Carbonite vs IDrive
Carbonite and IDrive are both backup & SaaS data protection tools aimed at small businesses and freelancers. IDrive costs less, from $0.25/mo versus $6.40/mo for Carbonite. Only IDrive has a free plan.
Set-and-forget cloud backup for home PCs, small offices and servers
Cloud backup for multiple PCs, Macs, phones and servers in one account
| Pricing | Paid · $6 | Freemium · $0 |
| Starting price | $6.40/mo | $0.25/mo |
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Free trial | 15 days | — |
| Built for | Small businesses, Freelancers | Small businesses, Freelancers, Enterprise |
| Platforms | web, windows, macos, ios, android | web, windows, macos, linux, ios, android |
| Country | US · 2005 | US |
| Rating | — | — |
Choose Carbonite if
Households and small offices that want automatic, unlimited-storage cloud backup for a single PC or up to 25 business computers.
- Very little setup: install once and backups run in the background
- Unlimited storage for a single computer on personal plans
- Business plans cover up to 25 computers on one subscription
Look elsewhere if: Tech-savvy users who want cheap multi-device or developer-grade storage (Backblaze, IDrive, Acronis).
Choose IDrive if
Households and small businesses that want to back up many computers and phones into one affordable, encrypted account.
- One account covers many devices instead of per-computer pricing
- Large storage tiers at low cost per terabyte
- Versioning and snapshots help recover from ransomware
Look elsewhere if: Users who want unlimited backup for one computer or mainly need file sync and sharing (Backblaze, Sync.com, pCloud).
Carbonite vs IDrive pricing
Carbonite
- Basic$76.79/yrFirst-year price (list $95.99); 1 computer, unlimited storage
- Plus$85.79/yrFirst year (list $131.99); adds 1 external drive, video backup
- Prime$105.29/yrFirst year (list $161.99); adds courier recovery options
- Core (business)$230.39/yrUp to 25 computers, external drives and NAS; 250 GB
- Power (business)$639.99/yr1 server plus 25 computers, 500 GB, bare metal restore
IDrive
- Basic$010 GB, no credit card required
- Mini$0.25/mo100 GB, one user, billed yearly; 500 GB is $0.83/mo
- Personal$11.99/mo5 TB; $9.99/mo billed yearly, $6.99 first-year promo
- Team$11.99/mo5 users, 5 computers, 5 TB; $6.99/mo first-year promo
- Business$59.99/mo1.25 TB, servers and NAS; yearly from $19.99 for 500 GB
Carbonite · Key features
- Continuous, automatic backup of documents, photos, music and videos
- Unlimited cloud storage on Basic, Plus and Prime personal plans
- External hard drive and automatic video backup on Plus and Prime
- Business Core covers up to 25 computers, external drives and NAS
- Server backup with bare metal image restore on Power and Ultimate
- 256-bit encryption at rest and in transit with private key option
Cons
- Annual billing only, and promotional first-year prices renew higher
- Personal plans cover just one computer per subscription
- Business storage starts at 250 GB and extra space costs $99 per 100 GB
IDrive · Key features
- Back up unlimited PCs, Macs, phones and tablets to one account
- Up to 30 file versions plus snapshots for point-in-time recovery
- Optional private-key 256-bit AES encryption
- Entire-machine backup for full system restores
- Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace cloud-to-cloud backup
- IDrive Express physical drive shipping for large backups and restores
Cons
- Desktop app is busy and less intuitive than Backblaze
- First-year promo prices rise noticeably on renewal
- Storage is capped per plan, unlike Backblaze's unlimited personal backup
Carbonite vs IDrive: FAQ
Which is cheaper, Carbonite or IDrive?
IDrive starts at $0.25/mo and Carbonite at $6.40/mo. Both prices are checked on the vendors' own pricing pages.
Do Carbonite and IDrive have a free plan?
Carbonite has no free plan, a 15-day free trial. IDrive has a free plan.