Degoo is a new online backup service that offers an unprecedented 100 GB of free cloud storage. Degoo claims to be completely secure, reliable, and easy to use. Is this the perfect cloud backup service? I’ll take a look at it in this review.

Pros

• 100 GB free online backup (matched by SurDoc for most free space)
• Gain up to 500 GB by referring friends
• Simple; desktop software is easy to set up and use
• Excellent Android backup app
• Keeps deleted files for 14 days (60 days with paid accounts)
• Fast upload and download speeds
• File compression saves time when uploading

Cons

• No file versioning
• No iOS app
• Single device limit with free account
• No personal encryption option

The Bottom Line

Degoo puts other cloud backup services to shame. It’s easily one of the best free backup services, with simple software and an industry-leading 100 GB of free storage space. On the downside, there’s no file versioning or iPhone app.

Signing up for Degoo

I created a free account on Degoo’s website, and was immediately offered to download the software for Windows. There is no personal information to enter and no hoops to jump through. Degoo is all about making backups as easy as possible. It also lets you sign up using a Google account, so you don’t need to create a separate account and password.

Desktop Software Performance

Degoo’s Windows software follows the website’s minimalist style. It’s similar to Dropbox, in that it removes all non-essential features. There is a tab for backup, a tab for recovery, and a tab for preferences.

To add a folder to your backup, you can click a button or drag and drop it onto the window. I added several of my Windows user folders like Documents and Videos, as well as 90 GB of test files. Overall, it was a very easy process. Degoo backs up files every 24 hours, although you can manually start it from the software.

Network attached storage (NAS) backup is supported, by adding the network drive’s folder just like any other. You can also map the network drive and back up folders in that.

You can choose where to save the recovered files, but the folder must be empty. There is a guide on their website for how to recover files.

I was able to restore my files with just a few clicks of my mouse. I also ran the files through a cyclic redundancy check (CRC), to ensure the restored files matched the originals, which they did.

Preferences

The preferences tab shows how much space in your account is being used, and which computers are linked to the account. There are options to unlink the computer, and a “Clean Up” button that empties the deleted files folder.

There is a checkbox to gain more space by sharing unused processor time, which turns your computer into a digital currency miner for Litecoins. Since mining programs are considered malware by some antivirus software, I did not enable it. However, this will get you an extra 10 GB if you don’t mind it.

Get up to 500 GB for Referring Friends

Degoo gives you an extra 3 GB per each friend you refer, for a maximum of 500 GB.

Deleted Files and File Versioning

Degoo keeps deleted files for 14 days with free accounts, and 60 days with paid accounts. You can remove deleted files earlier, by pressing the “Clean Up” button in the preferences screen.

There is no file versioning, which is perhaps my biggest complaint about the service. Only the most recently uploaded version of a file can be restored.

Speed

Degoo is fast during backups and restores. My speeds were maxed out during upload, at 13 Mbps (megabits per second). Download speeds averaged around 20 Mbps, with a maximum rate of 62 Mbps which is my ISP’s limit. Overall, I didn’t have any speed problems when using Degoo.

Degoo maxed out my upload rate.

I noticed that Degoo uses extremely efficient compression. Files as large as 10 GB were backed up in a matter of minutes. This not only made for a faster backup, but also saved bandwidth. I could see Degoo being useful for people on limited data plans.

Mobile Apps

Degoo has a mobile app for Android. There’s no iPhone app, but they say one is in development. The Android app is quite popular, with 6,000+ reviews with an average rating of  4.3 out of 5 stars.

After installing the app, I could sign up for a new account or log in with my existing one. Since Degoo ony allows 1 device per account, and I already linked my PC to my account, I signed up with another email to test.

The app asked me which folders I’d like to back up. I could also select custom folders, such as those on an SD card, which is the first time I’ve encountered this in any backup app. The Degoo mobile app will let you back up anything on your phone.

There are settings to:

• Only back up on Wi-Fi
• Only back up when charging
• Keep deleted files in Degoo after they’re deleted from the phone

There is an option to “Optimize Storage” which backs up all the photos on your phone, but shrinks the originals to fit the device’s screen size. Degoo claims users can fit 5 times more photos on their phone, using this option.

On the downside, media files (such as photos) cannot be viewed within the app. This makes accessing files a bit difficult, since they must be downloaded and opened in other apps.

I also couldn’t open photos with the default Gallery app. It failed with an error: “Unfortunately, Gallery has stopped.”

Viewing media with the Android app is hit-or-miss.

I could view photos when they were opened in other apps (such as ES Photo Explorer) without any problems.

Security

Degoo uses 128-bit AES to encrypt files, so it is very secure. They additionally encrypt all server communications using TLS, which ensures your privacy when accessing your files through their software.

There is no option to use a personal encryption key or passphrase, so this isn’t an NSA-proof backup service. Degoo still controls the encryption keys.

Degoo claims to store multiple copies of files in reliable data centers, but they’re a bit light on specifics here. I confirmed with CEO Carl Hasselskog that they use a combination of Amazon S3 and Google Cloud Storage for their infrastructure. Data centers are located in Northern Virginia and Taiwan (to optimize speed for customers in Southeast Asia).

Plans and Pricing

All paid plans come with a 30 day free trial, which I thought was nice. Degoo also has steep discounts for yearly and 5-year plans.

Free Plan

• 100 GB
• Back up 1 device
• 14 day deleted file recovery

Pro Plan

• 250 GB
• $3/month
• Yearly price: $24 ($2/month)
• 5-year price: $90 ($1.50/month)
• Back up 3 devices
• 60 day deleted file recovery

Ultimate Plan

• 2,000 GB
• $9.99/month
• Yearly price: $95.88 ($7.99/month)
• 5-year price: $239.40 ($3.99/month)
• Back up unlimited devices
• 60 day deleted file recovery

Support

Degoo’s support hours are 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. UTC+8 (that’s 5 p.m. – 1 a.m. PST, if you live on the west coast of the United States like I do). Support is available via email, and there is a phone number listed.

More Screenshots

• Bio
• Twitter
• Google+
• Latest Posts

Geoff Akerlund

Geoff Akerlund is the founder and editor-in-chief of BackupReview.com. He enjoys attending music festivals, whitewater kayaking on the American River, and board game nights in his free time.

@backupsoftware

Follow @backupsoftware

+Geoff Akerlund

Latest posts by Geoff Akerlund (see all)

• Symform to Discontinue Peer-To-Peer Cloud Storage Service – June 16, 2016
• KeepVault Review – June 13, 2016
• Cryptomator Is an Open-Source App to Encrypt Your Cloud Files – June 7, 2016