PCWorld recently reviewed IDrive and found that it excels across nearly every dimension of backup and sync services, earning a 4.5 star rating and winning PCWorld’s Editors’ choice award.
Here are the key reasons it got the Editors’ Choice:
Comprehensive Feature Set
- Multiple backup options: IDrive supports online backups, local backups, sync (“Cloud Drive”), NAS backups, and even imaging/disaster recovery.
- Broad device support: Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, NAS devices (QNAP, Synology).
- Versioning and snapshots: You can restore files from past versions, which helps with accidental deletions or changes. PCWorld
- Special tools: Their “IDrive Express” service handles physical shipping of hard drives for large data transfers, which is useful in low-bandwidth situations.
- Cloud-to-Cloud Backup – Can back up Office 365, Google Workspace, and NAS
Value and Pricing
- There’s a free plan with 10 GB of storage.
- Paid plans are priced attractively (especially in the first year) for what you get. “Low price per terabyte” is a highlight.
- Also, IDrive offers “Cloud Drive” sync storage equal to your backup allowance at no extra cost.
What Works Well
- Ease of use (for core features): Basic backup and sync are intuitive and functional. IDrive automatically identifies common folders to back up, allows inclusion of network locations etc.
- Good performance: The service performed well in bandwidth / speed tests, apparently matching the capacities of network or external-drive hardware where possible.
What This Means If You’re Considering IDrive
If you’re in the market for a backup or sync solution, here are a few thoughts based on PCWorld’s conclusions:
- If you care about all-round coverage (online + local + NAS + sync + disaster recovery), IDrive is one of the best bets.
- If your needs are more modest (just cloud backup, or just sync), IDrive is also a top choice
- If disaster recovery / imaging is especially important to you, IDrive has you covered
Final Verdict From PCWorld
PCWorld sums it up like this: IDrive is likely the most comprehensive backup and backup-related service they’ve tested. It may not be the cheapest, but across the board its strengths vastly outweigh its weaknesses.
