IDrive review 2026: multi-device cloud backup, IDrive Express recovery, e2 object storage and pricing plans compared to Backblaze and other alternatives.
IDrive is a cloud backup and storage service run by IDrive Inc., a Calabasas, California company that traces its roots back to 1995 as Pro Softnet Corporation before rebranding around its flagship IDrive product in 2013. Unlike sync-first tools such as Dropbox, IDrive is built specifically as continuous, versioned backup software covering computers, external drives, NAS devices, servers and mobile photos.
A defining feature of IDrive's personal plans is that a single account covers an unlimited number of devices rather than charging per machine, which makes it comparatively inexpensive for households or individuals with several computers and phones. The company also operates IDrive e2, a separate S3-compatible object storage product aimed at developers, and RemotePC for remote desktop access.
Core backup features include continuous incremental backup, 30 days of file versioning, and point-in-time snapshots that help recover from ransomware or accidental deletion rather than backing up an already-encrypted file over the only good copy. Users can set a private encryption key so that data is unreadable even to IDrive's own staff, and IDrive Express offers physical hard-drive shipping for restoring very large backups faster than a download would allow.
For businesses, IDrive supports server and NAS backup, multi-user team accounts with centralized administration, and compliance-oriented backup for Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace data. IDrive e2 extends the platform into flat-rate, S3-compatible cloud object storage with no egress fees, positioning it as a lower-cost alternative to Amazon S3 for developers and businesses storing large volumes of data.
IDrive's free Basic plan provides 10GB of storage with no credit card required, useful for testing the service before committing. Paid Personal plans scale by storage size, from 5TB at $11.99 per month up to 100TB at $119.99 per month, and new customers typically get 30 to 50 percent off their first year or two years, though renewal pricing reverts to the standard rate afterward.
Team and Business plans add per-seat and multi-user licensing on top of the same storage tiers, with Business plans supporting unlimited user accounts and server backup. IDrive e2 object storage is billed separately at a flat $4 per terabyte per month with no egress charges, which is simpler to budget than many usage-based cloud storage providers.
IDrive offers a free Basic plan with 10GB of storage and no credit card required, but larger storage tiers require a paid Personal, Team or Business plan.
IDrive Express is a physical hard-drive shipping service that lets customers receive or send their backup data on a physical drive instead of downloading or uploading it over the internet, useful for very large restores.
Yes, IDrive encrypts data in transit and at rest, and users can optionally set a private encryption key so that only they can decrypt their backed-up data.
IDrive e2 is a separate S3-compatible object storage product priced at a flat rate per terabyte with no egress fees, aimed at developers and businesses as a lower-cost alternative to Amazon S3.
New customers typically get a discounted first-year or first-two-year rate, and pricing reverts to the standard renewal rate afterward, which can be substantially higher.
IBackup is a longer-standing, more business-oriented backup brand also owned by IDrive Inc., while IDrive is the company's primary consumer and SMB backup product.