Best backup software, compared head to head

Product	Best for	Per month, yearly plan	The deciding fact, and the catch	Link
Backblaze Computer Backup	Best overall	$8.25	Unlimited storage, external drives included, at $99 a year. Keeping file versions forever costs an added fee the page doesn't list.	Visit
IDrive Personal	Best for several devices	$6.99	5 TB across multiple computers, plus phones and Linux, at $6.99 a month. That's a limited-time promo, and the later price isn't stated.	Visit
Arq Backup	Best with your own storage	$5.83	Arq 7 is $59.99 per computer, once, against $0 for Duplicati. Updates after the first year need a paid renewal.	Visit
Duplicati	Best free option	Free	The client is free and MIT licensed, with AES-256 before upload. Storage isn't included, unlike Backblaze, so you pay a provider too.	Visit
Carbonite Safe Basic	Best for a first-year promo	$6.40	$76.79 for year one, against $99 for Backblaze. Basic skips automatic video backup, and the promo is for new customers only.	Visit

Buy Backblaze if you have one computer: unlimited storage, external drives included, $99 a year as of November 1, 2026. Own several machines? Buy IDrive.

Backup is an unusually easy thing to compare. Most of these sell against one obvious rival. So here are the four fights that decide it.

Backblaze vs Carbonite: the one-computer fight

Both promise unlimited cloud backup. Carbonite Safe Basic looks cheaper at $76.79 for the first year, or $6.40 a month, against Backblaze's $8.25.

Look at the struck-through number beside it. $95.99 is Carbonite's list price, and the promo is for new customers only (checked Nov 1, 2026). Renewal isn't stated, but if it lands at list, the saving against Backblaze falls to $3.01 a year.

Backblaze also covers more for that money. Its plan includes connected external drives with no file type or size limits. Carbonite adds an external drive only on Plus and Prime, and automatic video backup needs one of those plans too.

Backblaze's catch is version history. The default is limited, and keeping versions forever costs an added fee the page doesn't list. Its iOS and Android apps restore files only, and don't back up your phone. There's a 15-day trial with no card, and you can pay $9 monthly or $7.88 a month on a 2-year plan.

Backblaze vs IDrive: one machine or many

IDrive's Personal plan covers one user with multiple computers and 5 TB of storage. It backs up Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, servers and NAS. Backblaze's clients are Mac and Windows.

The price is on a promo. Yearly billing shows $6.99 a month, struck through from $9.99, labelled 30% off and limited time. The page doesn't say what you pay after it ends, so you're buying a discount with no end price attached. Monthly is $11.99.

Two years cost $179.82 on IDrive, against $189.12 on Backblaze at $7.88 a month. So you save $9.30 and trade unlimited storage for a 5 TB ceiling. If one computer is all you have, that's a bad trade.

IDrive keeps up to 30 previous file versions and has 256-bit AES with an optional private key. Backblaze has an optional private key too. IDrive also has a free Basic plan with 10 GB and no card, where Backblaze has only the trial.

Arq vs Duplicati: you bring your own storage

Both suit people who already pay for cloud storage. Duplicati costs $0 and runs on Windows, macOS and Linux, with an MIT-licensed core. It encrypts with AES-256 locally before upload, and backs up to S3, WebDAV, SFTP, local drives and more.

Arq 7 costs $59.99 per computer, once, on Windows and Mac (checked Nov 1, 2026). Backups use end-to-end encryption and a documented format. One year of updates comes with it, and further updates need a paid renewal.

So why pay? Arq Premium is a different deal: $69.99 a year for 5 computers with 1 TB included. Against IDrive's $83.88 a year, you pay less and get 4 TB less. Duplicati's optional Pro console runs $2 to $2.50 per machine a month, and you can ignore it (checked Nov 1, 2026).

I'd start with Duplicati, and pay for Arq only if setup annoys you.

Acronis vs everyone: disk images

Acronis True Image does a different job. It has full-disk imaging and active disk cloning on Windows and macOS, which none of the others list.

Acronis's page showed EUR 49.99 a year for Essentials when read, with no USD price, so I haven't confirmed a dollar figure. Plans are one-year subscriptions, and renewal isn't stated.

Don't mistake that for a Backblaze rival. Essentials is local backup plus anti-ransomware, with no cloud at all. Cloud starts at Advanced, shown at EUR 72.99, and Premium at EUR 124.99 goes up to 10 TB.