Wednesday, January 22nd
2025 Online Backup Service Reviews
CrashPlan
- $10 per computer per month
- Free one-month trial
- Service strictly for business users, not personal
- Custom quotes offered for enterprise customers
Once offering both personal and business backup solutions, Crashplan has axed their home-computer services in favor of focusing on budget business and enterprise backups. While perhaps not the most robust service out there, they are certainly inexpensive, even as customer reviews reveal a somewhat inconsistent service.
Low-cost business backups
For the business owner, Crashplan's low cost-per computer may very well be an attractive option as an online backup service, at a mere $10 per month per computer. Crashplan's low price includes ransomware protection, device migration, and self-restore services. While a relatively good deal, we find it strange that Crashplan does not seem to have any kind of physical data shipping services; if a business is small enough to buy a service on a per-computer basis, surely they would benefit from the added security of data shipping via hard drive? That being said, we appreciate that Crashplan offers a one month free trial of the service before you decide to purchase.
Extended backups standard
One nice bonus offered with Crashplan's services is that they offer extended backups for deleted files, holding on to them for a total of 90 days. As the industry standard for holding on to backed-up files is about 30 days, Crashplan's 90-day policy ensures that you have a bit more breathing room as to the recovery and reinstallation of your files, which we thoroughly appreciate. While Crashplan does additionally offer extensive legal-hold and compliance services, in addition to API access and a host of efficiency and administration tools, these features are unfortunately restricted to their "enterprise” customers, to whom they offer personalized quotes based on your specific business needs.
Limited customer service hours
Crashplan offers customer support via phone, email, and text chat. However, their services are only available M-F during business hours for their non-enterprise customers. Customer support is one of the most critical considerations when purchasing an online backup service, especially for a small business, and it is unfortunate that comprehensive customer support is restricted to their premium subscribers.
Very negative customer reviews
User reviews of Crashplan tend to be overwhelmingly negative, with 80% of ratings at just one star. Customers complain of horrendously unhelpful and unresponsive customer service, in addition to slow restoration speeds. Not to mention the significant bad blood earned when Crashplan deleted thousands of users' personal files when they transitioned from a personal-file saving service to a business-only model not that long ago.
Low cost - and customer service to match
Crashplan is likely a good choice for small business owners who need simple, intuitive backup services that are only $10 per computer per month. At Crashplan's low price, it may well be worth it to you just to have a backup for your small business team. While their customer reviews are extremely negative, many of these had to do with their transition from personal to backup customers. Putting those aside, Crashplan still has some issues to mind - such as improving their customer service and access hours. Still, the affordability and features offered by Crashplan keep them in contention for an online backup service you should consider.
More Online Backup Service Reviews
The 9 Best Online Backup Services
Which Online Backup Service is the Best?
When it comes to backups and cybersecurity, you can never be too safe, especially when it comes to your files. When we use our computers, everything we save feels permanent, but that permanence is - quite frankly - an illusion. Everything saved is saved somewhere on a physical drive, which means that far from existing in some ethereal cloud, your files can be lost.
Your computer could just break one day from wear, have water spilled on it, be dropped, or even locked-in with a ransomware attack. This isn't even to mention the fact that hard drives decay. In fact, every single hard drive and SSD WILL fail at some point - it's just a matter of when. All of these issues explain why online backup services have exploded in popularity over the last several years.
Online Backup Service FAQ
Continued from above...
Online backup services are super convenient. Gone are the days when users had to manually transfer data to external hard drives or rely on physical backups that could be lost or damaged. Online backup services automate the process, running in the background and ensuring that data is continuously backed up. This automation makes it easy on users and eliminates the need for manual backups, saving both time and effort.
Another reason why online backup services are so popular is they are an efficient and cost-effective solution for data management. Traditional backup methods often required substantial investments in physical hardware, such as extra hard drives, discs, and cables. These would have to be upgraded as technology (and storage limits) increased. Then, to prevent against environmental damage (such as fire or rain), the backup data needed to be physically moved and stored at another location. Online backup services, on the other hand, offer scalable, pay-as-you-go pricing models, require no additional equipment, and enjoy built-in offsite storage.
Furthermore, online backup services offer continuing technology improvements at no additional cost. Many providers offer advanced features like versioning, which allows users to retrieve previous versions of files, and continuous backup, which ensures that even the smallest changes are saved throughout the day. This not only enhances data integrity but also offers peace of mind, knowing that the data is always up-to-date and recoverable.
There are a host of services out there to help you save critical data and protect your computer from damage or malicious actors. However it can be a bit confusing when it comes to finding the right online backup service that meets your particular needs.
Here are some features to look for when comparing the various online backup services:
- Disk imaging. A full disk imaging compresses your entire computer into an easily-transported file. Disk imaging is a great choice for a full backup (including your OS and any virtual machines), but may be overkill for the casual user. Decide if you need something at this level before you start looking for an online backup service, so that you only pay for what you'll actually use.
- Cloud. A cloud service allows you to edit files hosted on an external server. This can be an excellent way to secure files and programs you are actively editing or sharing with others.
- Deletion policies. Keep in mind that most backup services have a 30-day deletion policy unless they explicitly say otherwise. This means that if your computer doesn't communicate with their servers for 30 days, or it detects that you've deleted a file on your hard drive, it will be deleted in their backup. That being said, the best services on our list do not auto delete your backups or files.
- Customer service. If you are going to be trusting a company to backup your data, responsive and robust customer service is a must. Be sure to check customer reviews before signing up for a backup service.
While some things involving computers can feel overwhelming, and saved files are in no way as permanent as they seem, some simple and prudent steps taken today can save you a host of headaches (or the pain of lost photographs, memories, or critical work) down the line. To that end, we've collected the best services we could find and rated them based on their reliability, price, and technical merits. We here at Top Consumer Reviews hope that our curated list can help you make an informed choice as you take steps to secure your critical files.
Compare Online Backup Services
Select any 2 Online Backup Services to compare them head to head
Online Backup Service Articles
Trending Online Backup News
Related Online Backup Service Reviews
Since you're interested in Online Backup Services, here are some other reviews you might find interesting.
Newest Reviews
