At a Glance

Expert’s Rating

Pros

• Unlimited storage for knowledge
• Automatic or guide collection of supply knowledge
• Integrates with Windows Explorer for guide supply choice
• Saves older variations of information
• Local digital drive speeds entry

Cons

• Backup of information modified a number of instances can lag as much as 24 hours
• No backup to native media
• No on-line modifying

Our Verdict

Carbonite’s on-line backup service makes use of Windows’ Explorer for knowledge choice, and is easy, efficient, in addition to comparatively inexpensive given limitless house in offers on your backups.

Price When Reviewed

$96 yearly for one pc (limitless storage)

Best Prices Today: Carbonite Safe Online Backup

Carbonite Safe stays one in all our favourite on-line backup options, because of limitless storage on your backups and integration into Windows Explorer. However, we had been disenchanted to search out the latter considerably degraded in Windows 11.

Note that when you hop on Carbonite by March 31, 2024, it’s accessible at an unbelievable 75% off, although we don’t know if it is going to carry over into the renewal cycle.

Author’s be aware: There is a few inconsistency in the way in which OpenTextual content/Carbonite seek advice from this program, principally calling it Carbonite Safe, but additionally Carbonite Backup, and Carbonite Safe Backup.

What are Carbonite Safe’s options?

Carbonite Safe affords limitless knowledge backup with file versioning, i.e., it retains older variations of information. Versioning is what makes Carbonite a backup slightly than a sync service. All knowledge is encrypted and it’s possible you’ll decide to maintain the encryption key in your personal possession or let Carbonite host it.

Further studying: See our roundup of the most effective on-line backup companies to find out about competing merchandise.

By default this system intelligently targets solely the most typical knowledge and areas: i.e., the Windows paperwork, photos, music, and many others. folders, although there’s an possibility to begin with no information or folders chosen.

There are not any jobs as such, simply the one backup job that uploads knowledge to Carbonite’s on-line storage farm. Which brings us to a minor gripe — the shortage of a neighborhood secondary vacation spot corresponding to an exterior drive. Local backups are far faster and simpler to revive.

If we have now some other grievance, it’s the restricted on-line viewing (photographs) and lack of modifying. Carbonite is for backup and storage, not working on-line.

If you fall into that group of customers who retailer important knowledge outdoors of the widespread areas or just need to select what you need backed up by yourself, Carbonite Safe makes it very simple (Windows 10) to comparatively simple (Windows 11) so as to add supply folders and information to your backup.

Prior to Windows 11, you could possibly merely right-click on the folder or file and choose Carbonite > Back this up. However, thanks partially to Microsoft’s choice to stack context menus in Windows 11, you could now right-click, choose Show More Options, then choose Carbonite > Back this up.

While I’d like to blame this fully on Microsoft and their seemingly brain-dead willpower to extend the variety of clicks required to carry out each job, WinRAR has managed to insert its choices on the root stage of context menus. Apparently Carbonite’s builders haven’t sussed out this trick.

Carbonite additionally includes a intelligent technique of signaling the backed-up standing of a file or folder by superimposing a tiny dot on the icon: orange for backup pending and inexperienced for already backed up, and many others. See under.

Testing on two PCs, these dots had been current; nonetheless, on our essential software program testbed they weren’t. Carbonite tech help indicated that this was seemingly resulting from different software program having hooked into this means. As there was no different software program monkeying with icons, we’re undecided what the perpetrator would possibly’ve been.

Carbonite skips granular scheduling in favor of a restricted type of steady knowledge safety (CDP). Continuous backup usually means information are backed up quickly after they alter. In this case, nonetheless, there’s a major limitation in that just one change is backed up in close to actual time.

Subsequent adjustments to a file will not be backed up for one more 24 hours. For occasion, if I had been engaged on this text in Word, and saving often as is my behavior, the ultimate model won’t be backed up till the following day — even when I clicked on the Back up now button within the settings space.

