Best Cloud Backup for Australia in 2020: Save Your Data Down Under
With its sunny beaches, big waves and some of the rarest (and deadliest) wildlife, Australia is one of the most intriguing places on Earth. However, its remote location Down Under means it can be hard for Australians to find a speedy online backup service with nearby data centers.
A hard drive crash can hurt worse than a kick from a kangaroo, so having a reliable backup service is crucial to avoid losing all your valuable data. That’s why we’ve created this list of the best Australian cloud backup services. Acronis True Image takes the top spot as the best personal cloud backup solution for Aussies, with its server based in Sydney.
If you’re not willing to invest in a full cloud backup service, we have a list of the best cloud storage platforms for Australia. Apple users might also want to take a look at our best cloud backup for Mac list.
Our picks are some of the top cloud backup services, and you won’t go wrong with whichever one you choose. So if you come from the Land of Oz and need a good online backup service, read on for the full list.
What Are the Top Online Backup Services for Australia?
- Acronis — Feature-packed and secure storage
- CrashPlan — Zero-knowledge service with unlimited backup
- Carbonite — Easy and uncomplicated cloud backup
- BigMIND Home — A video-oriented online backup option
- MSP360 Backup (CloudBerry Backup) — Online backup for the IT guy
What Makes the Best Cloud Backup for Australia
When choosing an online backup service for Australia, you should prioritize services with a data center on the continent. The service should also be secure, ideally with zero-knowledge encryption. Next, look for a balance of pricing and features that fits your needs and budget. Finally, make sure the interface doesn’t boggle the mind.
Server Location
Speed depends mostly on your proximity to a service’s servers, so it is important that these cloud backup options have a server in Australia, or at least nearby. The closer you are to a backup provider’s servers, the faster your backups will be, though your first backup can take a little longer than usual.
Security
Australia doesn’t exactly have the best privacy laws in the world, especially because its government can access your metadata. Using a zero-knowledge cloud backup service is important, and two-factor authentication and ransomware protection can further increase security. Plus, if you’re really worried about online privacy, you can always use a VPN.
Pricing
No matter how many features a cloud backup platform packs into its service, it has to come at an affordable price. Some services offer more flexible plans than others, giving you more options to fit your budget. Plus, a provider that offers free plans and trials will let you try out the service before you decide to purchase a full subscription.
Ease of Use
A user-friendly service will have an intuitive interface and features that are easy to understand. These things help flatten the learning curve so that even a newcomer to cloud backup can find their way around the service. Supporting a wide variety of operating systems is also always welcome.
1. Acronis True Image — Best Online Backup for Australia
Pros:
- Excellent security
- Local & online backup
- Plenty of extra features
Cons:
- Laggy desktop client
- Complicated pricing scheme
- No two-factor authentication
Acronis True Image stands out among other cloud backup services with its Australian data center and blazing fast speed. Plus, it’s jam-packed with features beyond the standard backup and restore. There is both local and cloud backup, full disk image backup, ransomware protection, system cleanups, drive cleansing, as well as community-created third-party tools.
Airtight security is the cherry on top of an already great service. Acronis True Image protects your data with 256-bit AES encryption, and the TLS/SSL protocol keeps your files safe while in transit. Plus, its data centers have tight 24/7 surveillance, and the facilities’ humidity and temperature are kept at a constant level. Backup generators provide power in case of outages.
Acronis is a zero-knowledge service, which means that you’re in control of your encryption key, and you’re the only one who knows your password. Unfortunately, this also means that if you lose your password, there is no way to recover it. There is also no two-factor authentication to secure your logins.
Other Reasons We Like Acronis True Image
Acronis’s many cloud backup pricing plans may be a little overwhelming, but they help ensure you’ll find the right fit. It may not be the cheapest online backup solution, but Acronis is far from a bare-bones service, and its fast backup and recovery are well worth the price.
You have the option to buy a lifetime plan with a one-time payment, which can be very attractive if you’re looking for an unlimited storage plan for cheap. However, several key features are missing from those plans, such as backups for individual folders and files, so they’re not quite ideal.
Acronis offers two annual online backup plans for individuals: Advanced and Premium. The Advanced plan gives you 500GB of storage for $69.99 annually — yes, that’s American dollars, not Australian.
The Premium plan costs $99.99 for 1TB, but you can increase it up to 5TB, though that comes at an extra cost. Plus, when you check out you have the option to donate to their charity, the Acronis Cyber Foundation, if you’re in the giving mood.
Acronis’ desktop app has a simple and intuitive interface, so you can just fire it up and instantly start creating your backup. You can even choose to backup only one file type or exclude files by type.
