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Add to SafariWhen comparing Tarsnap vs IDrive, the Slant community recommends Tarsnap for most people. In the question“What are the best cloud backup services?” Tarsnap is ranked 13th while IDrive is ranked 24th. The most important reason people chose Tarsnap is:
Encryption allows the use to access their files with only their own keys and the deduplication saves on costs of storage as any duplicate file will be removed automatically. So not only is the platform safety minded but cost is taken into account for the user as well.
Specs
Question Ranking
Pros
Pro Focus on encryption and deduplication
Encryption allows the use to access their files with only their own keys and the deduplication saves on costs of storage as any duplicate file will be removed automatically. So not only is the platform safety minded but cost is taken into account for the user as well.
Pro No need to worry about versioning
Pro Web UI admin console has a feature to individually update IDrive program *settings* on each device or make all the same
This is very helpful to remotely update one or more devices or ensure all settings are the same on devices when managing multiple device backups on the same account.
Pro Web UI admin console has a feature to individually update IDrive *installed program version* on each device or make all the same
This enables updating the installed version on remote devices.
Pro The client UI has a backup progress indicator
The progress indicator can show total bytes backed up and remaining, and the file that's being backed up.
Pro The client UI "Backup" tab has a summary list of folders and files and their sizes selected for backup
Pro Reasonably priced subscription plans
It's one of the few options with subscription plans for unlimited devices and tiered backup quotas, and not a ridiculous price.
Pro It's one of the cheapest options
Cons
Con No automatic deletion of old backups
Users will have to manually delete their old backups as there is no way to set a threshold of when older backups should be removed.
Con Awkward setup of encryption keys
Con Support is slow to respond or non-responsive
They offer same-day responses when emailed feature requests but take days and days and non-helpful responses when inquired on issues.
Con IDrive program does not auto-update to new versions (many other backup programs do)
While not having an automated version upgrade doesn't enable unattended backup (particularly desired for remote devices or for non-techy users), these options exist:
- The web UI admin console has an option to update the version.
- When a new version exists, an "Upgrade" button appears on the client UI.
Con The backup often misses files
While testing it by editing a file, the app missed it for many hours. However, it usually found the file a many runs later/the next day and backed it up. This flakiness is enough to be concerned.
Con The backup regularly "locks up" on a file in OS-specific directory during backup
When including OS-specific directories in the backup, it regularly freezes on a file, and never the same file. It's possible to cancel the backup, run it again, and it almost always works. Support said not to backup OS directories, and this is true for other backup products too; CrashPlan did not have this issue.
Con Requires too much manual monitoring because it is an unreliable product
It's necessary to regularly check if it's working because it can lock-up on some files, or continually say "verifying files". It's a flakey product.
