Canny Picks / Backup
Cloud backup for a small office
A backup you never think about is the only kind that works. That means automatic, off-site and without a storage cap to watch.
Prices checked October 5, 2026 on each company's own pricing page. Written by Canny Software, Palm Desert.
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Backblaze, $99 a year per computer
Each computer is $99 a year with unlimited data, so five computers cost $495. There is no storage cap and no overage bill. One year of file history is included. It does not cover servers or network drives.
IDrive Team, far less for five computers
The five-computer plan pools 5 TB across the office and is advertised at a monthly equivalent of $6.99 in the first year and $9.99 after. That is a fraction of Backblaze if you fit inside 5 TB. Go over and it is 50 cents per GB a month, so check how much data you have first.
Carbonite Professional Core
It covers up to 25 computers for about $230 a year, which sounds generous until you read that all of them share 250 GB. One laptop of photos fills that.
What a five-computer office pays
| Tool | Entry price | Five computers, per year | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Backblaze | $99 a year per computer | $495 | No servers or NAS. No volume discount. |
| IDrive Team | First-year discount | About $84, then about $120 | Renewal price is higher. Overage is $0.50 per GB a month. |
| Carbonite Core | $230.39 a year | $230.39 | Only 250 GB shared by the whole office. |
| Acronis True Image | Sold for home use | Check the current price | Cloud storage is capped. Businesses get steered to a pricier product. |
Per-month prices in US dollars before tax. Annual-billing prices are shown as the monthly equivalent where the company lists them that way.
How to decide in two minutes
Add up how much data your office has. Under 5 TB in total, IDrive Team is the frugal choice. Not sure, or over, buy Backblaze and stop counting.
Whichever you choose, restore one file the first week. A backup you have never restored from is a guess.
Common questions
Isn't Dropbox or OneDrive a backup?
Not quite. Sync tools copy your mistakes too. If a file is deleted or encrypted by ransomware, the change syncs. A backup keeps older versions you can go back to.
How long does the first backup take?
Days to weeks for a full office on a normal internet connection. It runs in the background and later backups are quick.
Do I still need a local backup?
An external drive plus a cloud backup is the safe combination. The drive is fast to restore from and the cloud copy survives a fire or theft.
Paying for more than one of these?
List everything on the stack audit page and see a free draft of what to cut.