Why is a cloud backup important?
If you don’t have a backup solution in place you should get one… like, today. Cloud-based backup solutions are cheap, but your data is probably invaluable to you.
You may be all set if all important documents are stored on iCloud and you have adequate storage purchased. If you don’t have a backup solution and haven’t experienced a failed hard drive consider yourself lucky. But, you’re sitting on a ticking time bomb—eventually, you’ll experience drive failure. If you still have a “platter” or spinning hard drive, your data may be able to be recovered… for as much as $1000 USD or more. If you have a newer machine, you probably have an SSD (Solid State Drive), from which SSD data recovery is incredibly difficult or impossible.
This list below targeted towards Mac users, but the principles remain the same across platforms (Windows vs. Mac).
But, iCloud Backs Up Everything, Right?
No, unfortunately, it doesn’t. It will back up your documents, desktop. If this is all you care about (and you keep all your important files in these directories), maybe you’re OK.
If not, and you have movies, music, family videos, work projects, or an external/second drive that you store media on then your data isn’t safe with iCloud alone. Sure, there’s Time Machine, but if your house burns down, a flood or a power surge takes out your computer, there’s a good chance it may destroy your local backup too.
Also, It’s likely that the measly free 5GB of storage included with the basic subscription is not going to be enough to back up your data and to be protected you’ll need to upgrade to a higher storage level with a paid subscription.
Backblaze | Carbonite | CrashPlan
There are many backup solutions to choose from, but these are probably the top three in terms of popularity. If you’re just starting your search then you’re in luck — I’m going to make it easy for you.
I’ve used all of these for several years, and others as well, and have my opinion on what the best one is for Mac: Backblaze by far. I’ll break it down in a minute.
Backblaze:
Backblaze is my #1 choice for backup solutions for Mac users. It integrates directly with MacOS, uses very little system resources compared to the others on the list, and offers the following features for free (included with $5/mo subscription) that are either not available or are paid add-ons with other services.
Backblaze is great for both home users and small businesses.
FEATURES:
- Unlimed backup.
- Backup external drives.
- 256 bit AES encryption.
- Option for mail-in drives for initial backup so you don’t need to wait months for upload.
- Option to have your data mailed to you on flash drives or hard drives for restore instead of waiting potentially days or weeks to download the data.
- True integration with MacOS: No bloated Java or other application that hogs resources when backing up or scanning your drive. It’s just an app that will be visible under System Preferences.
- B2 Cloud Storage (paid add-on) similar to Amazon S3 (first 10 GB free). Archive your data, replace your tape backup, manage your media workflow and large files, build apps, create integrations, and backup your NAS drives.
WHO IS BACKBLAZE BEST FOR?
Any Mac user looking for a cloud backup solution. I can think of no drawbacks. In fact, I find Backblaze is the most feature-rich, and the cheapest, backup solution for Mac or PC.
Carbonite:
The next best solution for cloud backup is Carbonite. It’s slightly more expensive than Backblaze at $6/mo, but only offers a limited amount of storage.
FEATURES:
- Not really “Unlimited Backup” — On the site, it says backup is unlimited (like most other backup services rep), but there is a limit. Last I checked it was 500 GB without paying a lot more money for a business level subscription (Carbonite Plans).
- PC and Mac Support
- Enterprise server backup plans available (starting at $50/mo and escalating quickly).
Overall, Carbonite is not a bad option, but for the Mac user, it lacks in features compared to Backblaze, and the app that you must install is much more “bulky” and can be a resource hog. You can’t back up external or networked drives without paying more for an enterprise subscription, and overall, I really just don’t like the interface.
That said, I used this solution with my previous employer and it does the job, but between the application and lack of storage capacity and options for mine and many other’s needs, Carbonite would not be my first choice. The app is bulky and uses more system resources, there is no “restore to door”; you can only restore files one at a time or through a lengthy download, and there aren’t nearly as many features available to the standard user as Backblaze offers.
CrashPlan
A few years ago, I would have said CrashPlan was the best option. I used CrashPlan for several years and looking back it was a painful, unsatisfactory experience from the start. As of today, they have discontinued their “non-enterprise” solution, so it’s really not viable for home users anyway, but it is an option.
The application is a Java-based app which uses ridiculous amounts of system resources, both CPU and RAM. Also, they suddenly dropped their “CrashPlan for Home” service, leaving myself and many others in a pinch to switch to another provider and re-start their backup from scratch.
FEATURES:
- No service for “Home” users, even with multiple machines. Only available for “Small Businesses”.
That’s about it. CrashPlan really disappointed me and left a sour taste in my mouth. This may be a viable option for those of you with medium to large businesses that have a lot of computing resources to throw at it and need the ability to customize the interface through Java commands and scripting.
Conclusion
It’s clear that I recommend Backblaze as my backup solution of choice for Mac (and PC as well). That, paired with iCloud should keep you fully protected.
RANKED
- Backblaze
- Carbonite (for “Business” Only)
- Crash Plan
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