Two of the hottest online backup services, and our current number one and two picks, are Backblaze and CrashPlan. Both companies offer online backup but beyond that they have very different philosophies on how that backup should be done.
Backblaze
For Backblaze, as I have mentioned before, they simply backup everything. Instead of making the user choose what to backup the user decides what not to backup. This is great for a large majority of people, who wants to sit and think about where all their files are and what if you miss a folder that contained some important files. With Backblaze it is all backed up unless you tell it not to or is program files.
CrashPlan
In many ways CrashPlan is the exact opposite of Backblaze with many options that allow a user to fine tune their backup to include exactly what they want to where they want. With the ability to choose backup destinations, add multiple computers and backup to local computers and drive CrashPlan gives users lots of choice and control over their backup.
Backblaze vs. CrashPlan Comparison Table
| Backblaze | CrashPlan | |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2007 | 2007 |
| Price Month Year 2 Year 3 Year |
$5.00 / Month $50.00 / Year $95.00 / Two Years NA |
$5.00 / Month $49.99 / Year $89.99 / Two Years $119.99 / Three Years $139.99 / Four Years |
| Supported Platforms | Windows & Mac | Windows, Mac & Linux |
| Free Trial | Yes | Yes |
| Storage Size | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| File Sharing | No | No |
| Lock File Support | Yes | Yes |
| Local Backup | No | Yes |
| External Hard Drive | Yes | Yes |
| Network Drives | No | No |
| Multiple Computer Account | No | Yes with Family Plan |
| Web Access / Restore | Yes | Yes |
| Locate Computer Feature | Yes | No |
| Encryption | Yes | Yes |
| Internet Transmission with SSL | Yes | Yes |
| Private Encryption keys | Yes | Yes |
| Support | ||
| Restore | Client, Web, USB Flash Drive, USB HD | Client, Web, DVD, USB HD |
| Mobile Access | No | Yes (iPhone, iPad, Android) |
| File Size Limit | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| File Sync | No | No |
| Bandwidth Throttling | No | No |
| Backup Scheduling | Yes | Yes |
| Backup Continuously | Yes | Yes |
| File Versioning | 30 Days of Revisions | User defined |
| File Archiving | 30 Days | Unlimited |
Overall
Both services offer excellent backup protection for people and deciding what service to use can be a difficult decision. Which service you choose really depends on whether you want ease and simplicity or total control.
Backblaze offers simplicity. It just works backing up everything. You don’t need to worry if you forgot to select that folder for backup because if you did not tell it to exclude it Backblaze would have backed it up. If you don’t want to spend hours checking settings, tweaking configurations and checking your backup Backblaze is perfect.
CrashPlan on the other hand offers you total control over your backup. Have multiple computers in the house you can backup files between them as well as online. Backup only selected folders and files to different places plus backing them up online. CrashPlan is perfect for those people that want to know exactly what is going on with their backup.
For people that do not want to fuss or worry about their backup Backblaze is perfect. For those people that have multiple computers, use Linux and/or want to control exactly how their backup is done CrashPlan it perfect. In many ways comparing the two is like comparing Apples and Oranges. Both services offer backup but how they do it and who should use either one are very different. If it was possible for me to choose both as number one I would but in the end one needs to be number one and for the majority of people the ease and simplicity of Backblaze wins out.
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