Research-led UK buying guide — checked 7 October 2026: The Tools and Tech has not hands-on tested every backup platform below. We compared current official pricing, protected workload types, administration, storage model, recovery options and whether each product is aimed at endpoints, teams, servers or NAS-centred environments. Prices can change and several vendors bill in US dollars.
Quick answer
Backblaze Business Backup is the simplest pick for small businesses that mainly need automatic off-device protection for employee PCs and Macs. IDrive Team is stronger for a small team that wants pooled storage across several users/computers. Acronis Cyber Protect is the better fit when a business wants image-level backup plus integrated cyber-protection features and server/workload options. Synology Active Backup for Business is especially attractive if you already own a compatible Synology NAS and want licence-free central backup for PCs, servers and virtual machines.
At a glance
| Product | Best for | Current reference price | Key strength | Main drawback |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Backblaze Business Backup | Simple PC/Mac endpoint backup | US$99/year per computer | Unlimited backup per protected computer | Not designed as a full server/VM platform |
| IDrive Team | Small teams and pooled storage | US$11.99/month for 5 users/5 computers/5TB on monthly billing | Multi-user, multi-computer plan with clear storage pool | Storage limits require capacity planning |
| Acronis Cyber Protect | Broader workload/image backup + security | From US$85/year per device | Backup, recovery and cyber-protection in one platform | Cloud storage/licensing can be more complex |
| Synology Active Backup for Business | Businesses with a compatible Synology NAS | Licence-free software; NAS/storage cost applies | Centralised PC/server/VM backup to owned storage | Requires supported Synology x64/Btrfs hardware |
Best simple endpoint backup: Backblaze Business Backup
Backblaze Business Backup is aimed at businesses that want automatic cloud backup for employee computers without managing a storage quota for each device. Backblaze currently lists Business Backup at US$99 per year per computer, with unlimited backup per device, automatic protection for Macs and PCs, central business management and one-year version history.
This simplicity is the main attraction: a five-person company with five laptops can price the endpoint layer easily. The trade-off is scope. Backblaze Computer Backup is primarily an endpoint-data service rather than a full server, virtualisation or SaaS-backup platform.
Best for: small offices and remote teams whose critical working data lives mainly on Windows PCs and Macs.
Best small-team pooled plan: IDrive Team
IDrive Team is useful when the business wants one storage pool tied to a defined number of users and computers. Current standard monthly pricing lists 5TB for five computers/five users at US$11.99 per month; larger Team tiers scale the storage and device/user count together. Annual first-year promotions may be cheaper, so compare renewal pricing rather than buying from the discount headline alone.
IDrive also offers a broader Business tier for unlimited users and multiple computers/servers, with support for workloads such as Exchange, SQL and NAS devices. That makes the product family more flexible than a pure endpoint-only service, although pricing becomes more capacity-dependent as storage grows.
Best for: small teams that want an easily understood shared storage allowance and a path to more business workloads.
Best integrated backup and cyber-protection platform: Acronis Cyber Protect
Acronis positions Cyber Protect for small businesses as a combined backup, ransomware defence and endpoint-management platform. Current official material lists small-business pricing starting at US$85 per year per device, with higher editions adding more advanced backup/security capabilities. Acronis can store backups in its cloud, other supported cloud storage or locally depending on configuration and licence.
This is a better fit than a simple endpoint cloud service when image-level recovery, servers, virtual machines or integrated endpoint-security functions are part of the requirement. The trade-off is that storage and edition choices need more careful planning.
Best for: businesses or IT providers that need a broader protection platform rather than only user-file backup.
Best if you already own a Synology NAS: Active Backup for Business
Synology Active Backup for Business is a licence-free backup package available on compatible Synology NAS hardware. It can centralise protection for Windows/Linux computers, physical servers and supported virtual environments, with central management and granular recovery features. Synology requires compatible x64 hardware and Btrfs for current Active Backup deployments.
The economics are different from a cloud subscription: the backup software itself is licence-free, but the business owns and maintains the NAS, drives and any secondary/offsite copy. Synology itself recommends keeping another copy of Active Backup data—such as replication to another NAS or backup to cloud/other storage—rather than treating one NAS as the only recovery point.
Best for: businesses already using a suitable Synology NAS that want central local backup and are willing to build a separate offsite/independent copy.
Cloud backup, NAS backup or both?
Cloud backup reduces dependence on one building and one storage appliance. A local NAS can offer faster restores and can protect more workload types without paying purely by cloud capacity. Many businesses benefit from both: local backup for fast recovery plus a separately protected offsite/cloud copy for disasters, theft or ransomware.
Our Small-Business Backup & Disaster Recovery Checklist explains how to design that wider strategy, while our Business NAS & Shared Storage guide covers NAS hardware choices.
What about Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace?
Endpoint backup does not automatically protect all cloud SaaS data. If your business depends heavily on Exchange Online, OneDrive, SharePoint, Teams or Google Workspace, verify whether the chosen backup platform protects those services or whether a separate SaaS-backup product is required. Do not assume laptop backup captures data that exists only in a cloud account. Our Microsoft 365 Backup for Small Business guide explains Microsoft’s current first-party OneDrive, SharePoint and Exchange protection, recovery windows, pricing and limitations.
What to look for in business backup software
- Workload coverage: Windows/Mac endpoints, servers, NAS, VMs and SaaS are different categories.
- Version history: enough retention to recover from a problem discovered weeks later.
- Immutable/locked backups: useful against ransomware and malicious deletion where available.
- Admin controls: central visibility, alerts, named administrators and MFA.
- Restore options: file-level recovery, bare-metal/image recovery and device replacement workflows as appropriate.
- Storage location: cloud region, local storage and secondary-copy options.
- Encryption: data in transit/at rest and recovery-key handling.
- Exit plan: how to retrieve data and migrate if the service changes.
How we researched this guide
We reviewed current official pricing and product documentation from Backblaze, IDrive, Acronis and Synology. We compared them by workload scope, storage model, central management and recovery architecture rather than pretending that an endpoint-only service and a server/VM platform can be benchmarked on one simplistic score.
Primary sources
- Backblaze Business Backup
- IDrive pricing
- Acronis Cyber Protect for Small Business
- Synology Active Backup for Business
Frequently asked questions
Is OneDrive or Google Drive a business backup?
They provide valuable sync, versioning and retention capabilities, but a business should decide whether critical cloud data also needs an independent recovery copy. Synchronisation and backup solve different problems.
Should a small business back up every laptop?
If employees store business-critical data locally, yes—or redesign the workflow so critical data is centrally stored and protected. The key is knowing where the authoritative copy lives and how it is recovered.
Is a NAS enough by itself?
No. A single NAS can fail, be stolen, damaged or compromised. Keep an independent copy elsewhere.
How often should backups run?
Often enough that the business can tolerate the amount of work lost between recovery points. The right interval depends on how quickly the data changes and how important it is.
Final verdict
Choose Backblaze for straightforward employee-computer backup, IDrive Team for a small multi-user storage pool, Acronis when broader image/server/security capabilities matter, and Synology Active Backup when you already own suitable NAS infrastructure. Whichever product you choose, keep an independent copy and test restores—the software is only one part of disaster recovery.
