Best Online Backup Services for Windows: iDrive, Livedrive, pCloud Pricing and Retention Compared

The guide, curated by longtime PCWorld storage reviewer Jon L. Jacobi and now dated October 1, 2026, names six picks. iDrive is the best overall. Livedrive wins for unlimited storage, OpenDrive for smaller data sets, pCloud for budget buyers, Arq 7 for combining several storage providers, and Icedrive for a free tier. Below is what PCWorld found, what it may have missed, and how to use it for your own backup plan.

Backup is not sync, and the difference matters​

The most useful part of the guide is why some familiar names are missing. Google Drive, OneDrive and Dropbox aren't ranked because PCWorld calls them synced cloud storage, not backup. Sync mirrors your changes everywhere. If you delete a file on your laptop, or ransomware encrypts it, that change copies to the cloud too. A real backup keeps older versions so you can go back to a point before things went wrong.

PCWorld's FAQ also makes a point most buyer's guides skip. Many services that say they offer versioning only keep old versions and deleted files for a limited time. The author calls that a safer kind of sync rather than true backup, because it lets the vendor reclaim space later.

That line isn't absolute, and PCWorld doesn't treat it as absolute either. The same page reviews Dropbox Backup separately as a decent choice for single users, though it notes extra charges for long-term version retention. The FAQ warns readers away from the Teams version of Dropbox Backup, which it says moves data before actually backing it up. Several of the "backup" picks also blend in sync:

• pCloud: PCWorld says its backup is actually two-way sync, with file revisions kept for 15 to 180 days.
• Icedrive: praised mainly for sync and a virtual drive, not deep versioning.
• OpenDrive: in Windows it has separate Backup, Synchronization, Move and One-way mirror tasks, so what you get depends on the task you set up.

Takeaway: Don't go by the product's label. Look at what the backup job actually does, and check how long deleted files and old versions are kept.

The picks, with the caveats​

iDrive: the best all-rounder​

PCWorld calls iDrive the most complete online backup service it has tested. Its strengths:

• online backup and backup to a local drive
• several PCs and devices on one account
• backup of Office 365, Google Workspace and NAS devices
• basic drive imaging and disaster recovery

On the downside, the reviewer ran into QNAP app installation problems and says the imaging and disaster-recovery features need work.

PCWorld lists a free 10GB tier and a Personal plan that starts at 5TB/$69.65 for the first year (or $149.25 for two years), and $99.50 each year after, covering one user and multiple devices.

Other sources back up that price structure. Cloudwards' 2026 pricing guide lists the larger Personal tiers: IDrive Personal 10TB at $104.65 for one year, 20TB at $174.65, 50TB at $349.65, and 100TB at $699.65. Cloudwards adds that monthly billing will cost $9.95 per month for 5TB and up to $99.95 per month for a maximum of 100TB.

Promotions make the "real" price hard to pin down. Tech Insider reported that IDrive has advertised its 5TB plan at $9.95 for the first year, a 90%-off deal, in January 2026, before it renews at the standard $99.50 rate.

What it really costs over time: At PCWorld's numbers, five years of the 5TB Personal plan works out to $69.65 plus four renewals at $99.50, or $467.65 in total. CheckThat's pricing breakdown reaches the same figure, average $93.53/year. So the first-year price says little about your long-term bill.

Livedrive: unlimited storage, with a polish premium​

PCWorld's verdict on Livedrive is "smooth." It likes the setup and reliability, and says unlimited storage is the main reason to buy it.

The reviewer admits Backblaze and Carbonite also offer unlimited storage. He doesn't list their caveats in the roundup, though. He just says they leave Livedrive ahead "in my book." That's a judgment call, so if unlimited storage is your top priority, compare those two yourself.

The pricing on the page doesn't add up:

• The price box shows $119.88 a year for one PC and $329.88 a year for the five-licence Pro Suite.
• The text says about $124 a year for one PC and $284 for the Pro Suite.
• Livedrive is UK-based and charges in pounds, so dollar prices move with the exchange rate.

The reviewer saw uploads of 5 to 10MB/s from San Francisco to Livedrive's servers. That's one connection on one network. Treat it as a hint, not a promise.

OpenDrive: no teaser pricing​

OpenDrive costs $50 a year for 500GB or $60 for 1TB. PCWorld likes that these aren't teaser prices that jump at renewal. It calls the Windows backup task true backup, where files are never overwritten, and puts OpenDrive among the most reliable services it has used. It was a close runner-up for the top spot.

