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File Storage · head to head

Carbonite vs Scality RING

Carbonite logo

Carbonite

File Storage

Simple and reliable cloud backup for businesses

From
$6/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Scality RING logo

Scality RING

File Storage

Petabyte-scale object storage software on your own hardware

From
On request
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; Scality RING hardware is bought separately, so the software quote understates total cost and the buyer carries the sizing risk if the drive and server specification is wrong.
  • They diverge on capability: Carbonite covers Automatic backup, Scality RING covers S3-compatible object storage.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Carbonite and Scality RING actually diverge.

Attributes where Carbonite and Scality RING differ
AttributeCarboniteScality RING
Starting price$6/monthOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
PlatformsWindows, Mac, WebLinux
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 Scality RING

  • S3-compatible object storage
  • File and object access
  • Erasure coding
  • Object lock
  • Multi-site geodistribution
  • Hardware independence
  • ARTESCA

What people use each for

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

Carbonite

  • Data protectionnot Scality RING
  • Disaster recoverynot Scality RING
  • Business continuitynot Scality RING
  • Ransomware protectionnot Scality RING
  • Compliancenot Scality RING

Scality RING

  • A broadcaster archiving decades of video where hyperscaler storage and egress costs would be prohibitivenot Carbonite
  • A hospital group holding medical imaging on premises for data residency and retention reasonsnot Carbonite
  • An enterprise building an immutable on premises backup target for Veeam or Commvault with object locknot Carbonite
  • A service provider offering S3-compatible storage to its own customers on hardware it controlsnot 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

Scality RING

  • Hardware is bought separately, so the software quote understates total cost and the buyer carries the sizing risk if the drive and server specification is wrong.
  • Running distributed erasure coded storage requires operations skills, and organisations that expected appliance simplicity end up staffing a storage team they had not budgeted.
  • Rebuild times after a drive failure on large capacity disks are measured in hours or days, and capacity planning has to leave headroom for that degraded window.
  • Pricing is per usable terabyte and quoted, so cost comparisons against cloud object storage require modelling your own retrieval patterns rather than reading a rate card.
  • Small deployments carry a minimum viable node count for erasure coding to work sensibly, which makes the entry footprint larger and less economic than the per-terabyte price implies.

Pricing, plan by plan

Carbonite

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

Scality RING

On request
  • Scality RING$undefined/year
    • Priced per usable terabyte, subscription or perpetual
    • Server hardware purchased separately by the customer
    • Support tiers quoted separately
  • Scality ARTESCA$undefined/year
    • Lighter object store for smaller footprints
    • Priced per usable terabyte
    • Commonly deployed as an immutable backup target

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 Scality RING if

  • You need s3-compatible object storage.
  • You work on Linux.
  • You also want file and object access.
Scality RING review

Questions people ask

Is Carbonite or Scality RING better?
Neither clearly leads. Carbonite starts at $6/month and Scality RING at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Carbonite or Scality RING?
Carbonite starts at $6/month and Scality RING at On request.
Does Carbonite or Scality RING run on more platforms?
Carbonite runs on Windows, Mac, Web. Scality RING runs on Linux.
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 Scality RING is typically brought in for.
What can Carbonite do that Scality RING cannot?
Carbonite covers Automatic backup, Continuous protection, Remote file access, Bare metal restore. Scality RING covers S3-compatible object storage, File and object access, Erasure coding, Object lock.

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
Scality RING: Do we buy hardware from Scality?

No. RING is software; you buy commodity servers and drives yourself, which is the point for buyers who want to rebid hardware at each refresh.

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
Scality RING: Is it S3-compatible enough for backup software?

Yes, it is a common object lock target for Veeam, Commvault and Rubrik. Verify the specific S3 features your backup product needs during a proof of concept.

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
Scality RING: What is ARTESCA?

A lighter object store from the same company, aimed at smaller footprints and backup targets rather than multi-petabyte archives.

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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