What is file versioning?

File versioning refers to every edited version of files, and all versions will exist simultaneously. Meanwhile, you can restore problematic files like corrupted or damaged files, accidentally deleted files, and overwritten files to any previously kept version.

Actually, whether for local or online backup, the more backup versions you have, the less likely your data will lose. But some cloud backup software will limit the number of backup versions or retention time, for example, Acronis keep the backup files up to 3 years old and 99 copies.

How to choose the best cloud backup versioning?

For every cloud backup user, backup versioning is very important. But looking at only one aspect, it’s difficult to find out which service provider is the best. Therefore, we’ll consider various factors in this article.

Except for backup versions, security, price, capacity, speed, external hard drive or mobile backup, etc can also be a factor. You can also list your preference and then see below.

Which is the best cloud backup with versioning?

Crashplan for small business - Cloud Backup Versioning Service

Cloud backup file versioning

Crashplan allows users to retain file versions at 15-minute increments indefinitely, which is the closest to unlimited backup versioning. And you can keep the deleted files forever. In addition, you can access all files backed up at that moment by data and time rather than a single file.

Other considered factors

Crashplan charge $10/month for unlimited cloud backup and external hard drive backup. The price is charged monthly, so you can stop at any time.

Also, it has strong security, including AES 256-bit encryption at rest, AES 128-bit encryption in-transit, private encryption key, and two-factor authentication.

Honestly, compared with Acronis True Image and Backblaze, the uploading speed of Crashplan is relatively slow.

Meanwhile, it supports multiple useful features, such as external hard drive backup, mobile backup, automatic cloud backup, throttling, block-level copying, etc.

In a summary, Crashplan is our first pick. All things are fine, the biggest disadvantage is its lower uploading speed.

Backblaze - Cloud Backup Versioning Software

Cloud backup versioning

Backblaze’s all cloud backup plans come along with 30 days of versioning backup. In addition, to my surprise, from October 8, 2019, the version history has been extended to 1 year, or even forever. The 1-year version history asks for additional fees of $2/month and the forever version is similar to one year, at an additional $2/month plus $0.005/GB/month for file versions modified more than 1 year ago.

Other considered factors

For unlimited backup, you need to pay $5/month per computer. Also, you can get a $10 or $25 discount by paying a year or two in advance.

And there is no lack of security features, it supplies AES 128-bit encryption at rest, SSL encryption in-transit, private encryption key, two-factor authentication for unauthorized access.

The transfer speed becomes faster because Backblaze does not limit the upload speed. The only factor that slows down transfer speed is the distance to the servers in California.

In addition, it has many excellent features, such as automatic backup, mobile backup, offline restore, mail restore, drive shipping, and more.

In sum, Backblaze will be a great option if you only need to back up one computer. But if you have multiple computers, the cost will increase significantly.

Acronis True Image - Cloud Backup with Versioning

Cloud backup versioning

Acronis offers users an option to set retention time and the number of backup versions, but it still has restrictions. The retention time is up to 3 years old and the maximum number of retained versions is 99. And the premise is that you enable the delete option. If not, Acronis will always keep your files.

Other considered factors

Acronis charges $21.66/month for 5TB space. Compared with other cloud backup services, the price is very expensive. And it does not have an unlimited plan.

Also, there are no worries about security, it provides AES 256-bit encryption, TLS/SSL protocol in-transit, Acronis active protection, zero-knowledge encryption as well as key cards, biometric scanning, patrols and monitoring. Unfortunately, it does not support two factor authentication.

At the same time, its speed is fast, for example, a 1GB folder only takes 15 minutes.

In addition, it still supports other useful features, such as, external hard drive backup, mobile backup, social media backup, file sync and file sharing, and more.

Carbonite - Cloud Backup Software with Versioning

Cloud backup versioning

Like other cloud backup services, Carbonite also supports versioning backup. It keeps three versions of files and all versions will be retained for up to three months, the first version for seven days, the second version for three weeks, and the third version for two months. And the deleted files will be reserved for 30 days. Please note that Carbonite backup versioning is only for Windows.

