IDrive vs Wasabi (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, IDrive grades higher than Wasabi: 3.2 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
IDrive grades higher on value for money, features, ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on the free plan.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
IDrive
Cloud backup for many devices in one account, with a sync folder
Wasabi
S3-compatible cloud object storage at a flat per-TB rate
Which one is for you
Pick IDrive if
- Fits if your household has several computers and phones to back up in one account
- Works for small businesses backing up servers, NAS boxes and laptops together
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you mainly want Dropbox-style sync, as Cloud Drive is a separate service you have to switch on
- Pricey if you budget on the advertised price, since the 30% off covers the first year only and not app sign-ups
- Tight if you're staying free, as 10 GB won't hold a whole computer
- Watch out: going over your storage costs $0.25 per GB a month on Personal and $0.50 on Team and Business
- Watch out: Mini is yearly only, for new sign-ups and marked limited time, and server backup is $5 a server a month below Business
Pick Wasabi if
- Fits if you already run backup software that speaks S3 and want a flat bill
- Works for IT teams buying capacity of 25 TB or more for a few years at a time
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a folder that syncs to your laptop, as it is object storage only
- Pricey if you store little, because you pay for at least 1 TB a month
- Watch out: deleted data is billed for 90 days on Pay as You Go and 30 days on reserved capacity
- Watch out: Reserved Capacity is 1, 3 or 5 years, from 25 TB, and auto-renews unless you cancel 30 days ahead
How we grade them
| 3.2GPAIDriveVery good | 2.2GPAWasabiFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AGraded as backup. Mini is $0.25 a month for 100 GB billed yearly, far under the cheapest quarter of this category, and 500 GB is $0.83. Personal is $9.99 a month for 5 TB once the first-year discount ends. Go over your storage, though, and it's $0.25 per GB a month. | C$7.99 per TB a month on Pay as You Go, a little above the $6.95 middle of file storage, and billing has a monthly minimum tied to 1 TB. Reserved Capacity starts at 25 TB and has no published price. |
| Free plan and trial | CIDrive Basic is free with 10 GB and no credit card. That holds your documents, but a computer's worth of photos will go straight past it, so it's a cap most people will hit. | CThe trial is 100 GB for 30 days with a company email, or 10 GB for 14 days with a free email address. The listing does not say whether a card is needed, and there is no free plan. |
| Features | BGraded as backup, it does the whole job: many devices in one account, continuous backup, 30 versions of each file, snapshots, a private encryption key and drives sent by post for big restores. Cloud Drive adds sync, sharing and editing in the browser. | CFlat per-TB pricing, object lock, 16 regions and S3 compatibility cover the job for backup. The listing's own gaps keep it at C: a 90-day minimum on deleted data and no sync app at all. |
| Ease of use | BNo store rating on record. Install the app, pick what to back up, and it carries on by itself as files change. The one catch is that Cloud Drive sync is a separate service you have to switch on. | CNo store rating on record. You connect it through S3 tools or backup software such as Veeam, which means keys, buckets and settings to work out first. |
| Platforms and integrations | AWeb, Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone and Android, plus Synology and QNAP NAS apps, and add-ons that back up Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Salesforce, Dropbox and Box. That covers every device type. | BWeb console only, with no desktop or phone apps, but it works with backup and AI tools such as Veeam, Commvault, Rubrik, Cohesity, MLflow and LangChain. |
| Best for | backing up lots of devices in one account | cheap object storage for backups with no egress fees |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: IDrive and Wasabi. How we grade
Price against what you get
IDrive starts at $0.25 a month and scores 3.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Wasabi starts at $7.99 a month and scores 2.3.
IDrive scores higher and starts $7.74 a month lower. Of the other file storage and sync services on the chart, none scores higher than IDrive for less, and 17 score higher than Wasabi for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- IDrive also covers file sync and file sharing.
- Wasabi also covers file management.
At a glance
| IDrive | Wasabi | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $0.25 per month for 100 GB, billed annually (Mini) | $7.99 per TB / month |
| Free plan | IDrive Basic: 10 GB of backup storage, no credit card required. Add-ons such as cloud app backup can be bought on top of it. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | Free trial: 100 GB for 30 days with a company email, 10 GB for 14 days with a free email address |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | IDrive Inc. | Wasabi Technologies |
| Price read from | idrive.com | wasabi.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
IDrive
- Advertised prices are 30% off the first year only, and the discount is not available when signing up from the mobile apps.
- Cloud Drive sync is a separate service that has to be activated; it is distinct from cloud backup.
- Going over the storage limit costs $0.25 per GB a month on Personal and $0.50 per GB on Team and Business.
