Crashplan for Small Business (from Code42) has developed very well over recent years into what is now a leading cloud backup service, one which is very reliable, secure and suitable for both home and small business users alike!
One of the big features which really helps Crashplan stand out as a backup solution is the unlimited cloud storage and unlimited historic file versioning on offer, by default, for a simple and straightforward $10 per device / per month. Whilst this is a very reasonable offering on the surface (and one which has proved to be very safe and reliable over the years), it could become expensive when attempting to backup multiple devices (which are charged at an additional $10 / month each) or for anyone seeking a lower budget cloud backup solution overall (potentially even making use of cloud storage already purchased else ware).
In this guide I will be highlighting some of the key features of the Crashplan for Small Business backup service and how these can be of great benefit to anyone wanting to make use of them. I will also then be reviewing 10 of our top-rated Crashplan alternatives, these being similar cloud backup solutions in order to see how they compare with the Crashplan service and in which situations they might form a favourable alternative.
Are you looking for help and advice on choosing the best backup software for your PC or Mac? If so then be sure to check out our guide to choosing backup software which also contains a list of our favorite choices as tested here on BestBackupReviews.com!
Why Consider Crashplan for Small Business?
Crashplan for Small Business is a well-designed and easy to use cloud backup solution, one which is very easy to implement thanks to it being easy to install and including unlimited cloud storage for a simple monthly fee (the cloud storage being provided by Crashplan themselves). Backing-up this core functionality are several other very useful features including unlimited file version history, strong AES 256-bit encryption (which is on by default), the ability to backup unlimited external hard drives plus a useful web-based management and recovery portal amongst many other great features.
Some other useful features of Crashplan include:
- Well designed and unobtrusive software
- Available for Windows, Linux and MacOS devices
- Simple per-device pricing
- Continuous (always-on) data backup
- Support for multi-factor authentication (2FA)
- Email status reports / backup warnings
NB – For more information on the full set of Crashplan features, be sure to also checkout our detailed Crashplan review right here on BestBackupReviews.com!
Why Consider an Alternative to Crashplan?
As has been already pointed out above, one of the biggest downsides to Crashplan for Small Business is that it costs $10 per month, per device being backed-up. Whilst this might appear to be great value if you only have a single device with a high volume of data to keep backed-up, it will naturally be a lot less appealing to anyone with several devices and a relatively small amount of data to keep safe.
In cases such as these, a backup solution priced per device could start to get expensive very quickly! Instead, making use of a backup solution which has either a lower subscription cost per device or one which allows a higher number of devices to share a fixed allocation of cloud storage could prove a more beneficial option!
Other considerations when seeking an alternative to Crashplan could include the software’s lack of any disk image related backup functionality (Crashplan is a file-level only solution). Whilst this won’t be an issue for many users, it is worth noting some of the many additional benefits available when making use of full disk or system image backup technology and how they can help in keeping a device and its data safe (click to read our guide on the differences between disk image and file-level backup technologies).
Finally, one other potential consideration with Crashplan is that they still have a relatively limited choice of datacentre locations for storing user data within (currently this is 2x locations in the USA and a single datacentre in Ireland / the EU).
Our Top 10 Favourite Crashplan Alternatives
Finally, in this section of this guide we will be listing 10 of our favourite Crashplan alternatives just below, these are cloud orientated backup solutions which are easy to use and help to make backup to and restoring form the cloud a stress-free experience.
Remember, any ratings given here reflect our own opinions and are intended only as a guide, always be sure to check the details for any potential backup solutions before purchasing and, if possible, always try and make full use of any free trials before making a decision!
1. Backblaze Backup
Backblaze is without doubt one of the quickest and easiest ways of getting a device safely backed-up to the cloud with the minimal of fuss. A big factor in this ease of use lies in the easy to install device software which will automatically select all relevant files for inclusion in the backup set and the inclusion of unlimited cloud storage (form Backblaze themselves) which means these is no need to ever worry about running out of space!
With the ease of use aside, Backblaze also impresses in a number of other areas including having strong AES 256-bit encryption turned on by default, real-time backup functionality, support for both Windows and MacOS devices plus the ability to restore files from anywhere thanks to the web-based data recovery portal.
Backblaze is priced at a very competitive $7 per month, per device with the ability to save more by pre-paying for a yearly plan (at $70 / year) or for 2 years in advance (at $130 per 2 years). Other upgrades including extending the file versioning history from 30-days to 1 year or unlimited also apply, more details on this plus the option to take a 30-day free trial can be found at the official Backblaze website.
- Unlimited storage
- Real-time backups
- AES 256-bit encryption
- 30-Day free trial
- From $7 / month
2) Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office
Acronis has for a long time been well known as a leading disk image backup solution, the inclusion of cloud storage and a built-in anti-malware solution in recent times have only helped to make Cyber Protect Home Office (formally Acronis True Image) now a serious cloud backup competitor as well!
