Quick Verdict
Backblaze wins for households with one or two computers who want the simplest, most reliable unlimited backup at the lowest per-computer price. iDrive wins for households with multiple devices (phones, tablets, multiple computers) who want one plan to cover everything, or users with large libraries who want physical seeding.
| Feature | Backblaze | IDrive |
|---|---|---|
| Free storage | 0GB | 10GB |
| 2TB Monthly | — | — |
| 2TB Annual | — | — |
| Lifetime plan | N/A | N/A |
| Encryption | AES-128 | AES-256 |
| Zero-Knowledge | No | Yes |
| Jurisdiction | United States | United States |
| Upload speed | 150 Mbps | 165 Mbps |
| Download speed | 170 Mbps | 195 Mbps |
| Max file size | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Platforms | 3 | 6 |
| Overall score | 8.1/10 | 8.3/10 |
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The Core Difference
This is a backup-vs-backup comparison — both are primarily backup services, not sync services. The key structural difference:
Backblaze: Per-computer pricing. $99/year per machine, unlimited storage per machine, includes external drives connected to that machine. No mobile backup.
iDrive: Capacity-based pricing. $79.50/year for 5TB covers unlimited computers, tablets, phones, and external drives on one plan. Mobile backup included.
Pricing at Scale
| Setup | Backblaze Cost | iDrive Cost (Year 1) | iDrive Cost (Renewal) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 computer | $99/year | $79.50/year (5TB) | ~$110-130/year |
| 2 computers | $198/year | $79.50/year (5TB shared) | ~$110-130/year |
| 3 computers + 2 phones | $297/year | $79.50/year (5TB shared) | ~$110-130/year |
| 4 computers + 2 phones | $396/year | $99.50/year (10TB) | ~$150-180/year |
The break-even is around 2 computers. For a single-computer household, Backblaze is cheaper even accounting for iDrive's promotional year-one pricing. For households with 2+ computers or any mobile devices, iDrive becomes cheaper and covers more.
iDrive renewal pricing watch: iDrive's year-one prices are promotional rates, often 50-70% off the regular rate. Renewal at the full rate runs 30-40% higher than the first-year number. Always check the renewal price before buying iDrive.
Physical Seeding — iDrive Wins Clearly
Seeding is the process of getting a large initial backup into the cloud without uploading it over your home internet connection. A 3TB library on a 50 Mbps upload connection takes over 5 days to upload. On a 10 Mbps upload connection, it's weeks.
iDrive Express: iDrive ships you a hard drive. You copy your data to it locally (hours, not days). You mail it back. iDrive uploads from the drive into your account. For large initial backups, this is transformative. The Express service has specific pricing, but the time savings are dramatic.
Backblaze: No seeding service for Personal Backup (their Fireball rapid ingest is a B2 Cloud Storage service for businesses, not personal backup). You upload everything over your internet connection. Initial backups of multi-terabyte libraries are slow, though Backblaze doesn't throttle you as severely as some competitors once you're in normal backup mode.
iDrive wins on physical seeding.
Version History
Backblaze: 30 days of deleted file retention by default. Extended Version History add-on: $2/month for 1 year, $4/month for unlimited. Without the add-on, files deleted more than 30 days ago are gone from your backup.
iDrive: 30 version history for each file on the 5TB plan. Files deleted from your computer are kept in the "deleted" section until you manually clear them or exceed storage limits.
iDrive wins on version history depth. Backblaze's unlimited history add-on costs extra; iDrive includes multi-version retention at the base plan level.
Speed
Backblaze throttles initial backup speed to protect your internet connection. Default setting is moderate throttle — initial backup of 1TB can take 2-3 days. After the initial backup, incremental backup runs continuously and quickly.
iDrive also has initial backup overhead, but the Express seeding option sidesteps this for large libraries. Ongoing incremental backup is comparable to Backblaze in speed.
Both are backup services, not sync services — you won't be accessing individual files quickly from either. Restore speed is adequate on both.
Mobile Backup
Backblaze: No mobile backup. The Personal Backup client is Mac and Windows only. Your iPhone and Android photos are not protected by Backblaze.
iDrive: Mobile backup included on iOS and Android. Camera roll, contacts, and selected app data can be configured to back up automatically. This is a meaningful differentiator for households where phones contain irreplaceable photos.
iDrive wins on mobile backup.
Restore Experience
Backblaze: Browser-based restore for individual files or ZIP downloads. Physical restore by mail via their Restore Return Refund program (you pay for the drive, ship it back within 30 days, get refunded). Folder structure preserved exactly on restore.
iDrive: Browser restore, desktop client restore, and Express physical restore. The express physical restore ships your backup on a drive for disaster recovery.
Both handle restore well. iDrive's multi-device restore (restoring one computer's backup to a different machine) is more flexible. Backblaze's Restore Return Refund program is simpler and ultimately free for the user.
Who Should Use Backblaze
- Single-computer households (one Mac or one Windows PC) who want unlimited backup at $99/year
- Users with large external drives connected to their computer who want everything backed up without a storage cap
- Anyone who values the simplest possible setup — install and forget
- Users who don't need mobile device backup
Who Should Use iDrive
- Households with 2+ computers, tablets, or phones that all need backup coverage
- Users with large initial libraries who want to use the Express physical seeding service
- Anyone who wants mobile (iOS/Android) camera roll backup included in the backup plan
- Users who want deeper version history without paying an add-on fee