Other considered factors

Carbonite's unlimited backup is more flexible, because it offers users three available choices, including Basic, Plus, Prime, and you could use the most proper one.

The basic unlimited plan costs $71.99, and the Plus charges $111.99 and comes along with external drive backup and automatic video backup, the Prime ask price is $149.99, and comes with a courier recovery service. All plans are charged annually and you can get a 5% or 10% discount separately if you pay for 2 or 3 years ahead of time. In addition, you have a 15-day free trial to test.

Security is also a key feature of Carbonite. It provides 128-bit /256-bit AES encryption at rest, private encryption, and two-factor authentication.

By comparison, the transfer speed is inferior, and on the initial backup, you will spend much time uploading the same amount of files. But the block-level algorithm will greatly improve the speed after the initial transfer.

At last, Carbonite also has its own useful features, such as automatic photo backup, backup by file type, external drive backup, mobile backup, schedule backup for up to 5 computers, etc.

CBackup - Free Cloud Backup Service for Unlimited Versioning

Cloud backup versioning

Versioning backup is almost for every cloud backup providers, CBackup is not an exception. It supports unlimited backup versions forever and you can choose to delete the useless cloud backup file versioning.

Other considered factors

The unlimited backup will not cost you a cent. All you need to do is add multiple cloud disks to get enough space.

The data and account security are ensured by OAuth, so please feel free to backup files to cloud, transfer files from Dropbox to Google Drive, and so on.

The transfer speed between cloud mainly depend on cloud limitation, that’s to say, how many files are transferred on the cloud per minute. What’s more, the limitation is different on different clouds.

In addition, you can also enjoy other useful features in CBackup, PC to cloud backup, automatic cloud backup, filter settings, email notification, combine cloud storage, and more.

How to perform cloud backup with versioning easily?

Now, we will show you the easy steps to perform cloud data backup with versioning via the free cloud backup service - CBackup, and make it easier for you to operate and manage your files, which prevents them from losing data. 

1. Please sign up for a new CBackup account, then sign in to CBackup Dashboard.

2. Click My Storage > Add Cloud > select Google Drive > Add, then follow the steps to allow CBackup to access your files, then complete the Drive information on CBackup. Repeat the process to add other clouds, like Dropbox.

3. Tap Backup Tasks > New Task to create a backup versioning task.

4. Click Add Source button to add Google Drive as the source, and then press Add Destination to add Dropbox as the target.

5. Hit Settings > Version Cleanup, then choose one of the three version management methods, and click OK.

6. Press the Start Backup button to perform cloud backup versioning easily.

After performing multiple backups, you might have backup versions on the backup task, right click the three dots icon, then click Versions to check the file version history, and restore data with it if your data get lost.

Besides, CBackup offers you free backup software with versioning - the CBackup desktop app, then you could use to manage your files' backup versions, and restore data quickly if your data gets lost.

Perform Dropbox Versioning for Example

Except for the above cloud versioning, you could perform Dropbox versioning, Google Drive versioning, and Microsoft OneDrive versioning, etc. Here we will show you how to do Dropbox versioning with CBackup in the following part:

1. Hit Storage > Dropbox > Authorize Now to finish the authorization.

2. Tap Backup > Backup PC to Public Cloud in order.

3. Select computer files to backup, and select Dropbox as the target. Hit Settings > Scheduler to enable Dropbox automatic backup.

4. Then press the Start Backup button to backup files to Dropbox automatically.

After the backup is performed multiple times, you will find there is multiple Dropbox file versioning in Task Versions that you can restore files to any version. Besides, you could keep unlimited Dropbox file versions if you like.

Written in the end

Speaking of cloud backup with file versioning, you may need a service that can provide unlimited backup versions. It can be a key feature when you consider cloud service providers, but not the only factor. You can list your other preferences and see if the software recommended in the article has these features, then choose the most proper one for you.