File Storage · alternatives
Alternatives to IDrive
21 file storage tools sit alongside IDrive in this directory. Below is what separates each from IDrive on the figures we hold, price, model, tier count and rating, and a direct comparison for every one.
- Alternatives listed
- 21
- With a free tier
- 9
- Cheaper to start
- 4
- IDrive starts at
- $2.5/month
Why people look past IDrive
Only what the record supports. Each point below is a figure on the IDrive entry measured against the tools listed beside it.
There is no free tier
The record for IDrive carries no free tier, so evaluating it means paying first. 9 of the 21 alternatives below can be used without paying.
Cost climbs steeply across the tiers
IDrive publishes 7 tiers, from $0.41/month up to On request. Teams that outgrow the entry plan can find the next rung a large step, the IDrive pricing page breaks each one down.
What each alternative does differently
Ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry. Differences are drawn from price, pricing model, tier count and rating, the fields the category listing carries. For a feature-level difference, follow the head-to-head link on each card: those pages read both full records.
Modern data protection for enterprise workloads
- Can be used without paying; IDrive cannot.
- Starts $247.5 a year dearer, at $250/year.
Complete backup solution with built-in ransomware protection
Priced and rated the same as IDrive on the figures we hold. The difference, if there is one, is in the feature records.
Simple and reliable cloud backup for businesses
- Starts $3.5 a month dearer, at $6/month.
- 1 tier to IDrive's 7.
Unlimited cloud backup at an affordable price
- Starts $6.5 a month dearer, at $9/month.
- 2 tiers to IDrive's 7.
Google's consumer cloud storage app, sharing the same 15GB quota as Gmail and Google Photos
- Can be used without paying; IDrive cannot.
- Sold on a Free tier plus paid storage add-on model rather than subscription.
- 3 tiers to IDrive's 7.
S3-compatible object storage that charges nothing for egress to the internet
- Can be used without paying; IDrive cannot.
- Starts $2.485 a month cheaper, at $0.015/month.
- Sold on a Per gigabyte stored per month model rather than subscription.
- 3 tiers to IDrive's 7.
Every IDrive alternative at a glance
A dash means the catalogue entry carries no figure, not that the answer is nothing.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Tiers | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IDrive (this page) | $2.5/month | Subscription | 7 | |
| Veeam Backup & ReplicationModern data protection for enterprise workloads | Free, then $250/year | - | - | vs IDrive |
| Barracuda BackupComplete backup solution with built-in ransomware protection | On request | Subscription | - | vs IDrive |
| CarboniteSimple and reliable cloud backup for businesses | $6/month | Subscription | 1 | vs IDrive |
| BackblazeUnlimited cloud backup at an affordable price | $9/month | - | 2 | vs IDrive |
| Google Drive | Free | Free tier plus paid storage add-on | 3 | vs IDrive |
| Cloudflare R2 | Free, then $0.015/month | Per gigabyte stored per month | 3 | vs IDrive |
| Ceph | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 1 | vs IDrive |
| MinIO | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 2 | vs IDrive |
| Storj | Free, then $4/month | Per terabyte per month | 2 | vs IDrive |
| Tigris | Free, then $0.004/GB/month | Usage-based tiered storage with per-request fees | 4 | vs IDrive |
| Box | Free, then $5/month | Subscription | 4 | vs IDrive |
| Nextcloud | Free | Freemium | 4 | vs IDrive |
| LucidLink | $7/month | Per member per month plus storage | 3 | vs IDrive |
| VAST Data | On request | Quote | 1 | vs IDrive |
| Panzura | On request | Quote | 1 | vs IDrive |
| Scality RING | On request | Quote | 2 | vs IDrive |
| Cloudian | On request | Quote | 1 | vs IDrive |
| Nasuni | On request | Quote | 1 | vs IDrive |
| Veritas NetBackup | $100/month | Subscription | 1 | vs IDrive |
| Zerto | $5/month | Subscription | 1 | vs IDrive |
| Microsoft OneDrive | $1.99/month | Subscription | 4 | vs IDrive |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry; Softwr hosts no reviews of these products. How each figure is used is set out on the IDrive badges page.
Cheaper ways to solve the same problem
Free to start (9)
These publish a tier that costs nothing, so they can be evaluated before any money changes hands.
- Veeam Backup & Replication , Free, then $250/year
- Google Drive , Free
- Cloudflare R2 , Free, then $0.015/month
- Ceph , Free
- MinIO , Free
- Storj , Free, then $4/month
- Tigris , Free, then $0.004/GB/month
- Box , Free, then $5/month
Cheaper than IDrive (4)
Entry price under IDrive's $2.5/month. The record does not say what unit that price is charged in, so confirm per-seat versus flat rate before comparing budgets.
- Cloudflare R2 , Free, then $0.015/month
- Tigris , Free, then $0.004/GB/month
- Nextcloud , Free
- Microsoft OneDrive , $1.99/month
What you would be giving up
IDrive is most often brought in for online backup for computers, servers and mobile devices, backing up multiple machines under one account. Anything replacing it has to cover the ones you actually depend on, and a cheaper tool that misses one of them is not cheaper.
Two things this page cannot settle. It compares on price, model, tier count and rating, because those are the fields the category listing carries, feature-level differences need both full records, which is what the head-to-head pages load. And the ratings are third-party aggregates imported with each entry rather than reviews written here, so a 0.2 difference between two tools is noise rather than a finding.
If IDrive is broadly right and the question is cost, the IDrive pricing breakdown covers every tier and what each one adds. If you want the whole field rather than a shortlist, the File Storage category lists everything the directory holds, and best file storage tools ranks them.
IDrive runs on windows, mac, linux, web. Platform coverage is not carried on the category listing for the alternatives, so it is one more thing to check on each head-to-head page rather than here.
Questions about IDrive alternatives
- What are the main alternatives to IDrive?
- 21 other file storage tools are listed in this directory, led by Veeam Backup & Replication, Barracuda Backup, Carbonite, Backblaze. They are ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry, not by any Softwr ranking.
- What is the best free alternative to IDrive?
- 9 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: Veeam Backup & Replication, Google Drive, Cloudflare R2, Ceph, MinIO.
- Is there a cheaper alternative to IDrive?
- Yes. 4 of the alternatives below start under IDrive's $2.5/month: Cloudflare R2 at Free, then $0.015/month, Tigris at Free, then $0.004/GB/month, Nextcloud at Free, Microsoft OneDrive at $1.99/month.
- Why do people look for an alternative to IDrive?
- On the figures on record, 2 things stand out: there is no free tier; cost climbs steeply across the tiers. Each is set out with the numbers behind it above.
- What would I give up by switching from IDrive?
- IDrive is most often brought in for online backup for computers, servers and mobile devices, backing up multiple machines under one account. Anything you replace it with has to cover the ones you actually rely on, the side-by-side comparisons linked from each alternative below put the two feature records against each other.
- Is there an open-source alternative to IDrive?
- None of the file storage tools listed here are recorded as open source. That is what the licence field on each entry says, and the field is not always filled in, so it is worth checking directly for any tool you are serious about.
- How were these IDrive alternatives chosen?
- They are the tools filed in the same category, File Storage, ordered by the aggregated rating on each entry. There is no editorial shortlist, and nothing on this page is paid: no sponsored placement runs on alternatives pages and the order cannot be bought. Softwr has not used these products.
- Where can I compare IDrive against one of these directly?
- Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against IDrive covering price, platforms, features and what each one is used for. Those pages read the full record for both products rather than the summary shown here.
- Does this list cover every file storage tool?
- No. It covers what this directory holds in the File Storage category, 21 tools beside IDrive. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.