Carbonite additionally affords once-a-day backup, which will probably be greater than ample for many customers. To be trustworthy, I’d slightly set this for the top of the workday (it’s possible you’ll select the hour) than depend on Carbonite’s type of “continuous,” which could not again up till properly into tomorrow. Unless I need each model I’ve saved, that’s. I usually don’t.

As beforehand talked about Carbonite doesn’t provide a secondary backup to native media, which all the time makes for a faster restore course of. You can use Windows’ File History or the like in conjunction to facilitate this.

Restoring knowledge from Carbonite is so simple as looking to the digital drive that Carbonite installs in your PC to behave as a portal to your on-line knowledge. You may entry the digital drive through the Carbonite context menu with the “Open this folder in Carbonite Backup Drive” possibility. Files pending backup are stored in a separate folder on the drive.

Oddly, we may see the Carbonite digital drive when choosing This PC (proven under) from the situation tree in Windows Explorer, however it wasn’t listed in mentioned tree as almost all drives — bodily, digital, inner, or exterior — usually are.

You may restore knowledge by clicking on “Get my files back” or “View my backup” buttons on the primary web page of the shopper software program. These ship you to the net, the place you possibly can choose knowledge to revive. If that is put up system catastrophe, you’ll after all must re-install the shopper software program.

Alternatively, you possibly can obtain knowledge on to any PC you select from the Carbonite web site after signing in together with your login and password.

Note that older variations of information are retained (aka versioning), however you’ll must right-click over the file and choose “Restore previous versions” to see them — they’re not displayed by default.

Carbonite additionally offers shoppers for iOS and Android. These present entry to information, however don’t again up something from the cellphone.

How quick is Carbonite Safe Backup?

I seen no efficiency hit in any respect whereas utilizing Carbonite in steady backup mode to again up about 0.5GB price of continuously modified information. That’s most likely as a result of the backup isn’t performed in actual time, and even constantly within the conventional sense.

Carbonite instructed us that information will probably be backed up inside 10 minutes of the primary recorded change, however subsequent adjustments might not happen for as much as 24 hours. My final go-round with this system, subsequent adjustments appeared to add much more shortly. However, this time there have been standing notes on the digital drive saying the “File will be backed up again in 23 hours” and at eight hours and counting, most had been nonetheless within the Pending Backup folder.

Unless you need to save each model of your extremely edited information, you could be higher off with a once-a-day backup.

Changes had been significantly faster to indicate up on the digital drive than the net. This is little doubt resulting from some caching happening, which is par for the course with software program interfacing with on-line storage corresponding to R-Drive Image and cloud storage managers corresponding to CloudMounter and Mountain Duck, although the lag with these applications is considerably shorter.

These experiences seek advice from the Personal model of Carbonite that we examined. The far costlier Professional variations might behave in a different way with regards to “continuous” backup.

How a lot does Carbonite Safe value?

Carbonite’s single-computer Basic plan is $96 a yr, the Plus plan with help for a single exterior drive is $132 a yr, and a Prime plan with courier supply of your backup is $162 a yr. All plans embrace limitless storage, however the Basic plan doesn’t routinely again up movies and doesn’t help exterior drives.

Basic, which is the plan I examined doesn’t help community areas or logical drives mounted with the cloud administration software program talked about above.

Carbonite affords a complete comparison of pricing and features that can assist you resolve.

Should you purchase Carbonite Safe Backup?

Carbonite Safe (Personal variations) is a succesful set-it-and-forget-it backup service that eliminates any worries about operating out of room when backing up your stuff. It’s a worthy service for the typical consumer. Just take the continual backup declare with a grain of salt.

Editor’s be aware: Because on-line companies are sometimes iterative, gaining new options and efficiency enhancements over time, this evaluate is topic to vary with a view to precisely replicate the present state of the service. Any adjustments to textual content or our ultimate evaluate verdict will probably be famous on the prime of this text.