Backblaze Personal Backup vs Arq Backup
A detailed comparison to help you choose between Backblaze Personal Backup and Arq Backup.
Quick Verdict
4.3/5
Backblaze Personal Backup
0 reviews
4.0/5
Arq Backup
0 reviews
Backblaze Personal Backup is rated higher (4.3 vs 4.0). Backblaze Personal Backup offers unlimited computer backup for $9/month. Backs up your Mac or PC continuously in the background. No file size limits, no throttling. Arq Backup sends encrypted backups to your own S3, B2, Wasabi, or Google Drive. No subscription to Arq cloud — you own the destination. One-time purchase for macOS and Windows.
Backblaze Personal Backup Unlimited Mac/PC backup for $9/month | Arq Backup Mac and Windows backup to your own cloud | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Rating | 4.3 (0 reviews)✓ | 4.0 (0 reviews) |
| Pricing model | paid | one-time purchase + optional subscription (Arq Premium is subscription) |
| Starting price | From $9/mo✓ | From $59.99/mo |
| Best for | Individuals and home workers with one data-heavy Mac or PC plus external drives wanting set-and-forget unlimited backup | Mac and Windows users who want a one-time-purchase backup app sending encrypted, versioned backups to their own cloud or NAS storage |
| Features | ||
| IPv6 | ||
| DDoS protection | ||
| Automated backups | ✓ | |
| Snapshots | ||
| Managed option | ||
| Bare metal | ||
| GPU available | ||
| S3-compatible | ||
| Hourly billing | ||
| Free tier | ||
| Tags | ||
| Tags | mobile app | encryptedself hosted |
| Visit Backblaze Personal Backup → | Visit Arq Backup → | |
Backblaze Personal Backup
Pros
- + Truly unlimited backup per computer — no capacity cap, no file size limit
- + Connected external drives included under the same license
- + One-year version history is free to enable; Forever retention metered at $0.006/GB/month
- + Restore by mailed encrypted USB drive (1–8 TB), refunded when returned within 30 days
- + Simple, stable pricing ($9/month or $99/year) with a 15-day no-card trial
Cons
- - One license per computer — multi-machine households pay full price each
- - No NAS, network drive, or server support
- - 30-day default version window is short for late-detected ransomware
- - No availability SLA for personal accounts
- - Monthly plans carry no refund; external drives must reconnect every 30 days
Arq Backup
Pros
- + One-time $59.99 per-computer license with an optional, genuinely optional updates subscription
- + Backs up to storage you own — S3, B2, Wasabi, Google Drive, SFTP, NAS and other S3-compatible targets
- + End-to-end encryption with keys that never leave your machine
- + Open, documented backup format — restores do not depend on the vendor existing
Cons
- - macOS and Windows desktops only — no Linux or server agent
- - Destination storage, request and egress costs are separate and ongoing
- - File backup only: no disk imaging or bare-metal recovery
- - Small-company support with no published SLA
Stay in the loop
Get weekly updates on the best new hosting and infrastructure providers, deals, and comparisons.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.