Nov
26
5 Best Online Backups for Free
There is no such thing as free lunch
We don’t know who said that popular quote. In fact, nobody knows. But what it means is, if you want something for free, you have to compromise on quality.
Fortunately, this does not apply to cloud based backup services. No, we are not lying. There are truly free services (of course with paid options available for bigger storage and more premium features) which you can use to store your files, sync your data and backup your computer. Okay, maybe you won’t be able to backup your whole collections of Aerosmith, Nirvana, Metallica and Bluray movies. But using these free online backup services, you will be able to store your important documents and data. And maybe even your collection of photos from all your memorable times.
When we choose these services, there are two criteria in mind. First of all, they must be truly free. Meaning there must be no paywall and users must be able to use the service without interruption as long as they remain as active users. Secondly, they must be no string attached. We don’t want any ads-support, nor making users click on offers and whatnot. With that in mind, we have gathered 5 best free online backup services for you. Check them out right after the break.
Summary
| Rank | Provider | Space | Review | Link |
1 |  | Up to 32GB | Read Review | Visit Site |
2 |  | Up to 16GB | Read Review | Visit Site |
3 |  | Up to 12GB | Read Review | Visit Site |
4 |  | 7GB free | Read Review | Visit Site |
5 |  | 5GB | Read Review | Visit Site |
Take a look below to see slightly more detailed views about each provider.
1. SugarSync – 5GB Free (Up to 32GB)
If you are salivating over how much free storage you can get with SugarSync, you will be delighted to know that it is also our #1 choice when it comes to free online backup services. Sure, it is technically file syncing service and works pretty much like Dropbox. However, it has much better software and mobile platforms support (supporting iOS, Android, Blackberry, Windows Mobile and even Symbian). It integrates really well with Mac OSX and Windows. SugarSync 2.0 has revamped their mobile apps and desktop clients, both offer best visually appealing interfaces and oh dear lord, we are loving it! Its simplicity and straightforwardness, and OS level integration (right click and sync any files in you OS) are rock solid. If you want more storage, 30GB will set you back for $4.99 per month, and highest personal plan is 100GB at $14.99 per month. For additional storage, 250GB is available at $24.99 per month. If you are feeling jaded by how initial paid plan is even lower than what you can get with free storage, fret not. When you are a paying customer, you get 1GB storage from each referral, with no ceiling. Yes, if you get 50 friends signing up through your referral account and you are a paid user, then you get 50GB from it. How cool is that? Read here for our review on SugarSync.
2. CX – 10GB Free (Up to 16GB)
CX is another well-loved cloud storage and syncing service provider. Yes, you read that right. It is not a traditional backup service provider but rather specialized in syncing. However, one reason why we are putting it in here is that it offers full file synchronization service, basically letting you choose any folders you want to sync during the setup and leave the system to do the rest. Using that, you can actually use CX as an automated backup solution, not just syncing. And you get 10GB straight out of the box. With referrals, you can get up to additional 6GB, making your total free space a whopping 16GB. Paid plans start from $4.99 per month for 25GB of storage, and can run up to $24.99 per month for 175GB. It sadly doesn’t run on Linux but will rock your Mac and Windows PCs. However, CX web interface is pretty darn good and its web-based upload also works very well. Read our review here to know how much we love CX.
3. SpiderOak – 2GB Free (Up to 12GB)
SpiderOak is one of the few cloud backup service providers that have syncing, backup and sharing all bundled in one package, and also run on all three platforms: Mac, Linux and Windows. It does everything pretty well, and offers 2GB free storage at the start. Through referrals, you can get additional 10GB storage so in total, you can snag yourself a relatively big 12GB free storage from SpiderOak. It might not be enough to backup your whole computers, but hey 12GB is pretty big to store important data or even just photos. You can store around 3,000 songs, and around 2,500 JPEG photos on it. SpiderOak can also do syncing pretty well in its own way (read our full review about SpiderOak here) and best of all, it can sync any folders and files on your computer. One unique thing with SpiderOak is its “zero-knowledge privacy policy” which basically takes away capability to view your files from their own employees, so that even SpiderOak’s team or law enforcement agencies are not able to view any of your files. There is whole explanation of how their way of layered encryption handles this on their website. If you want more storage, every 100GB will cost you $10 per month or $100 per year.
4. MiMedia – 7GB Free
5. iDrive – 5GB Free
iDrive provides you a free account with 5GB storage for free and it includes all features that iDrive is now offering. Their software is a bit technical, so it’s definitely not for those who are familiar with very straightforward online backup software like JustCloud’s or Mozy’s. But fret not, it is not “that” complicated and you will able to figure out your way after a few minutes of fiddling with the software. There is no extra bonus space from referrals, and if you want more space then you will have to purchase Personal Use plan (150GB, $4.95/month), Family Use plan (500GB, $14.95/month) or Business Use plan (100GB, $9.95/month or 1000GB, $79.95/month). Good thing is that iDrive lets you backup from unlimited numbers of computers so that you are not tied to just one PC. The software has all advanced features like reports, scheduling, bandwidth control, and such. If you want better security for your files, you can even choose to use your own private encryption key, which is something only you know and stored in your computer, not at iDrive’s servers. Read our full review here.
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Written by Pete Zaborszky, find him on Google+.Pete runs Best Backups and wants to get detailed information to the readers. He is dedicated to being the best and providing the highest quality at anything he does. You can also find him on Twitter
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