Software · head to head
Box vs Backblaze
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Box all Business and Enterprise plans require a minimum of 3 users; Backblaze personal Backup is $99 a year billed annually, with no monthly option
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Box and Backblaze actually diverge.
Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in Box
Nothing recorded that Backblaze does not also cover.
Only in Backblaze
- Unlimited backup
- Continuous backup
- Version history
- Private encryption key
- Restore by mail
- Mobile apps
- macOS
- Windows
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Box
No use cases recorded yet. See the Box review.
Backblaze
- Unlimited backup of a personal computer and external drivesnot Box
- Restoring files from anywhere through the webnot Box
- Mailed hard drive restore for large recoveriesnot Box
- Private encryption key control for sensitive datanot Box
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Box
- All Business and Enterprise plans require a minimum of 3 users
- Business Starter ($5/user/month) caps at 100 GB of shared storage across the whole account and a 2 GB per file upload limit
- Enterprise Plus requires annual billing, and Enterprise Advanced's exact price is not published on the pricing page
Backblaze
- Personal Backup is $99 a year billed annually, with no monthly option
- Web restores are capped at 500GB per request
- Forever version history is a Business tier add-on rather than included
- Administrative controls and SSO are Business features
- Backs up user data from a computer and attached drives, so NAS and server backup are not covered by the personal plan
Pricing, plan by plan
Box
On requestNo published plan breakdown. See the Box review.
Backblaze
$9/month- Personal Backup$9/month
- Unlimited storage for single computer
- Unlimited version history
- 30-day trial
- B2 Cloud Storage$6/TB/month
- S3-compatible storage
- Pay-as-you-go model
Which should you pick?
Choose Box if
Nothing in the data separates Box from Backblaze on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.
Choose Backblaze if
- You need unlimited backup.
- You work on Windows, macOS, Web.
- You also want continuous backup.
Questions people ask
- Is Box or Backblaze better?
- Neither clearly leads. Box starts at On request and Backblaze at $9/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Box or Backblaze?
- Box starts at On request and Backblaze at $9/month.
- Does Box or Backblaze run on more platforms?
- Box runs on Web. Backblaze runs on Windows, macOS, Web.
- What can Box do that Backblaze cannot?
- Backblaze covers Unlimited backup, Continuous backup, Version history, Private encryption key.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Backblaze: What is the pricing for Backblaze Personal Backup?
Backblaze Personal Backup costs $9/month on monthly billing or $8.25/month when billed annually, providing unlimited storage for a single computer.
SourceBackblaze: What storage options does Backblaze B2 offer?
Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage is priced at $6/TB per month with a pay-as-you-go model, and is S3 compatible for flexible cloud storage.
SourceBackblaze: Does Backblaze support Linux systems?
No. Backblaze does not support Linux operating systems, limiting it to Windows, macOS, and web access only.
Source