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I’ve written about and reviewed software for a decade. In that time, I’ve used dozens of backup services, migrated data between several computers, and deleted (then recovered) hundreds of files.

Joe Kissell, the previous author of this guide, has been studying, researching, testing, and writing about backups since 2004. He has written several books, including Backing Up Your Mac: A Joe On Tech Guide as well as dozens of articles on backups for publications such as Macworld, TidBITS, and MacTech.

If you already have a backup service you like, you probably have no reason to switch. Every backup service we tested had flaws, and finding a one-size-fits-all approach was impossible.

Everyone should regularly back up their computer’s data. First, you should copy your important files or your entire computer to an external hard drive, making what’s called a local backup. But local backups are susceptible to many of the same hazards that threaten your computer—theft, fire, flooding—so a good backup plan should also include some kind of off-site backup in case of emergency. An online backup service (sometimes called “cloud backup”) offers the security of off-site storage for your most essential files. Think of your cloud backup as extra insurance in case something happens to your main backups.

Most online backup services do not make copies of operating system files or application folders, at least not by default. This saves storage space online, but as a result, it’s important to remember that you still need to hold on to license keys for software.

Services like Dropbox, OneDrive, Box, and iCloud are great for syncing and sharing files you’re working on, but they aren’t the right tools to keep updated backups online.

Small businesses—including professionals who might need to back up many multi-gigabyte files several times a day—have different needs and expectations for backups that we didn’t test for this guide.

If you prefer taking a DIY approach and don’t mind starting a project that’ll likely become a part-time hobby, you can repurpose cheap bulk online storage, such as Amazon Glacier or Backblaze B2, using software like MSP360, Duplicacy, Duplicati, or Arq to make your own cloud backup. The price for storage on Glacier and Backblaze B2 is based on usage—often 1¢ or less per gigabyte per month—but the arrangement takes technical know-how to get up and running. We think tinkerers will be happier with the control that these options offer in comparison with most commercial services.

Services like Dropbox, OneDrive, Box, and iCloud are great for syncing and sharing files you’re working on, but they aren’t the right tools to keep updated backups online. They make it hard to truly secure files—the services themselves have the means to decrypt your data—and the burden is always on you to move files to the correct folder. In addition, if you need terabytes of storage, it would cost far more to store all your files on one of these services.

Cloud backup services are imperfect. Some are too expensive, others are hard to use, and every one of them is ugly by modern design standards. There’s no centralized customer review platform for cloud backup services, so researching their reliability is difficult. With all that in mind, we set out to find the least-worst option that includes the features most people need:

• Annual price of $100 or less: Cloud backup services operate under a subscription model where you pay per month or per year. It’s usually cheaper by the year; the annual price typically ranges between $60 and $100 based on factors like the amount of storage or how many devices a service supports. Most people shouldn’t pay more than $100 for a cloud backup service.
• Support for Windows and Mac computers: We looked for services with both Windows and Mac apps. Most services also have iPhone and Android apps, but we didn’t find them all that useful, so we didn’t test them.
• Amount of storage and number of devices: Cloud backup plans come in two types: unlimited plans that cover one computer or storage-based plans that allow you to back up multiple devices. Your best option depends on how many computers you own. We looked for affordable services of both types for this guide.
• Support to back up external drives: A backup service should allow you to back up external storage drives. An external drive is often the primary storage location for important older files, especially for laptops. Some backup services also support network-attached storage (NAS), but we didn’t make that a requirement.
• Intuitive user experience: The software to back up your computer should be easy to use. You should never feel confused about what data it backs up, and it should run reliably in the background without overtaxing your system resources or internet bandwidth. The software should give you the ability to schedule specific backup times and adjust bandwidth speeds.
• Support for versioning and flexible retention periods: Backups should include the most recent version of a file you created and copies of the file from previous moments in time, as well as files you deleted. Services should keep these versions for at least 30 days, but we preferred longer or customizable retention periods.
• Continuous backups: After the initial backup period, future backups should run in the background, continuously uploading the files you change or create.
• Deduplication: If two or more files in your backup are the same, some online backup software performs “deduplication,” which means it uploads only one copy of each unique file. This saves upload time, bandwidth, and storage space while keeping a record that the file existed in multiple places, so you can restore a version specific to any of those locations. For example, if you download a bunch of files to the desktop and then move the files to your documents folder, a cloud backup that features deduplication will upload only one copy of those files. If a service doesn’t feature deduplication, both sets of files, from the desktop and the user folder, are stored.
• A simple and (relatively) speedy restoration experience: Most people restore files in one of two scenarios: when they accidentally delete or alter a file, or when an entire storage drive becomes inaccessible through loss or failure. For restoring individual files, we looked for services that offered options like restoring files in-place (to the original folder) or to a folder of your choosing. In the case of restoring an entire drive, we often saw download speeds as low as 1 MB/s from every service we tested. Download (and upload) speeds all depend on the time of day, your internet speeds, the local network speeds, and your computer. Restoring by download was barely manageable for 10 GB of backups in our tests; it would be infuriatingly slow for larger restores. So we looked for services with the option for you to ask that they mail a physical drive with your backed-up files to help restore large backups on slow or capped internet connections.
• Strong security practices: A good backup service encrypts data by default and details how it secures data in transit and at rest. It should also offer an optional “private encryption key” that increases security by locking your files behind a password only you have. In addition, backup services should provide basic account protections, such as two-factor authentication. The most trustworthy companies also provide details about their on-site, physical security practices. The privacy policy and terms of service should be easy to read, with clear language on how the service collects and uses any data from your account.
• Customer support: You should be able to submit a support ticket or chat request easily and receive a response within 24 hours. Phone support is a bonus, but not very common.

