The Backblaze vs. pCloud conundrum is unique because we compare a backup service to online storage. While each is great in its own right, pCloud and Backblaze are extremely different. Let’s start with Backblaze. It is an online backup service with excellent features.
It offers fast backups, strong encryption, and apps for all devices. pCloud is a cloud storage provider with robust security, top-tier compatibility, and limited online backups. These days, it’s hard to differentiate cloud storage and backup services, which makes things perplexing.
We’ll try to untie the knot for you and help you choose one. Our team has compared pCloud and Backblaze regarding security, performance, ease of use, features, and more. While we ultimately preferred pCloud, we also realized that Backblaze was great. Here’s our experience.
pCloud vs. Backblaze: A Quick Comparison
| pCloud | Backblaze | |
| 💾 Storage Sizes | 500 GB, 2 TB, 10 TB | Unlimited |
| 💸 Starting Price | $49.99 annually (500 GB) | $99 biennially |
| 📁 File Versioning | 15, 30, or 365 days | 30 and 365 days (optional ‘forever’ option) |
| 🌐 Block-Level Sync | Yes | Yes |
| 🔐 Zero-Knowledge Encryption | Yes, paid additionally | Yes |
| 🌟 Standout Characteristics | Client-side encryption, Music Player, fast transfer speeds, and Lifetime plans | Physical drive file restoration, unlimited storage, and bandwidth throttling |
| 🆓 Free Plan Storage | 10 GB | 10 GB |
| ✅ Money-Back Guarantee | 14 days | 30 days |
Applications and User Interface
We’ll begin the Backblaze vs. pCloud comparison with their ease of use.
Backblaze offers applications for Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android. While Backblaze provides a non-GUI Linux app, pCloud’s majestic GUI makes it far simpler to use. Unfortunately for Backblaze, pCloud is overall a more intuitive experience on all systems.
Backblaze Ease of Use
Here’s how Backblaze looks on Windows:
The app is extremely shallow, plus, it’s essentially there only for settings. I mean, there’s no option to upload a file from the app; you have to use the web app instead. The desktop app holds settings, such as bandwidth throttling, security, backup schedules, and other ‘behavioral’ tweaks.
To upload a file, you must sign in to the web version. From here, you must navigate to Buckets, where you’ll need to create a new bucket. Buckets are where Backblaze stores your files. Each bucket can be customized. It can be private, public, encrypted, or non-encrypted.
Once you make a bucket, you can finally open it, click Upload, and select files from your hard drive.
We uploaded a few RAR files, photos, and videos. However, we noticed we couldn’t preview any of them until we downloaded them to our computer. Unfortunately, the same applies to mobile apps. They’re intuitive, and because they don’t have the same features, they’re even simpler to use.
Creating, modifying, and downloading buckets is pretty simple, and you can perform all tasks from your phone hassle-free. We have to warn you that Backblaze doesn’t allow you to upload very large files. In this pCloud vs. Backblaze test, we could upload only up to 500 MB using its web interface.
pCloud Ease of Use
Our pCloud review praised its user experience and overall ease of use.
pCloud simulates a virtual drive on your computer, which makes it simpler to navigate. All you must do is drag and drop the file onto the virtual drive, and boom – it’s uploaded to pCloud. The desktop app complements the virtual drive ideally with its settings and tools.
This app allows you to perform backups, set up syncing, and examine your file requests. You’ll also find your Crypto folder here, which provides access to your encrypted files. If you want, you can easily transfer to the web application, which is among the best we tested.
The web app shows your files and allows you to preview them, whether they’re images, videos, or audio files. The left-hand side holds the same options, such as backups, the Crypto folder, file requests, bookmarks, etc. However, you can also access the Trash and Rewind functions, which we’ll explain later.
