AltDrive is one of the many low-cost unlimited online backup services on the market.  It backs up your computer and works on Windows, Mac, Linux, and Solaris operating systems.

Pros

• Unlimited storage space
• Backs up with no file restrictions
• Easy to use
• Low cost

Cons

• No option to backup to local drives
• No file sharing or mobile apps

The Bottom Line

AltDrive is a no-frills, backup only service that offers unlimited storage, high security, and easy restore for all your files.

Plans and Pricing

AltDrive Home Gold

• $4.45 per month or $45.50 per year ($3.71 per month equivalent)
• Backup one computer

AltDrive Home Platinum

• $9.95 per month or $99.50 per year ($2.76 per month equivalent)
• Backup 3 computers

AltDrive Biz

• $3.25 per user plus $0.15 per GB stored and $0.12 per GB of data transfer
• Only pay for compressed and deduplicated data

Backing Up

After signing up and installing the software, AltDrive will guide you through a configuration wizard.

You’ll be guided through these steps:

1. Sign in.
2. Choose whether you’d like to use AltDrive’s encryption key (default – recommended) or use your own encryption key.  Just keep in mind using your own encryption key will render your data inaccessible should you lose your key.
3. Create a new backup set.
   

   AltDrive backs up your entire user folder.

4. Create a backup schedule.  The default is to backup every day Monday – Friday.  I recommend changing this to “Near Continuous” which backs up every 1 – 2 hours.

After that, your backup will run. Network attached storage (NAS) backup is supported, but only for the business plan.

Restoring

Restores are done by right clicking on the system tray icon.  The restore wizard pops up and guides you through the process of selecting a backup set, choosing files to restore, and then restoring them.

When selecting a restore date, you can also select a time to restore from (if multiple backups were run that day).

Restoring files in AltDrive.

Speed

The average upload speed was 1.4 megabits per second (Mbps), which maxed out my connection.

Restore speed was about 7.8 Mbps.  Although AltDrive didn’t max out my download speed, it is still pretty fast at about 3.5 gigabytes per hour.

Support

Technical support is offered via a ticket system.  There is no phone support or live chat.  The AltDrive website has a list of FAQs, instructional videos for home and business users, and a knowledgebase.

I contacted their support department and was responded to within 1 day (on a weekend, too).

What I Liked

The price is obviously a main selling point with AltDrive.  At only $4.45 per month, it’s cheaper than almost all other online backup services out there.

Unlimited storage and no file restrictions means you’ll never have to worry about whether a file was backed up or not.  Also, AltDrive stores files for at least 60 days (more than the 30-day standard seen with most other online backup services).

I like that there’s an option to pause backups for 8 hours.  This is useful for gaming, downloading, and other online activities you want to allocate 100% of your bandwidth to.

What I Didn’t Like

There is no option to backup to local drives.  It’s online backup only.

There’s also no sharing or mobile apps to access your files (or backup your phone).

Summary

AltDrive is a good unlimited backup service for home users.  Since there are no mobile apps, it’s not for people who want to back up their smartphones or access their files from their phone.

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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.

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