Whilst the disk imaging technologies found within Cyber Protect Home Office are undoubtedly very good, it is the integration with the Acronis cloud and a set allocation of storage (starting at 500GB+) included within the subscription plans which helps it to effectively compete with Crashplan. Other useful features including strong AES 256-bit encryption, good file version retentions options, data archiving, smartphone apps, and dual protection technology (for duplicating locally stored backups to the cloud) all help to make this a serious alternative to Crashplan.
Cyber Protect Home Office is priced from $89.99 for the Advanced edition which includes a 500GB allocation of cloud storage and $124.99 for the Premium edition which ups the storage quota to 1TB (the Essentials edition does not include any cloud storage). More information on the software itself, special multi-device pricing and the option to take a 30-day free trial can all be found at the official Acronis website.
- Disk image backups
- Malware protection
- AES 256-bit encryption
- 30-Day free trial
- From $49.99 / year
3) SpiderOak One Backup
SpiderOak One Backup is a very strong cloud backup offering from a company with a clear focus on providing the highest levels of data security and user privacy as a core part of their offering.
Featuring an easy-to-use piece of desktop software, support for Windows, Linux and MacOS devices, strong zero-knowledge encryption, potentially unlimited file version history options, desktop synchronisation tools and built-in file sharing tools amongst plenty of other great functionality, SpiderOak have clearly worked hard to ensure this is a compressive cloud backup solution.
One of the biggest benefits helping SpiderOak compete with Crashplan is that an unlimited number of personal devices can be added to a SpiderOak account (versus the per-device pricing of Crashplan). This means that whilst the cloud storage allocations are fixed, they can be shared out so as to allow multiple devices to be backed-up at potentially very cost-effective prices.
SpiderOak One Backup is priced from $6 per month (or $69 annually) for a 150GB cloud storage allocation which can be shared between an unlimited number of personal devices. More information on plans with larger storage quotas and their 21-day free trial offer can be found at the official SpiderOak website.
- Unlimited devices
- Sync & file sharing
- AES 256-bit encryption
- 21-Day free trial
- From $6 / month
4) Blobbackup
A relative newcomer to the cloud backup space, Blobbackup is an open-source solution providing one of the simplest and most stress-free ways of getting both Windows and MacOS devices backed-up safely and securely to the cloud!
Provided with a very generous 2TB of cloud storage per device, strong AES 256-bit (zero-knowledge) encryption which is enabled by default, unlimited file version history, automatic backups, built-in email alerts plus much more, Blobbackup really is a solid choice for anyone seeking an alternative to Crashplan!
Blobbackup is priced at a very reasonable $9 per device, per month with 2TB of cloud storage included per device. A 15-day free trial of the service is available via the official Blobbackup website.
- Open source software
- 2TB Cloud storage
- AES 256-bit encryption
- 15-Day free trial
- From $9 / month
5) Ashampoo Backup Pro 17
Backup Pro 17 is the leading all-round backup champion from software experts Ashampoo. It is a backup solution which, amongst many other features, supports the direct integration of various 3rd party cloud storage services directly into the software to make for a strong Crashplan competitor!
With the cloud backup functionality aside, Backup Pro 17 also features a strong set of backup features including an easy-to-use Windows application, pre-set backup plans, both file-level and disk image methodologies, strong AES 256-bit encryption, support for multiple backup sets, great scheduling options, built-in recovery media creation tools plus much, much more additional backup functionality!
Ashampoo Backup Pro 17 is priced at a one-off cost of just $49.99 for a single perpetual licence. A 30-day free trial is available via the official Ashampoo website.
- Disk image backups
- Good cloud integrations
- AES 256-bit encryption
- 30-Day free trial
- One-off $50 per PC
6) iDrive Backup
A featureful solution combining cloud backup, storage and device synchronisation in a single account, iDrive is a strong cloud-based alternative to Crashplan.
Featuring desktop software for Windows, Linux and MacOS devices, Strong AES 256-bit encryption, true archiving functionality, device synchronisation, good file version history options and file sharing functionality amongst many useful features, iDrive delivers a first-rate cloud service.
iDrive is priced from $69.50 per year for a massive 5TB account which can be shared between an unlimited number of personal devices. More information on other plans including those catering for business use is available via the official iDrive website as is a free 10GB trial account!
- Disk image backups
- 5TB+ Cloud Storage
- AES 256-bit encryption
- 10GB Free account
- From $69.50 / year
7) Arq Backup (Arq 7)
Arq backup is a lightweight and cloud focused backup application, one which is becoming well known for its ease of use and the great range of cloud storage services it supports right out of the box!
