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CrashPlan and Acronis can both protect business data, but they target different buying models. CrashPlan’s plans cover endpoints and, depending on the plan, cloud productivity accounts; Acronis sells Cyber Protect editions for business IT teams and a separate multi-tenant Cyber Protect Cloud offering for managed service providers (MSPs). The right choice depends on what you need to protect, how you license it, and which recovery and security features are included in your specific quote.
This comparison uses vendor product information available on October 9, 2026. It does not establish a like-for-like performance winner: the vendors’ published materials do not provide a common independent benchmark.
What each product is—and who it is for
CrashPlan: endpoint backup and related plans
CrashPlan’s current plan guide describes products for endpoints and servers, as well as Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace environments. It lists Windows, Mac, and Linux support, file backup and recovery, device migration, unlimited file-version retention, and encryption in transit and at rest. Exact features, licensing, and availability differ by plan. See CrashPlan’s product and subscription plan guide for the current plan details.
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Plan availability is important: the guide says Small Business and Essential are unavailable for new purchase, Endpoint can be purchased online, Enterprise is available through sales, and MSP is offered through its partner team. Existing customers may still have legacy subscriptions, so check the product and contract already in place before comparing migration options.
#1 Best Overall
- Easily store and access 2TB to content on the go with the Seagate Portable Drive, a USB external hard drive
- Designed to work with Windows or Mac computers, this external hard drive makes backup a snap just drag and drop
- To get set up, connect the portable hard drive to a computer for automatic recognition no software required
- This USB drive provides plug and play simplicity with the included 18 inch USB 3.0 cable
- The available storage capacity may vary.
Acronis: business IT editions or an MSP platform
“Acronis” here means Acronis Cyber Protect for business IT teams or Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud for MSPs—not the consumer Acronis True Image plan. Cyber Protect Cloud is a multi-tenant service-provider offering with custom pricing and licensing models. Acronis describes its business editions as licensed by protected workload or device type. Its product comparison and business product overview distinguish these product lines.
How the plans, licensing, and prices compare
The products are not priced on a common unit. CrashPlan’s guide lists per-device, storage-usage, per-user, and per-device MSP structures depending on plan. Acronis business pricing depends on protected workload or device type; Cyber Protect Cloud pricing is custom. Count the same endpoints, servers, virtual machines, SaaS seats, storage, retention, and add-ons on both sides before treating any quote as comparable.
Rank #2
- Easily store and access 5TB of content on the go with the Seagate portable drive, a USB external hard Drive
- Designed to work with Windows or Mac computers, this external hard drive makes backup a snap just drag and drop
- To get set up, connect the portable hard drive to a computer for automatic recognition software required
- This USB drive provides plug and play simplicity with the included 18 inch USB 3.0 cable
- The available storage capacity may vary.
| Option | Pricing or licensing basis | Availability or qualification |
|---|---|---|
| CrashPlan plans | Per device, storage usage, per user, or per-device MSP structure, depending on plan | Small Business and Essential unavailable for new purchase; Endpoint online; Enterprise through sales; MSP through partner team. Details are in the CrashPlan plan guide. |
| Acronis Cyber Protect Standard | Starting price of $85, as listed on Acronis’s product comparison page accessed October 7, 2026 | Starting price, not a complete quote; Acronis says prices vary by region, reseller, and subscription term. See Acronis’s comparison page. |
| Acronis Cyber Protect Backup Advanced | Starting price of $109, as listed on Acronis’s product comparison page accessed October 7, 2026 | Starting price, not a complete quote; regional, reseller, and subscription-term differences apply. See Acronis’s comparison page. |
| Acronis Cyber Protect Advanced | Starting price of $129, as listed on Acronis’s product comparison page accessed October 7, 2026 | Starting price, not a complete quote; regional, reseller, and subscription-term differences apply. See Acronis’s comparison page. |
| Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud | Custom service-provider pricing and licensing models | MSP-oriented, multi-tenant offering; request a quote for the intended services and protected workloads. See Acronis’s business product overview. |
The Acronis comparison page does not specify a publication year for its listed starting prices. Treat them as page-listed starting points, not as current prices for every region or workload. CrashPlan’s differing units and sales channels also mean that its plans cannot be ranked against those figures without a scoped quote.
