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File Storage · head to head

Carbonite vs LucidLink

Carbonite logo

Carbonite

File Storage

Simple and reliable cloud backup for businesses

From
$6/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
LucidLink logo

LucidLink

File Storage

Cloud filesystem that streams large media files on demand instead of syncing them

From
$7/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Carbonite upload speeds are significantly slower than competitors due to lack of block-level algorithms and multithreading; LucidLink additional storage at $7 to $8 per 100GB per month is roughly three to four times raw S3 pricing, so teams with large cold archives pay a heavy premium for data they rarely touch.
  • They diverge on capability: Carbonite covers Automatic backup, LucidLink covers Filespaces.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Carbonite and LucidLink actually diverge.

Attributes where Carbonite and LucidLink differ
AttributeCarboniteLucidLink
Starting price$6/month$7/month
Pricing modelsubscriptionPer member per month plus storage
PlatformsWindows, Mac, WebmacOS, Windows, Linux, iOS
Founded2005Unknown

Identical on both: free tier (No), 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 LucidLink

  • Filespaces
  • On-demand streaming
  • Client-side encryption
  • Customer-managed keys
  • Bring your own storage
  • Snapshots

What people use each for

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

Carbonite

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

LucidLink

  • A post house with editors in three countries cutting from one shared 4K rush library without shipping drivesnot Carbonite
  • A broadcaster giving freelancers access to a project for a fortnight without provisioning VPN and a NAS mountnot Carbonite
  • A game studio sharing multi-gigabyte asset builds where syncing every file to every workstation is impracticalnot Carbonite
  • An architecture practice opening large point cloud and BIM files from a laptop on a hotel connectionnot 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

LucidLink

  • Additional storage at $7 to $8 per 100GB per month is roughly three to four times raw S3 pricing, so teams with large cold archives pay a heavy premium for data they rarely touch.
  • Included storage is pooled per member, so adding a seat is also how you buy capacity, and teams with a few heavy users and many light ones buy seats purely for the gigabytes.
  • Performance is bounded by the network link and local cache size, so a workstation with a small cache on a poor connection performs far worse than the demonstrations suggest.
  • Small-file and metadata-heavy workloads such as code repositories, node modules trees or build outputs perform badly, so it is not a general-purpose file server replacement.
  • Customer-managed keys and bring your own storage are Enterprise-tier options, so organisations that cannot let a vendor hold their keys cannot use the published pricing at all.

Pricing, plan by plan

Carbonite

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

LucidLink

$7/month
  • Starter$7/month
    • 100GB included per member, pooled across the team
    • Additional storage $7 per 100GB per month
    • Client-side encryption
  • Business$32/month
    • $27 per member per month billed annually
    • 400GB included per member, pooled across the team
    • Additional storage $8 per 100GB per month
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Custom pricing and storage terms
    • Customer-managed encryption keys
    • Bring your own object storage bucket

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 LucidLink if

  • You need filespaces.
  • You work on macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS.
  • You also want on-demand streaming.
LucidLink review

Questions people ask

Is Carbonite or LucidLink better?
Neither clearly leads. Carbonite starts at $6/month and LucidLink at $7/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Carbonite or LucidLink?
Carbonite starts at $6/month and LucidLink at $7/month.
Does Carbonite or LucidLink run on more platforms?
Carbonite runs on Windows, Mac, Web. LucidLink runs on macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS.
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 LucidLink is typically brought in for.
What can Carbonite do that LucidLink cannot?
Carbonite covers Automatic backup, Continuous protection, Remote file access, Bare metal restore. LucidLink covers Filespaces, On-demand streaming, Client-side encryption, Customer-managed keys.

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
LucidLink: What does storage actually cost?

$7 per 100GB per month on Starter and $8 per 100GB per month on Business, above the pooled allowance. Model this separately from the seat cost.

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
LucidLink: Can we hold our own encryption keys?

On the Enterprise tier, yes, along with pointing the filespace at your own S3 or Azure bucket. Not on Starter or Business.

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
LucidLink: Does it work for source code?

Not well. It is built for large sequential reads. Many small files is the workload it handles worst.

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
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