Arq app or including 1T backup

Software
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1

I noticed a lot of MPUers are using Arq to back up to cloud services.

I just checked their pricing : $50 to buy the app plus using my own cloud storage, or $60/year for app subscription plus 1T storage.

Just wondering what would people suggest, pros and cons.

for comparison, Wasabi is $72/year for 1T, Backblaze B2 is $60/year + download cost @$0.01/GB.

Currently , I am using Backblaze personal backup @ $77 / year but restrict to one computer

However, ideal solution for me is to find an app that can convert unused iCloud into backup space (if there is such a thing). Apple is smart in forcing me to signed up for 2Tb but I only use 400Gb

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I’m using Arq to backup to my 1 TB OneDrive, which is part of my Office 365 subscription.

Seems to work fine, though I never needed a restore so far (and I hope it stays that way).

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3

Check into the AWS Glacier Deep Archive storage – for very rare downloads. But be aware there are “hidden” costs involved with Glacier.

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I use Arq to backup my documents and photo library to Backblaze B2. The cost per month is on the region of $0.70. There is no fixed cost per year for using the B2 service. The cost is based upon the amount you upload, store and download. I have not yet had to download any files and the initial upload cost more than $0.70 for that month. However, once the files are there and just new and altered files are added the average cost for me is less than a dollar per month.

I am not sure how much I am backing up, although I can find out when I am at home I am at home if that would help with working out the cost of using B2.

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Arq doesn’t support iCloud because, AFAIK, files stored on iCloud always sync to your internal drive. (Other than photos or files synced via “Desktop & Documents” that you choose not to download). I do not think that will ever change.

B2 is my primary cloud backup, but I also backup to OneDrive. To keep costs down I do not backup ripped movies or music. I have my media stored on multiple drives and still have the original discs that I purchased. And besides, most of my movies and music has been available for streaming for years, frequently for free.

So, the cloud backup of all my important data, going back years, is still less than 1 TB. I do restore a few files several times a year usually just to verify my backups. B2’s download charge for this is negligible. In the past I’ve also used or tested Arq with S3, Google Drive, Dropbox, and Wasabi. I’ve found Arqbackup works well with every cloud service I’ve tried.

If you can utilize another service, other than iCloud, that you already use that would be my choice.

Note: I purchase 1TB of OneDrive storage for $69/year and it comes with a “free” subscription to Microsoft Office :grinning:

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thank you all, if I read your comments correctly, most people opt to just buy the app and not using the ARQ 1T storage @ $60 / year. B2 seems to be the popular choice for storage, I guess due to no minimum cost (unlike Wasabi) for less than 1T storage needs

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Does anyone know if, with the premium plan (I TB Storage included), you can still use other cloud storage?

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that’s a good point, but what is the use case ? For multiple backups ?

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Yes. Belt and suspenders approach. Just thinking out loud.

– Just checked. With the premium service you can backup to multiple cloud services not just their own. –

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thanks for checking that out. Do you thank the premium plan is a better option if the storage need is closed to 1T ? I guess with anything less than 500GB, better go with Arq app only with B2

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I didn’t really do much of a cost analysis. Just decided to go with the subscription plan. Will use their storage and b2 (I have 430 GB of archives stored there, which costs me about $2.50/month). Will back up my MBP and my wife’s iMac.

I just did a test backup with Arq and I really like the software so far.

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