11 Best Online Data Backup Services in 2026

Backblaze Computer Backup does one job and charges one price: $9 a month backs up one Mac or Windows computer and its connected external drives, with unlimited storage and no file-size limit. There is no storage tier to pick and no cap to watch — the first backup copies everything, then continuous backup keeps new and changed files current without you touching anything.

The limits are about machines, not megabytes. Each computer needs its own $9 license, so a three-computer household pays $27 a month, and network drives are not covered. Version history runs 30 days by default, extendable to one year for an extra $2 a month, and restores work by download or by a mailed USB drive. Buy Backblaze when one computer holds nearly everything you would hate to lose.

IDrive Personal is the multi-device answer to Backblaze's one-computer price: $11.99 a month covers unlimited PCs, Macs, phones and tablets under one 5 TB account, with NAS and external drives included. The same plan adds an equal 5 TB of Cloud Drive sync space, so backed-up files and synced files live side by side, and a private-key encryption option keeps even IDrive from reading your data.

Read the billing tabs before you buy. Monthly billing is $11.99, but annual billing shows a first-year rate of $83.88 that rises to the $119.88 standard rate from year two, and the plan covers one user only — separate logins need the Team plan. Over the 5 TB cap, overage runs $0.25 per GB a month. Pick IDrive when several devices share one household and one bill.

Google One Basic is the cheapest way to stop the 'storage full' warnings on an Android phone: $1.99 a month buys 100 GB shared across Drive, Gmail and Photos, with automatic phone and photo backup built in and sharing for up to five other people. The free 15 GB that comes with every Google account counts toward the 100 GB, and annual billing cuts the price to $19.99 a year.

Know what you are buying: Google One is storage with backup features, not a full-computer backup service. Desktop backup covers the folders you choose, not a disk image, and the shared pool means a full Gmail inbox shrinks the room left for photos. Deleted files and versions are kept only for a limited window. Choose Google One when your phone and your Google account are the center of your life.

iCloud+ is the backup most iPhone owners already have and never think about: $0.99 a month buys 50 GB, and the phone backs itself up every night on Wi-Fi — settings, app data, messages and photos included. There is nothing to install and nothing to remember, and a lost or broken phone restores onto its replacement from the same backup, with family sharing for up to five other people.

The catch is capacity. The free 5 GB fills up quickly, and 50 GB rarely holds a photo library, so most owners land on 200 GB at $2.99 a month or 2 TB at $9.99. Apple bills monthly only, so there is no annual discount, and an iPhone backup restores only onto Apple hardware. Pick iCloud+ when every device in the house carries the Apple logo.

Microsoft 365 Basic is the Windows answer to Google One: $1.99 a month buys 100 GB of OneDrive storage with ransomware detection, file restore and ad-free Outlook mail, and PC folder backup keeps Desktop, Documents and Pictures synced automatically. Personal Vault adds a locked folder for sensitive files, and the same subscription family scales to Personal at $9.99 a month with 1 TB and the desktop Office apps.

The same warning applies as with Google One: this is synced storage, not a disk image, so a failed drive means reinstalling Windows and apps before files come back. The free allowance is only 5 GB, there is no step between 100 GB and the 1 TB bundle, and cancelling drops you back to 5 GB. Choose OneDrive when Windows and Office already run your working day.

Dropbox Plus is the sync-first pick: $11.99 a month buys 2 TB for one person, and block-level sync means editing a large file uploads only the changed blocks, not the whole file again. Dropbox Backup covers PC or Mac folders and an external drive, version history runs 30 days, and the same experience holds across Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS and Android.

The price is the argument against it. There is no paid step between the 2 GB free plan and Plus at $11.99 a month, or $9.99 billed annually, so a modest library pays for 2 TB it will never fill. Longer version history and bigger transfer limits wait for the team plans. Pick Dropbox when files move between people and devices all day and sync speed matters more than the lowest price.

pCloud Premium is the buy-once alternative in a list of subscriptions: $4.99 a month, or $49.99 a year, buys 500 GB with apps for every system including Linux and a virtual drive that mounts the storage locally. The lifetime option costs $219 once for 500 GB or $499 for 2 TB, which pays for itself in about four and a half years against the annual price — if pCloud is still around then.

Two things to price in before the lifetime deal tempts you. Client-side, zero-knowledge encryption is not included: the Crypto Folder add-on costs $49.99 a year or $150 once, and the refund window is only 14 days. The free plan starts at 2 GB, reaching 10 GB only by completing tasks. Choose pCloud when a one-time payment beats another bill and your files fit the folders you pick.

Carbonite Safe Basic is the set-and-forget pick for a single computer: $8.00 a month, billed as $95.99 a year, buys unlimited encrypted backup that runs continuously in the background. There is no storage cap to watch and no folder-picking ritual — files under 4 GB are selected automatically — and a first-year promotion cuts the first year to $56.99.

The price structure needs a second look. Billing is annual only, the promotion ends after year one, and each computer needs its own plan, so two machines cost double. Basic also skips video files in automatic selection and covers no external drive — that waits for Plus at $131.99 a year. Pick Carbonite when one computer holds everything and you never want to think about storage again.

CrashPlan is the business-grade pick in a mostly consumer list: $7.33 a user a month, billed annually at $88 a year, buys unlimited storage and unlimited versioning for endpoints running Windows, macOS or Linux, with self-serve restore and device migration that needs no IT ticket. Separate small-business plans cover servers at $15.75 a month and Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace at $2.50 a user a month.

The trade-off is that CrashPlan no longer sells to households: the consumer plans were discontinued, so a family pays the business rate, and the per-user price multiplies fast — twenty users cost about $147 a month. It also backs up files, not disk images, so a dead machine still needs its system rebuilt. Choose CrashPlan when a small team needs serious retention without enterprise paperwork.

Acronis True Image, formerly Cyber Protect Home Office, is the imaging pick: $49.99 a year buys Essentials for one computer, with full-disk imaging and cloning plus anti-ransomware and cryptomining protection. A failed drive restores to a bootable system rather than a pile of files, and you can back up to local disks, network storage or FTP destinations as well as the cloud.

Read the tier names before checkout. Essentials has no cloud storage at all — online backup starts with Advanced at $72.99 a year, and Premium at $124.99 adds 1 TB of Acronis cloud space. Billing is annual only, the first-year discount ends at renewal, and each computer needs its own license. Pick Acronis when a bootable restore matters more than the lowest monthly price.

SpiderOak One Backup is the privacy pick: $6 a month buys 150 GB with zero-knowledge encryption, which means SpiderOak itself cannot read your files — the keys stay with you. Every plan covers unlimited devices and keeps unlimited historic versions within the storage cap, and the same client handles backup, sync and read-only sharing on Windows, Mac and Linux.

The price of that privacy is capacity. A full computer rarely fits in 150 GB, and the 2 TB plan costs $14 a month — more than Backblaze charges for unlimited storage on one machine. There is no free plan, only a 21-day trial, and no unlimited tier exists at any price. Choose SpiderOak when keeping the provider itself out of your files matters more than the cheapest gigabyte.