ElephantDrive is a cloud storage and online backup service.  With it, you can add folders on your computer to automatically back up to the cloud.  You can also sync files to other computers you own (including phones and tablets).

Pros

• Can backup files to the cloud and synchronize files between computers
• New Competitive pricing
• Mobile apps for every device

Cons

• 1 GB file size limit (5 GB for business plans)

The Bottom Line

ElephantDrive is good for those who want to back up their data and synchronize files across computers. However, the file size limits are very restrictive compared to other services.

Plans

The ElephantDrive Personal plans start at $9.95 a month for 1,000 GB of storage.  The 2,000 GB business plan is $39.95 a month, and includes managed restores and setup consulting.  For users with under 2 GB of data to back up, there’s also a Free plan.

Setup

The ElephantDrive software will help you set up an account, if you don’t have one already.

ElephantDrive creates a “Backup” folder on your computer, and any files you drag into it will be automatically backed up to the cloud.  It also creates an “Everywhere” folder, and any files you put in there will be copied to other devices you run ElephantDrive on.

Preferences

A “Resource Usage” tab lets you specify how much bandwidth to allocate to your backups.  I liked how ElephantDrive analyzes the available network bandwidth, which lets you know how fast your internet connection is.  Other than that, there aren’t a whole lot of preferences.  Most settings (such as file exclusions, versioning, and archiving) are set according to each individual backup.

Backing Up

To backup your data, you can drag your files into the “Backup” folder.  However, I don’t really care for putting all my data in a single ElephantDrive folder.  Instead, I added my Windows user folder (C:\Users\Geoff) to the list of locations to back up.  That way, any changes to my computer are automatically backed up.

You can also back up folders from the Windows Explorer context menu.  Simply right click on any folder, and you can add it to your list of backups.

Backups can be scheduled every set number of minutes.  You can also schedule them to run daily, weekly, or monthly.

The main screen shows a list of backup jobs with their statuses.

ElephantDrive can backup your NAS devices, as it is partnered with many leading manufacturers.  The software comes pre-installed on a variety of WD, Netgear, and Synology products.

Restoring

Your backed up files can be accessed using the software, or online via a web interface.

ElephantDrive calls this “The Vault”.  It’s where all your synchronized files, backups, and previous versions of files are stored.

I had no trouble restoring my files.

Versioning

ElephantDrive is able to keep previous versions of files.  The default is to keep the past 30 days worth of changes, or 10 changes (whichever comes first).  These settings can increased, but then your files will take up more storage space.

File Size Limits

Users absolutely need to be aware of the following file size limits:

• 100 MB for free accounts
• 1 GB for personal accounts
• 5 GB for business accounts

If any of your files exceed these limits, they won’t be backed up!

Mobile Apps

ElephantDrive supports Android, iOS, and Windows 8 phones so you can sync, backup, and access your files on the go.

Sharing

ElephantDrive lets you share files with friends and coworkers.  You can do this from the web interface (after logging into your account) or via the right-click context menu on your computer.

Speed

The average upload speed was 180 kB/s during testing, which maxed out my internet connection.  That equals roughly 15 gigabytes per day.  Most users should see faster speeds, assuming faster internet connections.

Security

All data is transferred using SSL, the same type of security used by banks.  Your files are stored using 256-bit AES encryption, which can be accessed with your username and password.

For those with greater security needs, you can optionally use your own encryption keys.  This would make recovery impossible if the keys are lost, however.

Support

Support is provided via a contact form, phone, or email.  Phone support is available 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. PST.  I submitted a help request and was responded to in 1 business day.

ElephantDrive has about a dozen, narrated video tutorials on their website.  There’s also a help desk/knowledge base with answers to common questions.

Summary

ElephantDrive employs a no-nonsense approach to backing up your files.  It’s simple, yet powerful.  I also liked that the interface is easy to use.

However, ElephantDrive is not for everyone.  You should be aware of the 1 GB file size limit (5 GB for business users).

March 2016: Corrected pricing.

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Geoff Akerlund

Geoff Akerlund is the founder and editor-in-chief of BackupReview.com. He enjoys attending music festivals, whitewater kayaking on the American River, and board game nights in his free time.

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