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File Storage · head to head

IDrive vs IDrive e2

IDrive logo

IDrive

File Storage

Affordable online backup with multiple device support

From
$2.5/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
IDrive e2 logo

IDrive e2

File Storage

Low cost S3-compatible object storage with egress included up to a multiple of what you store

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only IDrive e2 has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: IDrive the advertised annual rates are first year introductory prices, with standard pricing applying from the second year onward; 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: IDrive covers Multiple device backup, 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 IDrive and IDrive e2 actually diverge.

Attributes where IDrive and IDrive e2 differ
AttributeIDriveIDrive e2
Starting price$2.5/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionPer terabyte per month
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWindows, Mac, Linux, WebWeb, API
Founded1995Unknown

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 IDrive

  • Multiple device backup
  • True archiving
  • Continuous protection
  • IDrive Express
  • Snapshots
  • File sharing
  • iOS
  • Android

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.

IDrive

  • Online backup for computers, servers and mobile devicesnot IDrive e2
  • Backing up multiple machines under one accountnot IDrive e2

IDrive e2

  • The offsite copy in a three two one backup chain driven by Veeam, restic or a NAS backup clientnot IDrive
  • Replacing an S3 bucket whose cost is dominated by storage rather than by requestsnot IDrive
  • Small teams who want predictable monthly object storage billing with no request line itemsnot IDrive
  • Archiving media or logs that must stay accessible without a retrieval delaynot IDrive

Where each one falls short

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

IDrive

  • The advertised annual rates are first year introductory prices, with standard pricing applying from the second year onward
  • The two year offer discounts only the first year, so the second year reverts to the full rate
  • Team plans tie user and computer counts to the storage tier, so 10 TB means exactly 10 computers
  • Business storage costs far more per terabyte than Personal, at $719.88 a year for 1.25 TB against $143.88 for 5 TB

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

IDrive

$2.5/month
  • IDrive Personal$2.5/month
    • Promotional pricing: $2.50/month (billed annually)
    • Regular pricing: $6.99/month
    • 50% savings with annual billing
  • IDrive Team$null/month
    • Cloud backup service for small business
  • IDrive Business$null/month
    • Backup for computers and servers
  • IDrive 360 Enterprise Backup$null/month
    • Endpoint, servers, and SaaS cloud backup
    • For MSPs and IT teams

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 IDrive if

  • You need multiple device backup.
  • You work on Windows, Mac, Linux, Web.
  • You also want true archiving.
IDrive review

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.
IDrive e2 review

Questions people ask

Is IDrive or IDrive e2 better?
Neither clearly leads. IDrive starts at $2.5/month and IDrive e2 at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, IDrive or IDrive e2?
IDrive e2 has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $2.5/month for IDrive and Free for IDrive e2.
Does IDrive or IDrive e2 run on more platforms?
IDrive runs on Windows, Mac, Linux, Web. IDrive e2 runs on Web, API.
Can I use IDrive e2 for free?
Yes. IDrive e2 has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. IDrive starts at $2.5/month.
What is IDrive best used for?
IDrive is most often used for online backup for computers, servers and mobile devices, backing up multiple machines under one account. Of those, online backup for computers, servers and mobile devices and backing up multiple machines under one account are not what IDrive e2 is typically brought in for.
What can IDrive do that IDrive e2 cannot?
IDrive covers Multiple device backup, True archiving, Continuous protection, IDrive Express. IDrive e2 covers S3-compatible endpoints, Included egress allowance, Object lock, Versioning.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

IDrive: How much does IDrive Personal cost?

IDrive Personal starts at $2.50/month when billed annually, representing a 50% discount from the regular price of $6.99/month. A 7-day free trial is available without requiring a credit card.

Source
IDrive 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.

IDrive: What is the price for IDrive Cloud Applications Backup?

IDrive Cloud Applications Backup costs $20 per seat per year with unlimited storage. This covers backups for Microsoft 365, Microsoft Entra ID, Google Workspace, Salesforce, Dropbox, and Box.

Source
IDrive 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.

IDrive: How much does IDrive e2 cloud object storage cost?

IDrive e2 starts at $29.75 per year for 1 TB (first-year promotional pricing; regular price $59.50/year). IDrive markets this as 90% cheaper than AWS pricing for equivalent storage.

Source
IDrive 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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