to OneDrive.
With the, you can access and download pics to your computer. You can also download them onto any device by visiting and logging into your account. On iOS, you can simply toggle the Camera Backup feature on and all of the pictures on your device will be uploaded to the company's storage service.
It has great organization tools, like adding tags and creating albums. And, you can share files and albums with others by inviting them to collaborate or sending a link. Use OneDrive alongside Microsoft Office apps, like, to import pictures into documents. If you tend to use, OneDrive is a great app for having direct access to your photos from other Office apps. Free - Dropbox.
Dropbox is an incredibly useful cloud storage service for backing up all kinds of documents. Like OneDrive, it also has an automatic camera uploader that will constantly update with your newly taken photos. These images can be viewed right in the Dropbox app for iOS, or using the. When you log into your Dropbox account, you can access your photos anywhere. You can add comments to photos and include names from your contacts, which will notify each person that is mentioned.
You can create new folders and share them with other Dropbox users. You can also send a link that will allow the recipient to view pictures without needing to be logged into a Dropbox account. If you want to be able to share your photos with anyone, whether they have an account or not, Dropbox makes it easy to upload everything on your computer and share it with others. Free - Anything else? Do you have a favorite photo backup service? What are some of its features that make it the best option for you?
Updated January 2019: This article still has the best of the best options for backing up your photos! If anything changes, we'll be sure to update our list ASAP!