File Storage · head to head
Duplicati vs IDrive e2
IDrive e2
File Storage
Low cost S3-compatible object storage with egress included up to a multiple of what you store
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Duplicati no managed service or commercial support; IDrive e2 the included egress is capped as a multiple of stored data, so a small bucket that serves a lot of traffic exhausts the allowance quickly and the economics stop looking cheap exactly where a CDN backed store would still be free.
- They diverge on capability: Duplicati covers AES-256 encryption, IDrive e2 covers S3-compatible endpoints.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Duplicati and IDrive e2 actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Duplicati
- AES-256 encryption
- Incremental backup
- Deduplication
- Multiple cloud backends
- Compression
- Web interface
- AWS S3
- Azure
Only in IDrive e2
- S3-compatible endpoints
- Included egress allowance
- Object lock
- Versioning
- Regional endpoints
- Cross region replication
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Duplicati
- Data protectionnot IDrive e2
- Disaster recoverynot IDrive e2
- Business continuitynot IDrive e2
- Ransomware protectionnot IDrive e2
- Compliancenot IDrive e2
IDrive e2
- The offsite copy in a three two one backup chain driven by Veeam, restic or a NAS backup clientnot Duplicati
- Replacing an S3 bucket whose cost is dominated by storage rather than by requestsnot Duplicati
- Small teams who want predictable monthly object storage billing with no request line itemsnot Duplicati
- Archiving media or logs that must stay accessible without a retrieval delaynot Duplicati
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Duplicati
- No managed service or commercial support
- Relies on community support
- No enterprise features
IDrive e2
- The included egress is capped as a multiple of stored data, so a small bucket that serves a lot of traffic exhausts the allowance quickly and the economics stop looking cheap exactly where a CDN backed store would still be free.
- The region list is short compared with the hyperscalers, so data residency requirements outside the main markets are hard to satisfy and multi region designs have fewer options.
- S3 compatibility covers the common calls but not the long tail, so software that relies on less common features can fail in ways that are hard to diagnose against a provider with thin public documentation.
- Support is organised around a consumer and small business backup product rather than a platform engineering organisation, so escalating a storage layer problem takes longer than it would with a specialist provider.
- IDrive publishes far less about the underlying architecture, durability engineering and incident history than its competitors, so due diligence on the storage layer is largely taking the vendor at its word.
Pricing, plan by plan
Duplicati
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the Duplicati review.
IDrive e2
Free- FreeFree
- 10 GB stored
- S3 API access
- Egress within the included allowance
- Pay as you go$4/month
- Roughly 4 USD per terabyte stored per month
- Egress included up to a multiple of stored data
- No per operation charge on standard usage
Which should you pick?
Choose Duplicati if
- You need aes-256 encryption.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Windows, macOS, Linux.
- You also want incremental backup.
Choose IDrive e2 if
- You need s3-compatible endpoints.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, API.
- You also want included egress allowance.
Questions people ask
- Is Duplicati or IDrive e2 better?
- Neither clearly leads. Duplicati starts at Free and IDrive e2 at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Duplicati or IDrive e2?
- Duplicati starts at Free and IDrive e2 at Free.
- Does Duplicati or IDrive e2 run on more platforms?
- Duplicati runs on Windows, macOS, Linux. IDrive e2 runs on Web, API.
- Can I use Duplicati for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Duplicati best used for?
- Duplicati is most often used for data protection, disaster recovery, business continuity, ransomware protection. Of those, data protection and disaster recovery are not what IDrive e2 is typically brought in for.
- What can Duplicati do that IDrive e2 cannot?
- Duplicati covers AES-256 encryption, Incremental backup, Deduplication, Multiple cloud backends. IDrive e2 covers S3-compatible endpoints, Included egress allowance, Object lock, Versioning.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Duplicati: Is Duplicati free?
Yes. Duplicati is completely free and open-source under the LGPL license. There are no premium tiers, trials, or limitations.
SourceIDrive e2: Is the egress genuinely free?
It is included up to an allowance tied to how much you store, not unlimited. Read heavy workloads on a small bucket will exceed it.
Duplicati: What does Duplicati support?
Duplicati supports zero-trust, fully encrypted backups to local storage, network drives, and cloud services. It includes deduplication and incremental backups.
SourceIDrive e2: Does it work with Veeam and restic?
Yes, both treat it as a standard S3 endpoint, and object lock is supported for immutable backup chains.
Duplicati: What are the platforms?
Duplicati runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux. It can back up data to local storage, network drives, or cloud providers.
SourceIDrive e2: Is there a minimum retention period?
No fixed minimum retention charge on standard storage, which is a real difference from providers that bill ninety days on early deletion.
IDrive e2: How does it compare with Backblaze B2?
The rates are close. B2 is the better documented and more widely integrated service; e2 is cheaper at list and has a different egress allowance model.
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