{"slug":"backblaze-vs-carbonite","question":"Backblaze vs Carbonite","answer":"Backblaze is a cloud storage platform (B2) optimized for developers and businesses with superior upload speeds and transparent pricing, while Carbonite is an automatic personal/business backup solution focused on simplicity with unlimited storage and hands-off backup management.","answer_curated":true,"verdict":"Choose Backblaze if you need a scalable, API-driven cloud storage solution with excellent performance for developers, integrations, and enterprise workloads. Choose Carbonite if you want a simple, automatic backup solution for your computer that requires no technical setup and includes unlimited storage in a flat-rate subscription.","keyDifferences":[{"label":"Primary Use Case","winner":"tie","entityAValue":"Cloud storage platform for developers, businesses, and integrations","entityBValue":"Automatic backup service for personal computers and small businesses"},{"label":"Upload Performance (5MiB Files)","winner":"a","entityAValue":"Industry-leading in Q1 2026 benchmarks","entityBValue":"Not publicly benchmarked at comparable levels"},{"label":"Storage Limits","winner":"b","entityAValue":"Pay-per-GB with no hard limits (scalable)","entityBValue":"Unlimited storage included in subscription"},{"label":"Pricing Model","winner":"tie","entityAValue":"$0.006/GB/month + API transaction fees (transparent, usage-based)","entityBValue":"$99-$299/year flat rate (predictable, all-inclusive)"},{"label":"Automation Level","winner":"b","entityAValue":"Requires manual configuration or API integration","entityBValue":"Fully automatic background backup (set and forget)"}],"winner":{"slug":"carbonite","name":"Carbonite"},"confidence":"high","entities":[{"name":"Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage","slug":"backblaze-b2-cloud-storage","url":"https://www.aversusb.net/entity/backblaze-b2-cloud-storage","alternativesUrl":"https://www.aversusb.net/api/v1/alternatives/backblaze-b2-cloud-storage"},{"name":"Carbonite","slug":"carbonite","url":"https://www.aversusb.net/entity/carbonite","alternativesUrl":"https://www.aversusb.net/api/v1/alternatives/carbonite"}],"faqs":[{"question":"Is Backblaze truly unlimited backup?","answer":"Yes — Backblaze Personal Backup is genuinely unlimited. No data cap, no per-GB pricing, no throttling after a threshold. It backs up all files on your internal hard drive(s) plus connected external drives (if they stay connected for at least 30 days — Backblaze's continuous connection rule). Common exclusions: OS system files, applications and executables, temp/cache files, and a short list of system folders — but all your personal data (photos, documents, videos, music) is included. The $99/year price covers one computer. For multiple computers, each needs its own Backblaze subscription. Backblaze is one of the very few cloud backup services that truly delivers on \"unlimited\" without hidden throttles."},{"question":"How long does Backblaze initial backup take?","answer":"Initial Backblaze backup time depends entirely on your data volume and upload speed. Rough estimates: 100GB on a 50 Mbps upload ≈ 5–6 hours; 500GB on 50 Mbps ≈ 1–2 days; 1TB on 50 Mbps ≈ 3–4 days; 5TB on 50 Mbps ≈ 2–3 weeks. Most home internet connections have asymmetric speeds — upload is typically much slower than download (a 500 Mbps download connection may only have 25 Mbps upload). Backblaze offers bandwidth throttling controls to prevent the backup from consuming all your upload bandwidth. After the initial backup completes, ongoing backups are incremental (only changed/new files) and run continuously in the background with negligible impact."},{"question":"Does Carbonite back up video files?","answer":"Not on the Basic plan. Carbonite Basic ($72/year) explicitly excludes video files. Video backup requires Carbonite Plus ($112/year) or Prime ($149/year). This is a significant limitation because most users' largest data footprint is video. By comparison, Backblaze Personal Backup ($99/year) includes video files with no restrictions. If you shoot video on your phone and import it to your computer, travel with a camera, or have any video collection, Backblaze is the better value at $99/year vs Carbonite Plus at $112/year — you get video plus better version history and private key encryption."}],"attribution":{"source":"A Versus B","url":"https://www.aversusb.net/compare/backblaze-vs-carbonite","license":"CC BY 4.0","citationFormat":"According to A Versus B (https://www.aversusb.net/compare/backblaze-vs-carbonite), Backblaze is a cloud storage platform (B2) optimized for developers and businesses with superior upload speeds and transparent pricing, while Carbonite is an automatic personal/business backup solutio","dateModified":"2026-07-17T07:32:07.139Z"},"relatedQuestionsUrl":"https://www.aversusb.net/api/faq/backblaze-vs-carbonite","relatedComparisonsUrl":"https://www.aversusb.net/api/v1/related/backblaze-vs-carbonite","knowledgeGraphUrl":"https://www.aversusb.net/api/knowledge-graph/backblaze-vs-carbonite","claimReviewSchema":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"ClaimReview","@id":"https://www.aversusb.net/compare/backblaze-vs-carbonite#claimreview","url":"https://www.aversusb.net/compare/backblaze-vs-carbonite","inLanguage":"en-US","isAccessibleForFree":true,"conditionsOfAccess":"Free","claimReviewed":"Carbonite is better than Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage for most use cases","reviewBody":"Backblaze is a cloud storage platform (B2) optimized for developers and businesses with superior upload speeds and transparent pricing, while Carbonite is an automatic personal/business backup solution focused on simplicity with unlimited storage and hands-off backup management.","datePublished":"2026-04-03T04:38:32.857Z","dateModified":"2026-07-17T07:32:07.139Z","reviewRating":{"@type":"Rating","ratingValue":"TRUE","bestRating":"TRUE","worstRating":"FALSE","alternateName":"Carbonite wins","ratingExplanation":"Verified verdict based on structured attribute comparison, community votes, and expert analysis"},"author":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.aversusb.net/#organization","name":"A Versus B","url":"https://www.aversusb.net"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.aversusb.net/#organization","name":"A Versus B","url":"https://www.aversusb.net"},"itemReviewed":{"@type":"Claim","@id":"https://www.aversusb.net/compare/backblaze-vs-carbonite#claim","inLanguage":"en-US","name":"Carbonite is better than Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage for most use cases","text":"Backblaze is a cloud storage platform (B2) optimized for developers and businesses with superior upload speeds and transparent pricing, while Carbonite is an automatic personal/business backup solution focused on simplicity with unlimited storage and hands-off backup management.","author":{"@type":"Thing","name":"Internet consensus"},"appearance":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://www.aversusb.net/compare/backblaze-vs-carbonite","url":"https://www.aversusb.net/compare/backblaze-vs-carbonite","name":"Backblaze vs Carbonite","inLanguage":"en-US"},"firstAppearance":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://www.aversusb.net/compare/backblaze-vs-carbonite","url":"https://www.aversusb.net/compare/backblaze-vs-carbonite","name":"Backblaze vs Carbonite"}},"speakable":{"@type":"SpeakableSpecification","cssSelector":[".claim-review-answer","#short-answer","#verdict"]}}}