Backblaze review: No-hassle online backup with unlimited storage

Best Prices Today: Backblaze

If you’re undecided what you wish to again up, the place it’s in your gadget, or simply wish to keep away from the stress of making an attempt to determine all of it out, Backblaze is the net “backup” (see under for a proof of the quotes) service you need. It affords limitless storage, and copies the whole lot to the cloud routinely. If your knowledge wants exceed the bounds of different cloud backup companies, Backblaze may show an excellent deal. Be positive to take a look at our best online backup roundup to check choices.

Further studying: For extra about knowledge backup, see our best free backup software/services and the best Windows backup software roundups.

What are Backblaze’s options?

Backblaze is an internet storage service that gives an area shopper that copies knowledge out of your PC to the cloud. By far its most interesting points are its ease of setup and limitless storage. By default, Backblaze copies new and altered recordsdata repeatedly, i.e, in close to actual time.

There’s not an entire lot to the Backblaze shopper interface, at the least for those who don’t need there to be. There are choices in fact, however they’re effectively out of the way in which in order to not intimidate much less tech-savvy customers. Note that you would be able to’t manipulate recordsdata on-line, solely restore them.

Jon L. Jacobi

Because Backblaze begins at sq. one by “backing up” just about the whole lot besides identified momentary and program recordsdata, you don’t need to fuss with it until you wish to undertake a extra selective or complete strategy.

But whilst you used to have the ability to choose and select what you wished to repeat, Backblaze has moved to an exclusionary course of: You choose what you don’t wish to copy. While this ensures that less-savvy customers gained’t miss something, it’d show mildly counter-intuitive for a lot of.  

Jon L. Jacobi

If and when it’s time to revive knowledge, you may in fact achieve this by downloading by way of the net interface — in bulk or solely the person recordsdata you want. If that’s too gradual or impractical, Backblaze may also ship you your knowledge on as much as a 8TB exhausting drive for $189. You can maintain the media (these aren’t unhealthy costs), or return the drive and get your a reimbursement. There’s additionally an choice to zip the recordsdata to Backblaze’s S3-compatible B2 service.

You could have seen that I’ve put “backup” in quotes a few occasions and studiously used the phrase “copy.” That’s as a result of Backblaze will take away recordsdata from the cloud that you’ve deleted from the supply PC, and equally exchange older variations of revised recordsdata — until you intervene by paying 0.006 cents month-to-month for each gigabyte of these older recordsdata being stored.

The surcharge may very well be wherever from a mere pittance to one thing heftier relying on how giant your knowledge set is and the kind of recordsdata concerned. If you’re storing edited movies, it will likely be much more than say Word paperwork or textual content recordsdata.

Removal happens after 30 days by default, however you may improve that to a full yr with out extra value by way of the version-history improve button on the shopper or on the web site. There’s in fact the aforementioned 0.006 cent month-to-month/GB Forever possibility, as effectively.

Finding deletions and revisions proved intelligent, however a bit clunky. Instead of the right-click menu displaying you earlier variations, or a trash for the deletions, you utilize the restore browser to return in time by way of the “Files uploaded” calendar (see the above picture). That’s advantageous, if you understand when the file you search nonetheless existed, however maybe not so advantageous in case your reminiscence of the file modifications is hazy.

Back to these quotes. Backblaze is just true “backup” for those who go for the 0.006 cent/GB “Forever” model historical past. Otherwise, it’s really one-way mirroring with restricted retention of deleted and altered recordsdata. Having simply gone on the lookout for some 2015 knowledge on an area backup (exterior exhausting drive), I can attest that there’s generally the necessity for true “Forever” retention — aka, backup.

And bear in mind the rule of three with regards to backup: The authentic knowledge, a duplicate of your knowledge, and a duplicate of the copy. Preferably with one of many copies off-site. These days, the latter usually means the cloud.

How a lot does Backblaze value?

In the spirit of Backblaze’s keep-it-simple-stupid philosophy, pricing can be uncomplicated, albeit significantly pricier than it was: $9 a month (previously $5), $99 (previously $60 and $50) a yr, or $189 (previously $110 and $95) for 2 years of limitless storage per PC.

Jon L. Jacobi

For customers with a number of knowledge (and I imply heaps) who want limitless house, Backblaze’s pricing can prevent cash. But for extra skilled customers with regular sized knowledge units who know precisely what wants backing up, higher bargains abound.  

Should you buy Backblaze?

The simpler a backup course of is, the higher probability it’ll really get carried out. We know of no less complicated, extra foolproof on-line backup service than Backblaze — so long as you go for the ‘Forever’ model historical past. If you don’t, ensure the restricted retention gained’t be a problem and improve the model historical past to the full-year possibility proper off the bat.

Editor’s observe: Because on-line companies are sometimes iterative, gaining new options and efficiency enhancements over time, this overview is topic to vary in an effort to precisely replicate the present state of the service. Any modifications to textual content or our remaining overview verdict will probably be famous on the prime of this text.