Carbonite vs IDrive Pricing (2026)

Carbonite vs IDrive

Backup & Recovery pricing comparison · 2026

Carbonite pricing ranges from $4.91–$83.33/month, while IDrive ranges from $0–$19.99/per month. IDrive is typically 39% more affordable, though your actual cost depends on tier and team size.

Backup & Recovery

Carbonite

$4.91–$83.33
/month
6 plans
Full pricing breakdown →
VS
Backup & Recovery

IDrive

$0–$19.99
/per month
5 plans · Free tier
Full pricing breakdown →

Carbonite and IDrive both operate in the backup & recovery category. This page compares their list pricing.

Plan-by-Plan Pricing

Plan Carbonite IDrive
Safe Basic $4.91 /month Free /per month
Safe Plus $6.99 /month $0.25 /per month
Safe Prime $8.74 /month $9.99 /per month
Safe Backup Pro $24 /month $9.99 /per month
Safe Server Power $50 /month $19.99 /per month
Safe Server Ultimate $83.33 /month

Cost at Scale

Total cost of ownership — licenses, implementation, and hidden costs included.

Carbonite

7 scenarios
$71.99/year ($4.91/month)
Single Home Computer
$111.99/year ($6.99/month)
Home User with External Drive
$287.99/year
Small Office (10 computers)
base + storage if needed
See all 7 scenarios →

IDrive

3 scenarios
$119.88/year
Individual User (Personal 5TB, annual)
$239.88/year
Small Team (Team 10TB, annual)
$2,499.88/year
Business (5TB + 5 servers + 20 M365 seats)

Hidden Costs

Beyond the sticker price — what catches buyers off guard.

Carbonite 7 hidden costs

critical
Large Files Automatically Excluded from Backup Complete data loss for files above size threshold
medium
Single Computer and Drive Coverage Limitation $4.91-$24/month per additional computer requiring backup
critical
Intentional Restore Speed Throttling 20-40% of license costs in lost productivity; may require purchasing alternative recovery solutions
high
NAS Device Backup Requires Expensive Server Plan Upgrade $50-$83.33/month for server plan if NAS backup is required
high
Strict 30-Day Refund Window on Multi-Year Subscriptions $58-$300 in unrecoverable prepaid subscription costs depending on plan and term length
See all Carbonite hidden costs →

IDrive 3 hidden costs

high
First-Year Promotional Pricing Renewal Shock 30-50% price increase at renewal
high
Unauthorized Auto-Renewal Charges Full annual renewal charged unexpectedly
medium
Server & SaaS Backup Add-On Costs $5/server/mo + $20/seat/yr for SaaS backup
See all IDrive hidden costs →

Contract Terms

Term Carbonite IDrive
Auto-renewal Yes Yes
Cancellation 30-day refund window from purchase date; cancellation requires contacting support directly with no self-service path Cancel before renewal date; refunds difficult to obtain
Minimum commitment Annual for personal plans (Safe Basic, Safe Plus, Safe Prime); monthly available for business plans Monthly, annual, or 2-year billing options
Price escalation No published price escalation schedule; multiple long-term users report consistent annual price increases over multi-year subscriptions First-year promotional pricing reverts to full price on renewal (30-50% increase)