- Server backup is a $5 per server a month add-on on Mini, Personal and Team, and is part of Business.
Wasabi
- Deleted data is still billed for the minimum storage duration: 90 days on Pay as You Go, 30 days on reserved capacity.
- Pay as You Go has a monthly minimum tied to 1 TB of active storage per account.
- Reserved Capacity starts at 25 TB, is bought for 1, 3 or 5 years and auto-renews annually unless canceled with 30 days' notice.
- It is object storage for developers and IT teams, not a consumer sync app.
Key features
IDrive
- Many devices in one account
- Back up PCs, Macs, Linux machines, iPhones, iPads, Android devices and external or NAS drives into one account, with continuous backup of changed files.
- Cloud Drive sync and sharing
- Sync folders across linked devices in real time, share files with view or edit permissions, and edit Office files and PDFs in the browser.
- Snapshots and versioning
- Keeps up to 30 previous versions of every backed-up file, with snapshots for point-in-time recovery and a 30-day trash for deleted files.
- Private-key encryption
- Files are encrypted with 256-bit AES, optionally with a key you define that IDrive says is not stored on its servers.
- IDrive Express shipping
- Back up or restore bulk data by mail on a physical drive: free once a year on Personal, three times a year on Team and Business, then $59.95 a request.
- Cloud app backup add-ons
- Back up Microsoft 365, Entra ID, Google Workspace, Salesforce, Dropbox and Box accounts for $20 per seat a year, with a 7-day free trial.
Wasabi
- Flat capacity pricing
- One rate per TB covers storage; the pricing page lists $0 for egress and API requests on both purchase options.
- S3-compatible storage
- The site describes S3-compatible storage that works with AI frameworks and backup products such as Veeam, Commvault, Rubrik and Cohesity.
- Immutability and object lock
- Object-lock immutability and Multi-User Authorization are offered to protect backups from ransomware.
- 16 storage regions
- Regions span North America, Europe and Asia Pacific, with a stated 11 nines of durability.
Plans
IDrive
Basic$0
10 GB of storage with no credit card required.
IDrive Mini$0.25
per month for 100 GB, billed annually
One user. 500 GB is $0.83 a month. Sold on yearly billing only, to new sign-ups, and the pricing page marks it "Limited time only".
IDrive Personal$9.99
per month for 5 TB, billed annually ($11.99 billed monthly)
One user, multiple computers. Advertised at $6.99 a month for the first year. 10 TB is $14.99 a month and 100 TB $99.99, billed annually.
IDrive Team$9.99
per month for up to 5 users, billed annually ($11.99 monthly)
5 computers, 5 users and 5 TB, managed from a web console. Advertised at $6.99 a month for the first year; 10 users and 10 TB is $19.99 a month.
IDrive Business$19.99
per month for 500 GB, billed annually
Unlimited users, computers, servers and NAS devices. Advertised at $13.99 a month the first year; 1.25 TB is $49.99 a month, or $59.99 billed monthly.
Wasabi
Pay as You Go$7.99
per TB / month, billed on actual usage
Billed per GB per day, no egress or API fees. 90-day minimum storage and a monthly minimum tied to 1 TB. Basic support.
Reserved Capacity StorageCustom
A fixed capacity block bought for 1, 3 or 5 years, from 25 TB. Larger and longer terms are discounted. Premium support.
Ways to pay less
IDrive
- Other savings
30% off the first year
New sign-ups on yearly Personal, Team and Business plans pay 30% less for the first year, such as $6.99 instead of $9.99 a month for Personal 5 TB. Standard pricing applies from the second year.
- Other savings
50% off the first year of a 2-year plan
Two-year plans take 50% off the first year: Personal 5 TB is $179.82 for 2 years instead of $239.76.
- Annual discount
Lower price with yearly billing
Personal and Team 5 TB cost $9.99 a month billed yearly against $11.99 billed monthly, a saving of about 17%.
- Education
50% off for students and schools
Students, educational institutions and anyone with a valid education email address can get Personal or Business at half price, as a limited-period offer.
Wasabi
- Other savings
Migration incentives through December 31, 2026
The homepage says special migration incentives for moving data to Wasabi are available through December 31, 2026; terms are not stated.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, IDrive or Wasabi?
As of Nov 12, 2026, IDrive is cheaper to start with: $0.25 a month, against $7.99 a month for Wasabi. IDrive starts at $0.25 per month for 100 GB, billed annually (Mini), and Wasabi starts at $7.99 per TB / month.
Which has a free plan, IDrive or Wasabi?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only IDrive has a free plan. Wasabi does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do IDrive and Wasabi run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only IDrive lists macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.