The ability to back up your files to pretty much any destination you want is a key differentiator that really sets Crashplan apart. That means a full system restore isn’t really an option. A paid subscription also lets you use Crashplan’s mobile app, from which you can view and download files from your backup onto your smartphone.Īll file sizes and types are fair game, including video, but Crashplan says it isn’t designed to back up system and application files. Paid users, including those on the 30-day free trial, get 448-bit file encryption, continuous backups, and customer service by phone. It comes with 128-bit file encryption, once-daily automatic backups, and even basic customer support in the form of a ticket submission system.

The free version (not the free trial version) lets you use Crashplan to backup your computer to your own storage devices, but not Crashplan’s servers. Crashplan offers a 30-day free trial if you want to give cloud storage a try, no credit card required. For a family plan, $150 per year (GBP 97.04) or $13.99 (GBP 9.05) per month will let you back up a maximum of 10 computers. Unlimited cloud storage on a single Mac, Windows, or Linux computer starts at $60 per year (GBP 38.80) or $5.99 (GBP 3.88) per month. Whether you seek a fast and intuitive plug-and-play backup solution or you want to adjust and tweak every last detail of your upload, Crashplan strikes the perfect balance between simplicity and control.

Here’s something you won’t see most online backup providers offer: Crashplan is completely free to use if you have your own storage–local drives, external hard drives, and even friends’ computers–and you only need pay if you want to back up your data to the company’s cloud servers.

Crashplan vs dropbox