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CrashPlan’s plan guide describes core file backup, recovery, device migration, and unlimited file-version retention across its plans, while also warning that product details vary. Confirm support for each required endpoint, server, and SaaS workload under the exact plan being quoted.
Rank #3
- Easily store and access 1TB to content on the go with the Seagate Portable Drive, a USB external hard drive.Specific uses: Personal
- Designed to work with Windows or Mac computers, this external hard drive makes backup a snap just drag and drop. Reformatting may be required for Mac
- To get set up, connect the portable hard drive to a computer for automatic recognition no software required
- This USB drive provides plug and play simplicity with the included 18 inch USB 3.0 cable
- The available storage capacity may vary.
Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud’s feature page lists protection for Exchange Online, OneDrive for Business, Teams, SharePoint Online, and Google Workspace. It also describes instant restore. These are vendor-stated capabilities; availability can depend on the package and account configuration. Check the Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud features page and validate the specific services and restore paths in your proposed deployment.
Neither vendor’s cited materials provide a common independent test of backup speed, restore time, or usability. For a meaningful comparison, test representative workloads and recovery objectives in a scoped trial or demonstration rather than inferring performance from feature descriptions.
Rank #4
- Easily store and access 4TB of content on the go with the Seagate Portable Drive, a USB external hard drive.Specific uses: Personal
- Designed to work with Windows or Mac computers, this external hard drive makes backup a snap just drag and drop
- To get set up, connect the portable hard drive to a computer for automatic recognition no software required
- This USB drive provides plug and play simplicity with the included 18 inch USB 3.0 cable
- The available storage capacity may vary.
Security controls and storage destinations
Encryption, immutability, and configuration
CrashPlan’s plan guide states that encryption is used in transit and at rest. Acronis’s Cloud feature material specifies AES-256 encryption in transit and at rest, and lists immutable storage and integrated security capabilities. These are vendor product claims, not proof that every feature is included in every edition or enabled by default. For either service, confirm key management, retention settings, storage region, immutability configuration, and whether a control is included or an add-on.
Using an external drive with CrashPlan
CrashPlan documents backups to attached external storage, including USB, Thunderbolt, or FireWire drives. An organization administrator can disable local destinations through policy. Its policy guidance recommends multiple backup destinations and gives an on-site local copy plus an off-site copy as a common arrangement. An external hard drive can therefore add a convenient local recovery copy when enabled, but it should not be the organization’s only disaster-recovery copy. See CrashPlan’s external-drive guidance and backup policy considerations.
Best Value
- High capacity in a small enclosure – The small, lightweight design offers up to 6TB* capacity, making WD Elements portable hard drives the ideal companion for consumers on the go.
- Plug-and-play expandability
- Vast capacities up to 6TB[1] to store your photos, videos, music, important documents and more
- SuperSpeed USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5Gbps)
Which provider fits your organization?
- Consider CrashPlan if its endpoint and SaaS plans match your workload, its available licensing structure fits how you buy, and file versioning or device migration meets your recovery needs. Confirm that the plan you need is available for new purchase.
- Consider Acronis Cyber Protect if you are an internal IT team evaluating its business editions by protected workload and want to scope the required backup and security capabilities together.
- Consider Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud if you are an MSP that needs a multi-tenant service-provider offering and is prepared to obtain custom pricing.
- Compare both directly if local backup destinations are a requirement. CrashPlan documents external-drive support subject to policy; the available Acronis materials do not establish a like-for-like local-destination comparison. Validate supported destinations and controls for the exact Acronis deployment.
Before deciding, make both vendors quote the same inventory, storage, retention period, SaaS coverage, recovery expectations, security features, support, and subscription term. Then verify the restore process for the workloads that matter most. Without that matched scope, the published price points and feature lists do not identify a universal winner.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
