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
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- Easy to set up
- Unobtrusive backups
- Free
- Not as user-friendly as some competitors
- Limited file versioning
- Slow initial backup
If you don't have lots of files to back up, reviewers say that MozyHome Free has the same features as the paid version of MozyHome (*Est. $6 per month for 50 GB) but with a 2 GB storage cap. It's relatively easy to use and it doesn't slow down your system. Both Windows and Mac computers are now supported. MozyHome installs a small software program on your computer and backs up files to an off-site location. Like other online services, the initial backup can take a long time, but after this first backup, MozyHome just backs up new or changed files. Reviewers give MozyHome high marks for offering more customization features than competitors like Carbonite (*Est. $55 per year for unlimited storage). However, some reviewers warn that these features are more suited to advanced users and may be confusing to the average person.
Numerous review sources test and rate MozyHome, but most evaluate the paid version. Since there are few differences in features between the free and paid versions -- save for storage space -- these reviews are applicable for MozyHome Free as well. The best information comes from the group tests conducted by NotebookReview.com and MacFormat.
Our Sources
Of the five online backup services tested by NotebookReview.com, Mozy gets one of the highest ratings. Dustin Sklavos says that he'd be hard pressed to find a better web-based backup service.
Review: Mozy 2.0 Online Backup Review, Dustin Sklavos, May 18, 2010
2. Mac Format
MacFormat magazine reviews six online backup services, including Mozy. Although CrashPlan earns the top spot on this list, Mozy gets above-average ratings on several criteria. Ian Betteridge also thinks it is more "Mac-friendly" than other services.
Review: 6 Reliable Online Backup Services for Your Mac, Ian Betteridge, March 20, 2010
3. Laptop MagazineDetails/Subscribe
Laptop Magazine gives its coveted Editors' Choice award to Mozy. Dana Wollman says Mozy is "our favorite online backup service," thanks to its scheduling customization and numerous restore options.
Review: MozyHome, Dana Wollman, April 26, 2010
MozyHome earns a good rating from Michael Muchmore at PCMag.com. Although he says it has fewer features than full-featured online backup services like SOS Online Backup, Muchmore thinks Mozy is easy to use with a user-friendly interface.
Review: MozyHome 2.0, Michael Muchmore, May 18, 2010
5. PC Pro
MozyHome receives a Recommended award from PC Pro. Stuart Andrews says ease of use is a highlight, and the interface has been improved over previous versions. Upload speeds are decent (1 GB of data in 6.5 hours), but downloads are even faster.
Review: Mozy Review, Stuart Andrews, Aug. 18, 2010
Grant Gibson at Scotland's The Herald newspaper reviews 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 says. However, initial backups can be slow.
Review: Most Recommended: File Back-Up System, Grant Gibson, June 18, 2010
PC World has a brief editorial review of Mozy, although the service is not rated or compared to others. Jon Jacobi says the interface is better than previous versions, and uploads are faster as well.
Review: MozyHome, Jon L. Jacobi, Feb. 1, 2011
8. CNET
Stephen Shankland, author of the DeepTech blog at CNET, says Mozy has made some improvements over the previous version. He reports that it is faster, and he likes that you can now easily pause the backup process.
Review: Mozy Online Backup Gets Faster and Goes Local, Stephen Shankland, May 17, 2010
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