Because we didn’t love the experience with any cloud backup service we tested, we highly recommend keeping a local backup alongside an offsite backup. In most cases, the local backup will be the better option to restore a computer or lost files, especially large ones that can take hours (if not days) to download from a cloud backup service. All backup services offer some sort of trial period, so we recommend using that trial period to make sure the service fits your needs before signing up for a yearly plan.

We installed and tested backup software on both a Windows 10 PC and a Mac running macOS Catalina, backing up each computer with the software’s default settings (if the software didn’t select folders, we backed up the user folders). In most cases, this led to a backup of 12 GB to 20 GB, depending on which folders the software selected by default and whether a service included hidden files.

During backups, we kept an eye on CPU and bandwidth usage and made sure we could still work while backups were running. This work included participating in video chats, having dozens of tabs open in a browser, and streaming music. Because everyone’s computer, home network, and internet service provider are different, we didn’t bother noting upload speeds during this process. These services are all slow—if you have a lot of data to back up, plan on your first backup taking days.

We also tested how well the file-versioning systems worked by making, editing, and renaming files. We checked the restoration process by downloading and replacing older files, as well as by restoring deleted local files from our backups.

We read reviews on sites like PCWorld, PCMag, Tom’s Hardware, IGN, and Lifewire, after which we combed through as many customer reviews as we could find on sites like Reddit and Trustpilot.

Backblaze is the most affordable, easiest-to-use backup software that supports both Windows and Mac. Its 30-day file retention is enough for most people in case disaster strikes, though you can pay for longer retention if you need it. Backblaze can back up external drives connected to your computer and offers reasonable customer support. But its implementation of private encryption keys is weak, and its restoration process is convoluted.

Backblaze is cheaper than IDrive if you’re backing up one computer, and it’s the cheapest backup service with unlimited storage. Since Backblaze charges per computer, you never have to worry about overage fees, whereas IDrive lets you back up as many computers as you want but charges you extra if you go over your data allotment (5 TB for the cheapest plan).

You can back up an external storage drive to Backblaze, which is helpful if you have a second drive full of media, documents, or other infrequently used files. But Backblaze can’t handle external drives in every situation: For example, if you use backup software like Time Machine with an external drive, Backblaze cannot create its own backup from that drive.

For most people, those who don’t need to fiddle with custom settings, Backblaze is easy to set up. Once you run the installer and enter your login credentials, the software starts backing up files immediately. Most people can leave Backblaze on its default settings, under which it backs up their user folder, including photos, music, and documents. In our tests, at the default settings it operated at a speed that didn’t cause disruptions in our workday. Our initial backup of 20 GB took under three hours on an Ethernet-connected computer with a 20 Mbps upload speed, the same as on IDrive, but if you have hundreds of gigabytes of data, you can expect the process to take days, not hours. IDrive automatically selected most of the same folders and files as Backblaze did, though IDrive included more system files than Backblaze did by default.