The mobile experience was fantastic in our pCloud vs. Backblaze comparison. We enjoyed its Android and iOS apps, which included some unique functions. For example, it allowed us to use a dark theme, which we thoroughly enjoyed. We also used its document scanner.
pCloud includes automatic camera uploads, so you can snap a photo directly from the app and store it on the cloud. This is essential for preserving your storage space by sending your beloved memories to pCloud’s safe, secure, and encrypted environment.
Winner: pCloud
While both provide apps for all devices and systems, pCloud edges out Backblaze in ease of use. Backblaze’s apps aren’t the most logical, whilst pCloud gets most things right and is more user-friendly.
pCloud vs. Backblaze Features Comparison
Okay, so let’s break down their features. The Backblaze vs. pCloud duel was on the former’s side, but now things may change… or not.
We must mention their differences again. pCloud is an online storage, and Backblaze is an online backup service. Their features will naturally be different, but since they overlap on many occasions, we’ll also see some similarities. Let’s compare them and see which one is better in its own class.
Cloud Backups: Backblaze
Device backups are Backblaze’s specialty, so it’s no surprise that it takes this round.
Backblaze Backup Features
Backblaze offers unlimited backups, which translates to unlimited storage for your device’s files. Instead of charging you for storage, Backblaze charges you per device. So, let’s say you opt for one device. In that case, you can backup all its files, even if that’s 1 TB or 10 TB—better than top-rated cloud storage picks.
Backblaze facilitates a simple backup setup. You have to select the drives you want to update and start the process with one button. Keep in mind that the system drive is mandatory and there’s no option not to back it up. Strangely, Backblaze doesn’t have a multi-device backup option.
While computers (macOS, Linux, and Windows) are supported, you cannot back up your phone or tablet. On the other hand, you have incremental backups, which back up only altered portions of the files, resulting in shorter upload times. It’s the same as block-level transfers found in pCloud.
What about file restoration?
It’s simple. You can download your bucket to a selected device, extract the files, and you’re all set. However, as a dedicated online backup service, Backblaze lets you purchase a hard drive with your files, which is then shipped to your address. It costs $190 with shipping, but it is refundable if you send your drive back to Backblaze.
You can do this up to five times a year, but we doubt you’ll go that far unless you’re sloppy.
pCloud Backup Features
pCloud works well for online backups, but doesn’t have the extensive features of Backblaze.
You can initiate backups from any device. You just have to go to Backups and then select Desktop, Mobile, or Third-party. As you can see, pCloud supports mobile backups, plus, it can fetch files from third-party cloud services, one of which is Dropbox (we compared it to pCloud here).
Now, you have to select which folders to back up. You can also choose drives if you’re backing up your computer. The downside is that you don’t get unlimited storage. Instead, the storage is limited according to the chosen plan. In our Backblaze vs. pCloud test, that wasn’t an issue.
pCloud’s block-level transfers made things quicker by uploading only modified parts of our files. Our needs were satisfied with pCloud, but objectively, Backblaze is better because of its advanced backup features, one of which is physical drive restoration that pCloud lacks.
However, for a cloud storage service, pCloud is dangerously close to Backblaze in this aspect!
File Versioning: Draw
We deem file versioning mandatory for all quality online storage services.
pCloud offers basic file versioning of 30 days, with the option to purchase Extended File History (EFH), which lasts a year. File versioning means that the provider keeps all file versions not older than 30 days, no matter how many of them exist. pCloud goes a step ahead with the Rewind tool.
This tool allows you to examine previous file versions, select the one you want, and restore the file to that version. The Trash folder mentioned earlier is your recycle bin that you can also empty by restoring the file. Plus, the Trash folder preserves files for 30 days, preventing files from disappearing immediately.
Backblaze is virtually the same with its 30-day file versioning. Like pCloud, it offers a 1-year version history and adds a ‘Forever‘ version history. However, it charges $0.06 per gigabyte monthly.
File Syncing and Sharing: pCloud
Here’s the main difference between online storage and backup services. While both functions are some of the best aspects of cloud storage, they’re usually absent from online backup services such as Backblaze.
pCloud syncs your files across all devices, rendering them easily accessible. With block-level syncing, even modified file versions will be updated promptly and be ready for use. Let’s say you edited a document on your computer. When away from home, you can grab your phone, access it, and keep working on it.
