Arq
Worth it
Confidence: Medium
Buy if you're comfortable picking a storage provider and want cheap, encrypted Mac/PC backups you control.
Comparison
Arq vs CrashPlan
Arq lands on Worth it, and CrashPlan lands on Depends.
CrashPlan
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Buy if you're an IT team backing up many endpoints plus Microsoft 365 data.
| Compare | Arq | CrashPlan |
|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Worth it | Depends |
| Best for | Mac/Windows users with existing cloud storage | IT-managed endpoint fleets |
| Who it's not for | Anyone wanting one-click, flat-rate unlimited backup | Home users . consumer plans were killed in 2017 |
| Privacy | No known public vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.² | Past CVEs exist including a 2017 remote exploit in the backup server; vendor publishes advisories and a security addendum.16 |
| Support quality | No support evidence found | Thin Trustpilot presence, complaint threads on Reddit |
| Public sentiment | Forum users report years of reliable backups and built-in encryption, with occasional grumbling about pricing.³ | IT buyers value the endpoint and M365 coverage, but long-time users complain loudly about pricing changes, retention limits, and large-backup performance.11 |
| Biggest gotcha | Overage billing at $0.0059/GB monthly beyond 1TB; large media libraries add up fast¹ | Deleted-file retention reportedly ~90 days . not a cold-storage archive12 |
Pick Arq when
- Mac/Windows users with existing cloud storage
- Privacy-focused users wanting client-side encryption
- Photographers with large external drives
- Long-term hands-off personal backup
When Arq is not a fit
- Anyone wanting one-click, flat-rate unlimited backup
- Teams needing centralized admin consoles and user management
- People unwilling to choose and manage a storage provider
- Phone- or tablet-only users; Mac/Windows only
Pick CrashPlan when
- IT-managed endpoint fleets
- Microsoft 365 / Google Workspace backup
- Universities and large nonprofits
- MSPs backing up client endpoints
When CrashPlan is not a fit
- Home users . consumer plans were killed in 2017
- Anyone with one huge archive (multi-TB backups)
- Cold storage or long-term retention needs
- Budget solo buyers wanting set-and-forget backup
Sources
- Arq official sitearqbackup.comofficial
- Arq security page (no content found)arqbackup.comsecurity
review
- MacRumors: How to encrypt your data before cloud backupforums.macrumors.comreview
- Mastodon: 50GB backed up for 50cbne.socialreview
- Stimpunks field guide: Backup and Passwordsstimpunks.orgreview
- MacRumors: Backblaze versus iDrive threadforums.macrumors.comreview
- tldr.nettime: Going with Arq Backup, cheaper than iDrivetldr.nettime.orgreview
- DPReview forum: Backup software threaddpreview.comreview
- CrashPlan official sitecrashplan.comofficial
- PSA: 90-day hot/warm backup . Redditreddit.comreview
- CrashPlan Trustpilot reviewstrustpilot.comreview
review
- CrashPlan security advisoriessupport.crashplan.comsecurity
- CVE-2017-9830 remote exploitblog.radicallyopensecurity.comsecurity