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File Storage · head to head

Carbonite vs Ceph

Carbonite logo

Carbonite

File Storage

Simple and reliable cloud backup for businesses

From
$6/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Ceph logo

Ceph

File Storage

Open source distributed storage providing object, block and file from one cluster

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Ceph has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Carbonite upload speeds are significantly slower than competitors due to lack of block-level algorithms and multithreading; Ceph ceph assumes an operator who understands placement groups, CRUSH rules and recovery tuning, so organisations without dedicated storage staff routinely end up with a cluster that works until the first failure and then does not.
  • They diverge on capability: Carbonite covers Automatic backup, Ceph covers RADOS object store.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Carbonite and Ceph actually diverge.

Attributes where Carbonite and Ceph differ
AttributeCarboniteCeph
Starting price$6/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionOpen source, no licence fee
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWindows, Mac, WebLinux
Founded2005Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (File Storage).

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 Carbonite

  • Automatic backup
  • Continuous protection
  • Remote file access
  • Bare metal restore
  • Encryption
  • Compliance support
  • Microsoft 365
  • Windows Server

Only in Ceph

  • RADOS object store
  • RADOS Gateway
  • RBD block devices
  • CephFS
  • CRUSH placement
  • Erasure coded pools

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Carbonite

  • Data protectionnot Ceph
  • Disaster recoverynot Ceph
  • Business continuitynot Ceph
  • Ransomware protectionnot Ceph
  • Compliancenot Ceph

Ceph

  • Backing a private cloud where virtual machine disks, shared filesystems and an S3 endpoint all need the same hardwarenot Carbonite
  • Growing past the point where a proprietary array upgrade costs more than a rack of commodity serversnot Carbonite
  • Research and media environments with petabytes of data and staff who can operate storagenot Carbonite
  • Providing an S3 endpoint on premises with multi site replication under your own controlnot Carbonite

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Carbonite

  • Upload speeds are significantly slower than competitors due to lack of block-level algorithms and multithreading
  • Bandwidth throttling control is limited, preventing users from managing full bandwidth allocation
  • Mobile apps and web access are more limited than sync-first services like Dropbox or Google Drive
  • Uses AES-128 encryption instead of industry-standard AES-256
  • Hybrid backup support is restricted to professional plans, unavailable for personal users

Ceph

  • Ceph assumes an operator who understands placement groups, CRUSH rules and recovery tuning, so organisations without dedicated storage staff routinely end up with a cluster that works until the first failure and then does not.
  • Small clusters are inefficient: three way replication means a third of raw capacity is usable, and erasure coding needs enough failure domains to be safe, so the economics only work above a certain size.
  • Recovery and rebalancing generate heavy internal traffic, so a failed disk can degrade client latency across the cluster unless backfill is throttled correctly beforehand.
  • Upgrades must follow a strict daemon order across monitors, managers, OSDs and gateways, and a mistake in that order on a live cluster is difficult to reverse.
  • Because it is self hosted, every byte served to the internet is transit you pay for on your own links, so the free licence does not mean free egress and bandwidth planning becomes your problem rather than the providers.

Pricing, plan by plan

Carbonite

$6/month
  • Basic$6/month
    • Automatic backup
    • Unlimited cloud storage
    • Easy restore

Ceph

Free
  • CephFree
    • Full functionality, no capacity limit
    • Object, block and file interfaces
    • Community support via mailing list and Slack

Which should you pick?

Choose Carbonite if

  • You need automatic backup.
  • You work on Windows, Mac, Web.
  • You also want continuous protection.
Carbonite review

Choose Ceph if

  • You need rados object store.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux.
  • You also want rados gateway.
Ceph review

Questions people ask

Is Carbonite or Ceph better?
Neither clearly leads. Carbonite starts at $6/month and Ceph at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Carbonite or Ceph?
Ceph has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $6/month for Carbonite and Free for Ceph.
Does Carbonite or Ceph run on more platforms?
Carbonite runs on Windows, Mac, Web. Ceph runs on Linux.
Can I use Ceph for free?
Yes. Ceph has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Carbonite starts at $6/month.
What is Carbonite best used for?
Carbonite is most often used for data protection, disaster recovery, business continuity, ransomware protection. Of those, data protection and disaster recovery are not what Ceph is typically brought in for.
What can Carbonite do that Ceph cannot?
Carbonite covers Automatic backup, Continuous protection, Remote file access, Bare metal restore. Ceph covers RADOS object store, RADOS Gateway, RBD block devices, CephFS.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Carbonite: Does Carbonite offer unlimited storage?

Yes, Carbonite's personal plans (Safe Basic through Safe Server Ultimate) offer unlimited cloud storage, though business plans have tiered storage starting at 250 GB.

Source
Ceph: How many nodes do I need to start?

Three is the practical minimum for a replicated cluster with real fault tolerance, and most production advice starts at five once you account for maintenance windows.

Carbonite: What is Carbonite's pricing?

Personal plans range from $4.91 to $83.33 per month with annual billing. Business plans start around $50-$75 per endpoint annually, with volume discounts available for multi-year contracts.

Source
Ceph: Is it faster than a SAN?

Not on single stream latency. It wins on aggregate throughput and on growing without a forklift upgrade, which is a different property from raw speed.

Carbonite: How fast are Carbonite's upload speeds?

Carbonite's upload speeds are notably slow and are consistently identified as the platform's main weakness. The lack of block-level algorithms and multithreading contributes to these speed limitations.

Source
Ceph: Can I buy support?

Yes. IBM sells IBM Storage Ceph and SUSE and others have offered supported builds; the upstream project itself is free.

Carbonite: What encryption does Carbonite use?

Carbonite uses AES-128 encryption at rest, which is an unusual choice in 2026 when AES-256 is the industry standard.

Source
Ceph: Should I use it just for S3?

If object is all you need, a dedicated object store is simpler to run. Ceph earns its complexity when you need block and file as well.

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