There's no online editing. The reviewer also found small differences between the Windows and Mac clients. On a Mac, "Mirroring" means two-way sync, which isn't the same as the Windows one-way mirror. Check which task you're setting up before you trust it.

pCloud: lifetime plans, with lifetime risk​

pCloud's selling point is its lifetime plans: $199 for 500GB, $399 for 2TB and $1,190 for 10TB, plus a free 6GB account. It can also back up your Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox and Facebook accounts, and its phone apps back up photos.

Two cautions:

• As noted above, pCloud's backup is two-way sync with revisions kept for 15 to 180 days.
• A lifetime plan only lasts as long as the company. PCWorld points out the Swiss firm has been around since 2013, but that history is no guarantee.

Arq 7: one app, many destinations​

Arq 7 is for people who already pay for storage somewhere. It runs backup jobs to Amazon, Google Drive and Google Cloud, OneDrive, Dropbox, Backblaze B2, SFTP, S3-compatible services, pCloud and more.

The client costs $49.99 with a perpetual licence. Arq's own storage costs about $60 a year for 1TB and five users. It does backup only: no sync, no drive images, no cloning and no boot-media recovery. If you use another storage provider, its own fees and limits still apply.

Icedrive: the free tier​

Icedrive offers 10GB free, with clients for Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS and Android. Free accounts get the same sync features as paid ones. The Mac client was slower than it should be.

Paid plans are $29 for 2TB, $49 for 4TB and $99 for 6TB, but those are first-year prices. They go back to $99, $159 and $269 after that. As a "backup" pick it leans heavily on sync, so check its versioning before trusting it with files you can't lose.

Takeaway: Every pick comes with a catch. Decide which catch you can live with before you commit.

Read the page as a buyer's guide​

A few things to keep in mind when you weigh PCWorld's advice:

• There's an ad on the page. A section labelled "PROMOTION" for EaseUS Todo Backup includes a "PCWORLD25" discount code. It sits apart from the tested picks and isn't a recommendation. EaseUS ToDo Backup 2025 does show up separately in PCWorld's list of hybrid backup software, where it gets a positive short review.
• There are affiliate links. The page says PCWorld may earn a commission on purchases. That doesn't make the picks wrong, but it's worth knowing.
• The testing is light on speed. PCWorld backed up the same 2GB data set with each service to look for bugs and glitches. It says speed depends on your connection and where the vendor's data centres are, so these tests don't rank services by speed.
• The guide is inconsistent in places. Its FAQ still names Sync.com as an honourable mention for free storage, even though the main list says Icedrive replaced Sync.com as the free pick. PCWorld also gives two different prices for OneDrive in the same article. Check prices on the vendor's site before you buy.

Where this fits in a Windows backup plan​

PCWorld starts and ends with the same advice: keep a local backup too. A local copy restores much faster and still works when your internet is down. A cloud copy protects you from fire, theft, a dead drive or anything else that takes out your PC. Together they cover the off-site copy that the "backup rule of three" calls for.

The guide also lists hybrid backup software that can save to the cloud, including:

• Acronis True Image
• Aomei Backupper Pro and Standard
• Macrium-style imaging alternatives such as R-Drive Image 7.3
• MSP360 Managed Backup
• Retrospect 19 Solo and Desktop
• Ashampoo Backup Pro 26

A sensible checklist, based on PCWorld's buying criteria:

1. Measure your data. Add room for old versions if the service keeps them.
2. Find the retention window. How long are deleted files and old versions kept? 30 days and forever are very different promises.
3. Price the renewal, not the deal. Multiply the regular price by the years you expect to use the service.
4. Read the restore terms. Some services limit or charge for downloads, and a backup you can't afford to restore isn't much use.
5. Consider your own encryption key. PCWorld says it gives you the most privacy. Lose it, though, and your data can't be restored. It may also turn off features such as mobile backup.
6. Test a restore. Run a backup, delete a test file, and bring it back before you need to.
7. Automate it. PCWorld suggests backing up hourly, or continuously if the service supports it.

That checklist matters more than any ranking. A backup is only as good as the restore you've actually tested.

The bottom line​

PCWorld's update keeps iDrive on top for features, Livedrive as the pick for unlimited storage, and pCloud as a lifetime-plan gamble that could pay off. Its most useful lesson isn't any single pick, though. It's the reminder that sync tools copy your mistakes, and that the first-year price is just the opening offer.

Choose based on how long old files are kept, what you'll pay at renewal, and whether you can actually get your data back. And keep that local copy.