Whilst Arq 7 does support a great range of cloud storage providers (including Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive plus many others), one key area in which it differs from Crashplan is that Arq users must bring and configure their own cloud storage accounts. Cloud storage aside and Arq 7 also offers strong AES 256-bit zero-knowledge encryption, support for all AWS S3 compatible storage providers, use of multiple backup sets, strong scheduling support plus the ability to mount and backup an unlimited number of network and external hard drives dives as well.
Arq 7 is priced at one-off cost of $49.99 per device with a 5x device licence also available at $79.99. Arq Premium is a new service which sees the software available with 5TB of cloud storage (provided by Arq themselves) and covering up to 5 devices for just $59.99 / year! More information on pricing plans and a 30-day free trial can be found at the official Arq website.
- Easy to use software
- Good cloud integration
- AES 256-bit encryption
- 30 Day free trial
- From $49.99 (one-off fee)
8) Carbonite Safe
Carbonite Safe is a very quick to configure and easy to use cloud backup solution, so much so that it has over recent years earned a great reputation as a leading piece of software for both home and business backup alike!
The Carbonite software is very easy to install, configure and offers either fully automatic backups or the use of a fixed schedule to ensure that devices ae backed-up as required. Other useful features of Carbonite include unlimited cloud storage (offered by Carbonite themselves), secure encrypted operation and secure cloud storage, web-based restores and reasonable historic versioning with up to 12 recent versions of backed-up files kept for additional resiliency.
Carbonite is priced from just $6 per month, per device with unlimited cloud storage included. More information on additional plans with more features, business versions and the 15-day free trial can be obtained via the official Carbonite website.
- Easy to configure
- Unlimited cloud storage
- Strong encryption
- 15 Day free trial
- From $6 / month
9) Duplicati Backup
Duplicati is a free and open-source backup application which is well known for providing excellent support for numerous well known 3rd party cloud storage providers!
Whilst this reliance on 3rd party cloud storage will put it behind Crashplan in some respects, many other great features included within the application add-up to still make Duplicati a great Crashplan alternative! Some of the many useful backup features found within Duplicati include strong AES 256-bit encryption, support for S3 compatible storage services, good historic file versioning options, great scheduling support and the option to make use of a command-line tool for more advanced users.
Duplicati is 100% free and open-source software! More information on the software itself and some of its advanced features can be fund via the official Duplicati website.
- Free & open source
- Great cloud options
- AES 256-bit encryption
- Web-based interface
- Supports S3 storage
10) Backup4all
Backup4all is a comprehensive, file-level backup solution with great support for 3rd party cloud storage up to and including support for S3 compatible storage services.
With its easy-to-use Windows software and support for direct integration of numerous popular 3rd party cloud storage services, Backup4all forms a great alternative to Crashplan for anyone happy to bring and configure their own cloud storage. Storage aside and many other useful backup features including strong AES 256-bit encryption, good scheduling options, potentially unlimited historic file versioning and use of the smart backup tool for an automatically optimised backup all help to make this a great Crashplan alternative!
Backup4all is priced at a one-off cost of just $49.99 per PC for the Professional version of the tool. Other editions of the software with less features are also available at a slightly lower cost as is a 30-day free trial of the software itself – more details can be found via the official Backup4all website.
- Easy to use
- Great cloud support
- AES 256-bit encryption
- 30 Day free trial
- From $49.99 per PC
Crashplan FAQs
Crashplan for Home was the former edition of the Crashplan software aimed specifically at home / individual users at a lower cost than the small business edition. As of 2017 Crashplan had decided to close this home service down, instead focusing on providing cloud backup services via a single, all-in-one cloud backup solution, this being Crashplan for Small Business.
By making use of strong AES 256-bit encryption, SSL/TLS security for the transfer of all feels and multi-factor authentication amongst many other security enhancements, Crashplan for Small Business a very safe and secure cloud backup solution.
There are two main methods for accessing (restoring) any files which have been backed-up by Crashplan, these are through the restore section of the Crashplan desktop application itself or through the web-based user portal where files can be downloaded directly through a web browser.
Conclusion
Crashplan remains a leading, cloud-focused and very easy to implement cloud backup solution which affords its users unlimited cloud storage plus unlimited historic file versioning for a simple and straightforward $10 per device, per month!
Whilst this arrangement is indeed very good on the surface, there might be times when an alternative product could offer better value, additional functionality or simply the ability to licence such backup software on a perpetual basis (minus a subscription). There are also several backup solutions available which will allow users to make better use of multiple devices more cost effectively as well as allowing integration of existing cloud storage accounts for additional backup cost savings amongst other things.
Overall, whilst there are some very good Crashplan alternatives now available, it is always advisable to think very carefully before changing to an alternative solution and to fully understand the pros and cons of doing so beforehand!
Are you looking for help and advice on choosing the best backup software for your PC or Mac? If so then be sure to check out our guide to choosing backup software which also contains a list of our favorite choices as tested here on BestBackupReviews.com!