Acronis has almost everything going for it. Its speed is head and shoulders above the rest, plus its block-level copying improves its speeds even further. That, combined with its zero-knowledge security and useful features, makes Acronis the best cloud backup solution for Australia.
2. CrashPlan for Small Business
Pros:
- Unlimited backup
- Zero-knowledge security
Cons:
- No two-factor authentication
- Doesn’t backup by file type
- Less than stellar speed
Though CrashPlan shut its doors to individuals in 2017, it continues to operate in the small enterprise sector. Luckily, you don’t have to be an entrepreneur to use CrashPlan, and you can subscribe to their unlimited online backup plan.
CrashPlan’s unlimited storage option is the only plan available for individuals, but it offers excellent value if you’re looking for cheap online backup. It costs $10 per month, so it’s nowhere near the value of other services, like Backblaze, for example. However, its speeds are better than Backblaze’s, especially for Australian users, thanks to its data centers in Sydney.
A major selling point for CrashPlan is its zero-knowledge encryption. It uses 256-bit AES encryption at rest and 128-bit AES in transit. However, CrashPlan isn’t zero-knowledge by default, and it keeps your encryption key until you ask to control it. CrashPlan also does not offer two-factor authentication.
Other Reasons We Like CrashPlan
Most online file backup services make you pay a yearly subscription, so you can’t cancel your subscription for a year. However, CrashPlan offers the ability to pay monthly, which means you can cancel your subscription whenever you want. CrashPlan’s free trial also lets you take it for a spin before you decide to buy a plan.
CrashPlan’s interface is very user-friendly. Its desktop app — named Code42 after CrashPlan’s parent company — is intuitive and won’t give you a hard time. You can also select individual folders to backup, in case you don’t need a full backup of your hard drive.
Unfortunately, despite its servers being located in Australia, CrashPlan still lags behind Acronis in speed. Still, its cheap unlimited storage plan and zero-knowledge encryption nabs CrashPlan the number-two spot on our list.
3. Carbonite
Pros:
- Very good pricing
- Unlimited backup
- Zero-knowledge encryption
Cons:
- Lacks features
- Little control over backup
If cheap cloud backup is your number-one priority, Carbonite might be the solution for you. Carbonite has servers in Australia, which means that backups are fast. Backups happen continuously by default, so every file gets updated as you use your computer. Plus, only the parts of your files that you’ve edited get reuploaded, thanks to block-level sync.
Carbonite’s security is another strong point. Its default encryption method is 128-bit AES. It’s not zero-knowledge out of the box, though. You have the option to take control over your encryption key, and the encryption method will be upgraded to 256-bit AES. This means that Carbonite can’t recover your password for you, but it does offer two-factor authentication.
Carbonite’s biggest draw is its price. All three of its plans offer unlimited storage. You can get the Basic plan for only $72 a year, which is a bargain if there ever was one. The Plus plan costs $112 yearly and adds external hard drive backup and automatic video upload to the service. For $150 per year, the Prime plan gives you additional access to a courier recovery service.
Other Reasons We Like Carbonite
Despite its cheap and secure unlimited cloud storage, Carbonite isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Its “set it and forget it” approach to online backup is perfect for people who don’t want to fiddle around with settings and just need a service that does the job.
However, you can’t control which files or folders to backup, and there are only three backup options in Carbonite’s settings menu. There’s also no option to backup your operating system and apps.
On the plus side, this means Carbonite’s interface is as easy to use as it gets. You simply install the desktop app and it starts to backup your data when you run it. You have the option to pause the backup and reduce its speed so it doesn’t hog your bandwidth. The app’s “help” menu links you to Carbonite’s knowledgebase, where you can find many solutions to your problems.
4. BigMIND Home (by Zoolz)
Pros:
- Video streaming
- Integration with cloud storage services
- Zero-knowledge option
Cons:
- 1TB storage maximum
- Expensive
- Not zero-knowledge
BigMIND Home is an interesting option for people who want a media-oriented cloud backup service. It was created by the company that made Zoolz Home Cloud, and it brings some unique features to the table.
Adding to its cloud backup functionality, BigMIND offers media playback, which is unusual for a backup service. It lets you stream video files, which means you can use it as a media hub for your home. Australians will find this especially useful because Netflix blocks a lot of content in Australia.
BigMIND uses Amazon Glacier IaaS as a backend, which means that it has access to Amazon’s Australian servers. However, Amazon Glacier wasn’t made with file restoration in mind, so downloads are slow. Uploads are still reasonably fast, though, so your backup won’t take too much time. There’s also block-level copying, which helps your upload speed once your files are in the cloud.