File sharing is pCloud’s forte, and we use it daily in our business workflow.
You can easily share a file via a link. However, pCloud includes password protection, expiration dates, and branding, which we use to customize our links with our company’s cover, message, and logo.
We had the same experience with Internxt, which we reviewed with excellent scores.
Other Features
We haven’t mentioned their convenience features in this Backblaze vs. pCloud comparison, so let’s do it now. Backblaze doesn’t offer much on top, except for bandwidth throttling. We mentioned it earlier; it lets you limit download and upload speeds to preserve bandwidth for other activities.
pCloud includes this feature, but adds:
- File previews
- Music playlists
- Shared folder access permissions
The three functions make pCloud a more pleasant online environment. We especially enjoyed its ability to create music playlists. It was handy when we were on a train, listening to music that actually didn’t take up our phone or laptop storage.
File previews, especially for documents, are very helpful. While pCloud doesn’t allow document editing, you can at least promptly download them and work on them in Microsoft Word or Google Docs.
Winner: pCloud
Knowing all the ins and outs, we must give a slight edge to pCloud.
Overall, it’s a more feature-rich option that encapsulates both backups and online storage. Being capable in both aspects was crucial, but tiny features like file previews, effortless sharing, reliable syncing, and multi-device backups brought pCloud its much-deserved victory.
How Fast Are pCloud and Backblaze?
Testing Backblaze vs. pCloud was a bit of a hassle this time. We wanted to use our typical 1 GB RAR file. However, Backblaze could upload only 500 MB, and we had to use a specific command line to upload larger files. So, we said ‘screw it’ and went with 500 MB instead.
We selected 500 MB of music, videos, and documents from our computer, put them in a RAR file, and uploaded them to pCloud and Backblaze using their web applications. The test was performed on Windows 11, using a desktop computer. Our internet speeds are below.
For this test, we simply measured the time it took to upload and download our review file. Bear in mind that we completed our uploads and downloads separately, not simultaneously on both cloud/backup services, to ensure maximum accuracy. So, here are the results:
| Upload Time | Download Time | |
| Backblaze | 8.8 minutes | 2.3 minutes |
| pCloud | 7 minutes | 1.6 minutes |
Considering our not-so-speedy connection, upload and download times were respectable on both sides. However, you don’t have to look twice to see that pCloud was considerably faster in both instances. Scale this to a larger, 10 GB or 20 GB file, and the difference becomes even more glaring.
Winner: pCloud
As highlighted by our speed test comparison, pCloud was faster than Backblaze. Whether you upload or download files, you can expect shorter waiting times with pCloud, rendering it the winner of this duel and simultaneously one of the speediest online storage options.
Backblaze vs. pCloud: Security, Encryption, and Privacy
Backblaze and pCloud are secure enough to keep your files intact, but with a few caveats.
Backblaze
These caveats, of course, have to do with Backblaze.
So, on paper, Backblaze does things wonderfully. It uses AES encryption for stored files, while transits are encrypted with SSL encryption. Surprisingly, the company provides zero-knowledge encryption, which sounds great because it provides the highest-level file security.
Zero-knowledge encryption is the backbone of the top-rated encrypted cloud services.
However, it’s rarely implemented properly, and this is the case here. Once you get your encryption key, you can decrypt your files with it, but to do this, you have to provide the key to Backblaze via the web application. Pray to God, the server isn’t compromised when you do this.
Otherwise, you risk losing your encryption key to a hacker or snooper. At least, Backblaze handles other security aspects, such as physical server protection, 2FA, and biometrics. Speaking of servers, they’re in the Netherlands and the USA.
pCloud
pCloud’s servers are in Luxembourg and the USA, but pCloud is more secure in our eyes.
