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My new favorite backup solution… and it’s not Carbonite

I've been a happy Carbonite user for a couple of years now. I like the whole set-it-and-forget-it backup mentality. Plus, Carbonite takes care of the whole offsite storage issue.

But the last few times I talked about Carbonite on my blog, a couple of readers mentioned another backup service called CrashPlan. They said enough good things about it that I made it a point to check it out. And wow, am I impressed!

CrashPlan Software Features Comparison

CrashPlan does everything Carbonite does and a whole lot more. Here's a quick list of advantages it has over Carbonite:

  • CrashPlan has much more diverse pricing plans, including a 10 GB storage plan for only $24.99/year for users with light storage needs. There's also a free 10 GB plan but it doesn't include online storage. Carbonite has only one home plan that will run you $59/year.

  • CrashPlan will back up your external drives (think external USB drives or network attached storage). Carbonite won't.

  • CrashPlan offers an unlimited family plan for $119.99/year that will back up 2-10 computers in your house, all with unlimited storage. Carbonite has no comparable family plan but does offer a business plan for 3+ computers for $229/year.

  • CrashPlan lets you tweak your backup needs to your heart's content. If you want Folder A to back up to your online storage, Folder B to back up to an external USB drive and Folder C to back up to a friend's computer (yes, a friend's computer), CrashPlan can handle all of this. You can even create backup sets to set priorities on what types of files should be backed up first. I use this to make sure my day-to-day documents always take priority over my giant video files.

  • And if you're in a hurry to get your initial backup done, CrashPlan will send you an external USB drive to copy all of your files to. When you're done, you send it back and they sync it up with your account for future incremental backups. Admittedly, this is a bit pricey at $124.99 but it's a HUGE timesaver.

If you're interested in test-driving CrashPlan, visit their website at www.crashplan.com and look for the Download Free Trial button.

2 comments for this blog post so far...

  • #1
    October 25, 2011 at 9:04 am

    Steve Powers

    Pat,

    I appreciate all the great tips you offer through your blog/site.  Thanks for helping all of us tech-deficient folks.

    Steve

  • #2
    November 02, 2011 at 1:08 pm

    Matthew Dornquast

    THANK YOU for spelling it all out so clearly!  It’s awesome to see you totally get the value of multi-desitnation / backup sets.

    While $124.99 might seem like a lot, after you figure the cost of shipping (included both ways), drive lifespan, and labor to load it into the cloud, it’s not hard to realize it’s not a profit center for us.

    I wish we could lower the costs more.  (Restore to your door is same price to get it back quickly!)

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