One key difference between Zoolz and BigMIND is the latter’s lack of zero-knowledge encryption. BigMIND retains control over your encryption key, which means its employees can access your data. However, your files are protected by powerful 256-bit AES encryption, both at rest and in transit, and the TLS protocol keeps your connection safe from WiFi exploits.
Other Reasons We Like BigMIND Home
Using BigMIND is a breeze, so even backup newbies can find their way around. You can sign in with Google, so you don’t have to create an account. After you instal the desktop app, a screen immediately asks you to choose which files to backup. You can backup by file type or by selecting individual folders.
Unfortunately, all of these perks come at a steep price. You can expect to shell out $12.99 per month for a mere 1TB of storage with BigMIND’s Family Plus plan.
There’s also the BigMind Personal plan that comes with 100GB of storage for $2.99 a month, plus the Family plan that costs $6.99 monthly for 500GB of storage space. Full hard drive backups usually take up much more space than that, though, so if you don’t need to backup a lot of data, you’ll be better off going with a cloud storage service instead.
5. MSP360 Backup With OneDrive for Business
Pros:
- One-time payment for MSP360 Backup (CloudBerry Backup)
- OneDrive for Business is very affordable
- OneDrive has Australian servers
Cons:
- Complicated setup
- Not zero-knowledge
CloudBerry Backup — rebranded as MSP360 Backup — is a somewhat strange entry on this list. It doesn’t provide any storage space; instead you link it to a storage service and use those servers. That’s where OneDrive for Business comes in, with its Australian data center. OneDrive provides the storage space, while MSP360 provides the backup and restore functionality.
OneDrive for Business isn’t a zero-knowledge service, but it does provide some safety, using 256-bit AES encryption for your at-rest files. OneDrive uses the TLS protocol and MSP360 uses the SSL protocol to protect your files in transit. You can read about their differences in our SSL vs TLS article. Still, Microsoft employees can access your data, so you’re never perfectly safe.
Other Reasons We Like MSP360 Backup With OneDrive
MSP360 requires only a one-time payment of $49.99 for its 5TB Desktop Pro plan, plus an annual maintenance fee of $10. Then you can use its simple interface to backup your files and data to OneDrive.
OneDrive for Business is cheap, too, at only $10 monthly for its unlimited plan, or $5 per month for its 1TB plan. It’s difficult to set up though, and it’s definitely not for the casual cloud backup user.
Honorable Mentions
IDrive
IDrive takes online backup one step further with its hybrid cloud platform. It keeps all the usual online backup features and adds its own spin by including features normally found in cloud storage services, such as sharing and syncing files. You can read our article on cloud storage vs online backup if you’re curious about the differences.
However, even on the best of days, IDrive has issues with speed. It doesn’t have any servers in Australia, either, which makes fast backups with IDrive almost impossible Down Under. IDrive is a favorite here at Cloudwards, though, topping our best online backup list with its rich feature set and zero-knowledge encryption. If speed isn’t important to you, we gladly recommend it.
Backblaze
Backblaze is another excellent zero-knowledge backup provider. It almost made the list thanks to its cheap unlimited storage and sharing functionality. It’s easy to use, with an interface that is as streamlined as it gets.
Fast and responsive customer support is another pro for Backblaze. Australia is an ocean away from its U.S. data centers, though, which means backup and restore speeds will be sluggish for Aussies. Plus, the way it implements encryption is less than ideal, which is why Backblaze doesn’t quite make the cut.
Final Thoughts
The services on this list all have one thing in common: their servers are in Australia. This is the most important feature that a cloud storage and backup platform can have to best benefit its Australian customers. With servers nearby, you get the fastest and most stable connection.
However, not all cloud backup services are created equal, and Acronis True Image just offers much more than the rest. It’s super secure with zero-knowledge encryption, and it’s faster than a wallaby, to boot.
If unlimited cloud storage is what you need, CrashPlan is an excellent choice. It isn’t quite as cheap as Carbonite’s unlimited online storage plan, but it gives you much more control over your backup. Both of these services are zero-knowledge, as well, so your files are as safe as can be.
If you’re not too hung up on company employees snooping through your data, then BigMIND could be the choice for you. It has the best interface of the bunch, so it’s a good fit if you’re not particularly tech-savvy. If you’re an IT expert, though, you could probably even make MSP360 (Cloudberry) Backup work.
All of these services provide different benefits and different prices, so we’re sure you’ll find your Goldilocks on this list. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them in the comments section below. Thank you for reading.
After a brief stint in architecture and a tango with teaching, Aleksandar is now dancing to the beat of his own drum as a tech writer, merging his passions for technology and literature. When he’s not hidden behind his computer screen, you can find him photographing the streets of Skopje or cooking quesadillas for his friends at home.