Best Reviewed
Online Backup Services
- Best online backup service MozyHome *Est. $6
- Full-featured online backup SOS Online Backup *Est. $80
- Local and online backup service CrashPlan+ *Est. $50
- Best file synchronization service Dropbox *Est. $0
Get info about new reports and updates
Best online backup service
- Easy to set up
- Works with Windows, Mac OS
- Unobtrusive backups
- Limited file versioning
- Initial backup is slow
- Unlimited storage plans eliminated
Reviewers say that MozyHome is a basic online backup service that's flexible, highly customizable and easy to set up. However, one very popular feature, unlimited storage, was eliminated in late January 2011 in favor of a tiered pricing system. Now, for $6 a month you get 50 GB of storage and automated backups. Users with higher storage requirements can opt for a 125 GB plan (*Est. $10 per month) that's good for up to three computers, and additional 20 GB chunks of data storage can be added to either plan for an additional $2 per month. Annual pricing has also been eliminated, but those that sign up for a year get one free month, while those that subscribe to two years of the service get three free months.
Pricing issues aside, MozyHome continues to have lots going for it. Although you have to install software to use it, the program takes advantage of system idle time to back up your files. The current version includes automatic local backup to an external hard drive, and reviewers say the interface is sleeker and more intuitive than ever before. The initial upload can be slow (depending on how much data you have), but that's a problem you'll encounter with most online backup services. Although some providers save all previous versions of your files, Mozy saves them only for 30 days. MozyHome is available for Windows operating systems, and a Mac client is now also available. CrashPlan+ (*Est. $50 per year for unlimited storage), another top-rated online backup service, also does local and online backup, and it's available for Mac, Windows and Linux operating systems. A free version, CrashPlan, will do local backups and will also back up to another computer, including those located off site, via the Internet.
MozyHome is included in a number of comparative tests, including at NotebookReview.com and Britain's MacFormat magazine. Both sources test numerous online backup providers and rate each one. Although these comparative reviews provide the best information, we also found solid single-product reviews at Laptop Magazine, PCMag.com and PC Pro. However, all these reports predate MozyHome's pricing change. Extensive user discussion of MozyHome's new pricing can be found in the Mozy Community Forum.
Our Sources
NotebookReview.com gives MozyHome an above-average rating of 4.5 stars out of 5. In reviewing five online backup services, Mozy is among the highest-rated services, though the price/value part of the equation might now be changed. "I'd have a hard time finding a better Web-based backup option," Dustin Sklavos writes.
Review: Mozy 2.0 Online Backup Review, Dustin Sklavos, May 18, 2010
2. Mac Format
This article from MacFormat magazine, part of the TechRadar media site, touches on six online backup services, including Mozy. CrashPlan is declared the overall winner, but Mozy gets high ratings on many criteria.
Review: 6 Reliable Online Backup Services for Your Mac, Ian Betteridge, March 20, 2010
3. Laptop MagazineDetails/Subscribe
MozyHome earns an Editors' Choice award from Laptop Magazine. Dana Wollman calls it "our favorite online backup service," thanks to its custom scheduling and numerous restore options. She reviews the original version, although she says the interface on Mozy 2.0 is very nice.
Review: MozyHome, Dana Wollman, April 26, 2010
Michael Muchmore at PCMag.com gives MozyHome 2.0 a good rating. Although he notes that it has fewer features than IDrive or SOS Online Backup, Muchmore says he finds the service easy to use and thinks the interface has improved.
Review: MozyHome 2.0, Michael Muchmore, May 18, 2010
5. PC Pro
MozyHome receives a Recommended award from PC Pro. Stuart Andrews says Mozy 2.0 is easy to use, with a more intuitive interface than previous versions. He says upload speeds are decent (1 GB of data in 6.5 hours) and downloads are very speedy.
Review: Mozy Review, Stuart Andrews, Aug. 18, 2010
Grant Gibson at Scotland's The Herald newspaper has a detailed single-product review of MozyHome. "Of all the systems I've tested, Mozy gets my top recommendation for its easy-to-use software and flawless performance in six months of testing," he writes. His only complaint is the slow initial backup.
Review: Most Recommended: File Back-Up System, Grant Gibson, June 18, 2010
PC World doesn't rate MozyHome 2.0, but Jon Jacobi has a brief editorial review. The interface has been improved and seems faster in Jacobi's test.
Review: MozyHome, Jon L. Jacobi, Feb.1, 2011
8. CNET
Stephen Shankland, author of the DeepTech blog at CNET, tests MozyHome 2.0 for more than a week. He reports that 2.0 is faster than the previous version, and he likes that you can now pause the backup process while doing an intensive task.
Review: Mozy Online Backup Gets Faster and Goes Local, Stephen Shankland, May 17, 2010
Though MozyHome's new pricing structure is also discussed elsewhere in this Mozy community support forum, this dedicated thread has more than 1,000 comments. While some users are okay with the changes, most posting here are clearly disappointed.
Review: New MozyHome Plans, Contributors to Mozy Community Forums
Online Backup Services Runners Up:
4 picks including: Laptop Magazine, PC Pro…
4 picks including: Laptop Magazine, The Wall Street Journal…
2 picks including: PC Pro…
1 pick by top review sites.