If you do want to dig into Backblaze’s settings, you’ll find some useful features, but not as many options as in most other backup software. Instead of letting you manually select specific folders to back up, Backblaze provides an Exclusions tab and backs up everything else. This arrangement takes some getting used to, and “adding” a folder to “exclusions” might throw your brain for a loop, but once you get the hang of how it works, it’s easy to use. You can also exclude certain file types or sizes. In addition, you can change how many transfer threads (simultaneous upload processes, which may affect upload speed) are available, which affects upload speed. Other options include the ability to set up continuous or scheduled backups (most people should stick to continuous), as well as to set up a Wi-Fi network block list to prevent backups from running on certain networks. Backblaze opts you in to its default settings, doing the opposite of IDrive, which asks you to manually enable features like continuous backup. IDrive also has many more settings to tweak, including more bandwidth-throttling options, the ability to exclude files based on name, and much more.

By default, Backblaze includes a 30-day version history, which means that it’s basically a rolling copy of anything you’ve had on your computer in the past 30 days. If you want more, you have to pay for it: $2 a month for a one-year history, or $2 a month plus $0.005 per GB per month for infinite retention. It’s best to picture Backblaze as a mirror of the folders on your local storage drive—if you delete files on your computer, or if your storage drive gets totally wiped, Backblaze will delete those files after 30 days as well. In contrast, IDrive maintains up to 30 versions for an unlimited amount of time. However, since IDrive doesn’t delete anything, that system often leads to backups of files you don’t need or want. And because IDrive doesn’t offer unlimited storage like Backblaze does, you can wind up with overage fees if you’re not careful.

Continuous backups on Backblaze don’t work as we expect. Backblaze scans your storage drive and uploads new or changed files around once an hour. This means in the worst-case scenario you’d potentially lose up to an hour of work. But Backblaze tells us it does this because the practice minimizes system load and keeps usage of both CPU resources and bandwidth low. This approach also prevents the service from creating too many versions of a file being actively worked on. By comparison, IDrive offers more options for frequency with its continuous option, including uploading files in real time or in increments (10 minutes, 30 minutes, or 60 minutes). If you move a file from one folder to another, Backblaze notes the change and moves the corresponding file in the online backup but doesn’t reupload the file. IDrive doesn’t have any type of deduplication, and it tends to produce larger-than-necessary, disorganized backups as a result.

Backblaze’s restoration process is uncommonly convoluted, which we detail in the Flaws but not dealbreakers section below. However, we like that Backblaze offers restore-by-mail options, which are handy if you have a slow internet connection and need to restore a big chunk of data. With one of these options, you pay an up-front fee for a USB flash drive or hard drive and then send it back for a refund after you get your files. IDrive offers a similar service with IDrive Express, which is free once a year, though you still need to ship the drive back. These services can be useful for large restores but may take up to 10 days before shipping the drives out.

If you aren’t sure where to start, or if you come across problems, Backblaze has well-organized online documentation that covers many issues you may encounter, as well as guides for how to use the service. The company doesn’t offer phone support, but it does have live chat and email support, and we received responses to our questions within three hours during normal business hours. IDrive had a similar response time via email and also offers phone support.

Under the default settings, Backblaze encrypts your data, but that data can be decrypted with your account password. For another layer of privacy and security, we recommend that everyone enable a private encryption key, which adds to the backup another password that only you know. This means that if you lose your private password, Backblaze can’t help you recover it, but setting this up makes it impossible for anyone, Backblaze included, to view your backup without that password.

We like that Backblaze supports an optional private encryption key, but you have to enter the key in your browser before you can restore files; the files are then decrypted on Backblaze’s servers before you download them. Backblaze then immediately flushes the key from its system. This means that theoretically there’s a brief moment when, if someone had access to Backblaze’s servers, they could decrypt your files, though it’s extremely unlikely. We’d prefer a more secure no-knowledge system like that of SpiderOak One, where the decryption takes place on your computer, not on the company’s server. But Backblaze’s private encryption key still does what it needs to do: It makes your data inaccessible without the password (in case of subpoena or any other event). We think it’s secure enough for most people backing up personal files, and if you don’t like how Backblaze works, IDrive does a better job in this regard if you use the desktop app.

One of the reasons for Backblaze’s odd implementation of a private encryption key is its even odder restoration process, which takes far too many steps. Here’s how it works:

1. Log in to your account on the Backblaze website—you can’t restore files within the desktop app itself.
2. Select how you want to restore the files (ZIP files, save to Backblaze’s B2 cloud storage, USB flash drive, USB hard drive).
3. Select the files you want to restore and click the Continue With Restore button.
4. Wait for an email notification that your files are ready. The time required depends on how much data you’re restoring.
5. Download the ZIP file. How long this takes varies depending on your internet connection and the size of the file, but it took me nearly 40 minutes to download a 1.3 GB ZIP file—far smaller than a full system backup would be—on a 100 Mbps connection while writing this guide.
6. Unzip the file and move the resulting files to their original folders. If you’re restoring only a single file, that’s the only thing you’ll find in the ZIP archive. But if you’re restoring more than one file (even two files located in the same folder), the uncompressed archive contains all the hierarchical folders down to where your restored files are, which takes a while to click through.

