Online Backup: Backblaze versus Crashplan Pro

Thursday 13 January 2022, 10:37 by Elja Trum | 8,697 views | 13 comments

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

Last Saturday was World Backup Day. A day to remind you to make sure your backups are properly sorted. This certainly applies to photographers.

You wouldn't want to think about losing all, or some, of your photos, would you?

One backup is no backup

To make sure your backup is properly sorted, it is wise to always have three copies of all your files. One is your original. Two is your local backup and three is your backup at another location.

For my local backup I use a NAS, basically a kind of hard drive connected to your network. My NAS is in my meter cupboard, which means it is already physically separated from my computer in the attic.


The backup to my NAS is automatic, by the way. I use Time Machine for this, which is supplied free with every Mac. If you don't make backups automatically, sooner or later you will fail to keep them properly sorted.

For my external backup I use an online backup service. The advantage is that your computer keeps making backups continuously. It is also a matter of setting it up once and then not having to think about it again. An added advantage is that you can always access your files from anywhere.

Crashplan versus Backblaze

I had been using Crashplan for years. Since 2017, however, the affordable family subscription I used has been discontinued. A shame, because for a reasonable amount you could back up 10 computers without limits.

Crashplan has consequently become considerably more expensive. So it made sense to look at the alternatives. The most popular alternative is probably Backblaze. So I compared it thoroughly with Crashplan.

Speed

Backblaze clearly does better on one point: speed. With my Crashplan installation, I have been working on getting a complete backup for months. I have a fast fibre-optic connection, but Crashplan has been working for three months to get my 3-terabyte backup onto the server and is only halfway there.

After just 5 days, Backblaze had already overtaken competitor Crashplan and had also put one and a half terabytes into its backup.

About a month after installation, Backblaze had all the files, more than a million, in its online backup. Crashplan, which has been running exactly as often and had an extra three months, has still barely made any further progress.

Not unimportant: Crashplan's slower speed will probably also get in your way considerably if you need the backup. Imagine it taking months before you finally restore your backup.

Costs

The cost is obviously important. At 5 dollars per month, Backblaze is quite affordable. If you take out a subscription directly for 2 years, you pay 95 dollars, which works out at 3.96 dollars per month. In my view, that is a small price to pay for a secure backup on the internet.

Crashplan used to be cheaper. With the Family plan, you could back up no fewer than 10 computers for around 80 euros per year. Without limits. Ideal if, like me, you have two computers at home, a laptop and a computer at the office.

They have now adjusted their prices. You can only take out a Crashplan Pro subscription, which costs 10 dollars per month per computer. This makes Backblaze the cheaper option.

Security

Security is of course also important when backing up all your data. Both companies have this well organised, though. The data is sent encrypted and can only be viewed if you have the login details.

In my view, two-factor authentication would not be a bad idea for this purpose. In that respect, both services still have room for improvement.

Data retention period

There is one important disadvantage to Blackblaze. If data is unavailable for thirty days, it is deleted. If a file disappears from your computer and you don't notice, the file will also disappear from your backup after 30 days.

This also applies if, for example, you include external drives in your backup. That is fine, but you do need to make sure that those drives are connected to your computer at least once every thirty days to keep the backup.

Crashplan does not have this problem and ensures that deleted files also remain available indefinitely.

Conclusion

Backblaze is therefore cheaper and much faster. As far as I am concerned, the choice is clear, and I have also switched to Backblaze. Crashplan's slowness is a really important factor, because you don't want to discover after a crash that your files were not all in your backup yet.

» Try Backblaze for free (recommended), or try Crashplan for free

The link to Backblaze above gives you and me one month of free Backblaze use if you sign up. If you would rather not do that, feel free to use this link.

Dit artikel is voor het laatst bijgewerkt op 13 januari 2022.
De eerste publicatiedatum is maandag 2 april 2018, 20:20.

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