Expert’s Rating
Pros
- 5GB free account
- Browser interface and native apps
- Syncs throughout units
- Vault for non-distributed backup
- User definable expiration dates for file and folder shares
Cons
- No scheduled backups for Vault
Our Verdict
Sync.com is safe, gives synced storage for distribution throughout units, and unsynced storage for pure backup. It’s additionally inexpensive for finish customers and enterprise alike.
Price When Reviewed
Plans vary from Free (5GB) to $20 per 30 days (6TB)
Best Prices Today: Sync.com
Where on-line storage providers resembling Dropbox, iCloud, and others solely help you sync knowledge throughout units, Sync.com provides discrete unsynced storage to the combination by way of its Vault folder. This makes it significantly well-suited for backup. We just like the strategy, and we expect the corporate ought to take it even additional.
Note: See our roundup of the best cloud backup services to find out about competing merchandise, what to search for in on-line backup, and product suggestions.
Sync.com sports activities an online interface that you should utilize to pull and drop recordsdata to and out of your desktop, in addition to apps that present sync performance for Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS. There’s a free 5GB account accessible (to not be mistaken for the free trial of the paid tier—see the screenshot beneath). End-users can improve that storage to 200GB for $5 a month, 2TB for $8 a month, and 6TB for $20 a month.
Jon Jacobi / Foundry
The free and $5 improve lack some options discovered within the $8 account: resembling doc previews for viewing recordsdata on-line—you’ll should obtain; the power to selectively select what recordsdata in your Sync folder you simply need stored domestically or cloud-only (a function that’s at present in beta); and the power to grant a non-user permission to add recordsdata to your Sync folder and Vault.
The $20 Solo Professional tier goes even additional with superior options for branding (utilizing your individual brand, and many others.) and precedence assist.
There are additionally business-oriented Team accounts for a number of customers. Entry-level for the sort of account is $6 a month per person (a minimal of two customers) with 1TB of storage per person, whereas for $15 month-to-month per person you get limitless storage, branding, and cellphone assist.
In my opinion, the extra 800GB of storage and further options resembling add hyperlinks (you ship a hyperlink to a location for a buyer to add a file) make the $6 crew plan a greater deal than the $5 single-user plan. Assuming in fact, you could find a companion in crime.
Sync.com’s net interface is usually engaging and simple, however I used to be a bit confused once I clicked on Help and was instantly offered with a contact type. There’s a small hyperlink on the high of the shape to the Sync information base, however just like the provide for the free 5GB plan, it’s slightly unobtrusive and simple to overlook.
Giving the information base its personal menu merchandise can be useful since that’s the place most customers are inclined to look. Also, because the desktop app creates a Sync folder, it could be good if the corresponding vacation spot on the web site was referred to as that slightly than the considerably cryptic “Files.”
The Sync folder
Said Files folder behaves identical to another sync service’s. Any recordsdata saved there might be subsequently distributed to any units working the Sync.com app. Drag-and-drop is totally supported by the online browser interface, which is what I used for my first couple of assessments.
I then switched to the native Sync folder put in by the Sync app because it helps the beforehand described Sync CloudFiles on-demand perform, which lets you resolve which recordsdata are native and that are cloud-only.
Similar to a function in OneDrive, Sync CloudFiles enables you to set recordsdata to on-demand, or “cloud-only,” in order that they don’t sync with different units robotically. They’re solely copied to the cloud the place chances are you’ll then manually obtain them onto different units as wanted. It generally is a technique to save house on units. The possibility for that is discovered within the right-click context menu, in your laptop; it didn’t seem as an possibility once I examined Sync from the online portal. Remember, the function continues to be in beta. Note that recordsdata you delete from the Sync folder are retained till you particularly empty the trash.
Sync.com is as simple and safe as any service we’ve tried, and the twin sync/easy storage performance makes it simple to again up in addition to hold pertinent knowledge on all of your units.
The Vault
If you need to again up recordsdata with out transferring them to the native Sync folder, you utilize the “Copy to Vault” possibility that the Sync program integrates into the context menus of your working system. Files within the Vault stay unchanged till you delete them utilizing the online interface, or they’re changed by newer variations—subsequent copies are in contrast with new or up to date recordsdata copied into the vault. Files within the Vault are accessible from the Wweb interface and any of the apps.
My solely concern with the Vault is that, at present, recordsdata should be copied manually. I’m not a type of individuals who at all times remembers to again up. Data within the Vault is saved on-line utilizing the identical listing construction that the information is copied from (E.g, c:usersusernamedocumentscopied listing or recordsdata). As this system clearly is aware of the place the recordsdata are, there’s no cause that the Sync app couldn’t robotically carry out backups. If not in actual time or following modifications, then no less than on a continuing schedule. I’ve lobbied Sync.com so as to add this function.
Not everybody desires to sync knowledge throughout all their units, particularly these working with massive knowledge units resembling my 700GB of recordings, which most positively won’t match on my cellphone. (Note that cloud-only recordsdata will seem within the apps and native folder, they only gained’t take up any house.)
Performance
Sync.com’s efficiency will clearly range by the interface you utilize and, extra importantly, the bandwidth of your web connection. My preliminary transfers utilizing an online browser and drag-and-drop have been fairly fast and naturally began instantly.
Syncing 3.5GB of photographs with the Sync.com folder was full inside a few hours. Copies to the Vault commenced in good order, and my preliminary add was accessible on-line inside an hour. Note that my upstream bandwidth is roughly 500MBps.
I did have one minor concern whereas booting macOS: Sync.com would throw a message about being disabled. Choosing the Re-enable possibility from the dialog mounted the difficulty quickly and offering Sync.com full disk entry in Security eradicated the difficulty.
Should you utilize Sync.com?
Sync.com is as simple and safe as any service we’ve tried, and the dual-role sync/easy storage performance makes it simple to again up in addition to hold pertinent knowledge on all of your units. It can be simpler with scheduling and some language tweaks, however kudos at any charge. To reiterate, we contemplate the $6 per 30 days Team plan the candy spot for Sync.com should you can seize one other member of the family or pal to crew up with.