This restoration process is bizarrely labyrinthine. Instead of restoring files to the original location—an option in every other backup software we tested—you may have to dig through dozens of duplicate folders, on your backup and on your computer, to find your files and paste them back where they belong. It’s a cumbersome drag, and it seems like Backblaze could fix both this and the private-key issues by moving the restoration process to the desktop software instead of keeping them in the web portal.

We’ve read complaints regarding the lack of metadata—the details about a file, such as when it was created or last opened—included with restored files. In our tests, we found that both Backblaze and IDrive did not restore metadata such as file ownership and permissions, the creation date, and (for Mac owners) Finder tags and comments. While many people are barely aware of the existence of this metadata, others, and some of the apps they use, depend heavily on it.

The privacy and security of your files is important, and since cloud backups are essentially a mirror of your private, offline storage drive, it’s critical that they remain protected. Here’s how Backblaze stacks up:

• Is data encrypted? Backblaze encrypts the backup on your computer and stores it with 128-bit AES encryption. Backblaze transfers data between your computer and its servers with HTTPS encryption. As mentioned above, we don’t love how Backblaze handles private encryption keys, but we still think its security measures are strong enough for most people.
• Do accounts meet basic security minimum requirements? Backblaze supports two-factor authentication through an app or SMS but doesn’t require it by default—if you use Backblaze, you should set up 2FA. Backblaze highlights password strength but doesn’t prevent you from using a poor or previously leaked password.
• Does the company issue security updates to handle vulnerabilities? Backblaze updates its software frequently with both new features and security improvements. It regularly hires third-party organizations to test security and participate in a bug bounty through HackerOne; Backblaze meets HackerOne’s standards for responding to bug reports.
• How is data shared? Backblaze does a reasonable job of protecting your data while still complying with United States law. Backblaze doesn’t share or sell personal information but does share some account information with third-party services required to make your account work, such as payment processors, as well as third-party communication platforms that enable optional email marketing and SMS authentication. Like every cloud backup service, Backblaze shares data with law enforcement when required.
• How is data secured on-site? Remote backups are stored on servers in the United States and Amsterdam (you can choose where backups are stored when you create an account but not afterward), in buildings that require biometric security and ID checks (PDF).
• Can you delete your account? You can delete backups or your entire account from the My Account page. You cannot disable automatic renewal of your subscription unless you delete your accounts.
• Is the privacy policy readable? Backblaze’s privacy policy is easy to understand.
• What could happen if Backblaze gets hacked? If you don’t have a private key set up so that only you can decrypt your data, everything in the backup will be accessible.

Backblaze’s security and privacy standards are in line with those of most other options, save for SpiderOak One, which puts a heavier emphasis on privacy than other cloud backup services we tested.

Everyone who has a Backblaze account should set a personal encryption key. It adds a layer of security that helps prevent anyone but you from accessing your files, no matter what.

1. Open Backblaze on your Windows or Mac computer.
2. Click Settings, and then select the Security tab.
3. Click Enter Your Private Encryption Key and create a password. Make it different from any other password you have. Click Set Private Key when you’re done.

Do not forget or lose this password. If you write it down, store it in a secure place, such as a safe, or in a password manager. If you lose the private encryption key, you will not be able to decrypt the files stored on Backblaze, and the company cannot help you recover the password.

If you have more than one computer to back up or you prefer to have more control over different backup settings, get IDrive. Its Windows and Mac apps aren’t as clean and easy to use as Backblaze’s, but IDrive offers more options to customize it to suit your needs. Whereas Backblaze gives you unlimited storage but restricts you to backing up one computer, IDrive allows you to back up as many computers as you want but restricts storage capacity. That storage limitation means you need to keep an eye on your storage space to avoid overages, a problem compounded by how IDrive handles retention and deduplication.

The standard IDrive plan includes 5 TB of storage; you can upgrade it to 10 TB. Both options are a little more expensive than Backblaze’s services if you’re backing up only a single computer. But IDrive offers more storage space for the same price as SpiderOak One, Acronis True Image, and SOS Online Backup. If you exceed your storage limit, IDrive charges you 25¢ per GB but does not warn you that you’re getting close to filling up your storage or alert you when you do go over. This could force you to spend a lot more time managing storage space than with Backblaze.