Its optional zero-knowledge encryption is implemented far better. pCloud hands you the encryption keys, but doesn’t need you to hand them over to decrypt your files. They’re not stored on the server, and you’re the only one with access to them. Remember that losing these keys means your files are gone forever.
Let’s hope it won’t come to that!
pCloud implements relatively identical security measures. AES encryption keeps files safe on the cloud, with TLS protecting transfers. Additionally, it includes file redundancy, which stores multiple copies of your files on different servers, so if one server is down, the others have your files ready.
pCloud’s 2FA is helpful to prevent unauthorized access, while its no-log policy ensures that the user and the company never mess around with their files, with or without purchased zero-knowledge encryption. Last but not least, pCloud is based in Switzerland, which is a big plus.
The country’s privacy-respecting nature makes pCloud a more trustworthy pick for us.
Winner: pCloud
pCloud takes the round with flying colors. It implements zero-knowledge encryption better, has a reassuring no-log policy, and is based in Switzerland. If you’re looking for the most secure cloud storage in 2026, pCloud should be high up your list.
Plans and Price Comparison
The Backblaze vs. pCloud duel will answer another crucial question: how much are they?
Here’s how much you’ll spend on Backblaze:
You have monthly, yearly, and biennial plans. The latter are naturally the best value, but both cost at least $189 biennially or $99 annually. The Enterprise plan requires a custom quota.
Backblaze is fairly inexpensive. Divide $189 by 24 and you get the price of around $7.9 monthly. Considering unlimited storage and one-year version history, we think it’s hard to overpay for Backblaze unless you pay monthly, which is $9.
Here’s pCloud’s current pricing:
It’s a different pricing model based on the amount of storage. You get 500 GB, 2 TB, and 10 TB plans. Moreover, monthly, annual, and lifetime variants exist. We prefer the latter because you pay once and use your cloud storage forever. Our favorite is the 2 TB plan at $399.
If you need five times more, you’ll spend less than three times more on the 10 TB plan at $1.190. Annual plans also hold excellent value, with 2 TB at $99.99 or 10 TB at $199.99. Optional pCloud client-side encryption is only $150 for a lifetime, making it fairly cheap.
Our advice is to avoid monthly plans because they’re overpriced in both cases.
If you’re unsatisfied, you can get a refund from pCloud in 14 days or Backblaze in 30 days.
How Good Are Their Free Versions?
Alternatively, you can test free cloud storage from pCloud, which offers 10 GB of storage and limited file-sharing features. Overall, it’s great, but you’ll mourn the lack of storage, especially if you store lots of high-quality photos and videos. For that matter, it’s wiser to use premium cloud storage for photos.
Backblaze lets you try it for free for 15 days, during which time you get unlimited storage and all the other features we addressed. We tested its free tier with 10 GB of space, which surprisingly offered the same features and functioned normally, except for the storage cap.
Winner: pCloud
This is the ‘closest’ one so far. Backblaze is inexpensive and has a 30-day refund policy. pCloud’s shorter refund policy (14 days) is offset by flexible lifetime plans that facilitate notable savings and no recurring fees. That’s why we ultimately granted pCloud the title of the winner.
The Bottom Line: We Choose pCloud
Our pCloud vs. Backblaze comparison for 2026 wraps up with the former’s victory.
pCloud and Backblaze are apparently two different services, but despite that, we’d choose pCloud. Why? Because it blends cloud storage and cloud backup capabilities, while Backblaze is strictly the latter. Overall, pCloud is a more versatile product and that’s essential.
On one hand, you have the convenience of sharing, syncing, and securely storing files. On the other hand, you can also back up multiple devices while previewing files, listening to music, and collaborating in a seamless cloud environment. Backblaze lacks all of these tools.
While its affordable price and a generous refund policy boost its value, Backblaze is ultimately for people who need specifically cloud backup services and associated features. But even in this case, we’d rather choose IDrive. Between Backblaze and pCloud, however, the latter is a clear winner.