Carbonite is hired to do one job: copy computers and servers to somewhere else on a schedule so a lost laptop is an inconvenience. The software is replaceable. The risk is leaving a gap in coverage, so on this page the restore test comes before the cancellation.
Backup runs quietly in the background, so the line rarely gets reviewed, and renewing can feel safer than finding out what would happen without it.
That caution is reasonable. A missing backup can cost more than the subscription, so the right question is not whether to cut the line but whether the same job can be done and proven another way.
Only alternatives we have checked. An open-source project is listed with the license its repository reports, on the date shown; one whose license could not be read as a single standard id is not offered as open source. Read the license guide before running any of them.
| Alternative | Kind | License | Read from |
|---|---|---|---|
| restic | Open source | BSD-2-Clause | restic repositoryChecked Oct 25, 2026 |
Each feature below is what the product's own page or README says, linked to where we read it on the date shown. Pros and cons are limited to what those pages state and to what the path itself changes. We do not rank products on quality.
| Plan | Price as published | Includes | Read from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carbonite Core | $19.20 per month, billed annually | Up to 25 computers, external drives and NAS (no server), 250 GB cloud storage | Carbonite professional backup plansChecked Oct 25, 2026 |
| Carbonite Power | $53.33 per month, billed annually | 1 server plus up to 25 computers, 500 GB cloud storage | Carbonite professional backup plansChecked Oct 25, 2026 |
| Carbonite Ultimate | $86.67 per month, billed annually | Unlimited servers plus 25 computers, 500 GB cloud storage | Carbonite professional backup plansChecked Oct 25, 2026 |
List prices as printed on the vendor's page on the checked date, excluding tax. Carbonite showed these as billed annually with a 20% saving label; the figure shown is the monthly equivalent it printed. Promotions and what a plan includes can differ at checkout. Its personal plans are not listed here.
Carbonite is hired to copy laptops and servers to somewhere else on a schedule. The job is plain, but the risk is not symmetrical: a wasted subscription costs the fee, and a backup that was never tested costs the files.
A command-line tool such as restic, which we verified as BSD-2-Clause licensed, can do the copying to storage you choose. It leaves you with the schedule, the monitoring and the restore drill, which the product was doing for you. Price those honestly before calling it a saving.
Samples are made up and are not Carbonite's prices. Type in the figures from your own invoice or order form.
The honest yearly cost of running open-source software yourself, set against the bill it replaces, with the seat count where it stops paying.
Paid seats against seats in use: what the idle ones cost a year, and what you save by right-sizing at renewal.
Arithmetic only, not tax, accounting or legal advice. Check the figures against your own order form.
Replacing a backup is the one move where you overlap the old and new on purpose. In outline:
List every computer and server backed up today, who uses it, and which folders matter. Remove machines that no longer exist before you count seats or storage.
Decide how far back you must be able to restore and whether any rule or customer contract sets that period. This drives the storage you buy.
Choose the tool and the storage location, and write down who holds the encryption keys or passwords. If those are lost, the backups cannot be read.
Start the new backups on one machine and let them run on schedule for at least a week. Add a failure alert that reaches a person.
Restore a real file and a real folder onto a different computer and open them. Compare the file counts and sizes against the source.
Roll out to the remaining machines. Keep the old plan running until each one has completed a scheduled backup and a restore test on the new side.
Pull anything from the old backups you still need, then end the plan inside the contract's notice window and keep the confirmation.
Run the vendor report for QuickBooks Online or Xero, then open the free audit.
General information, not legal advice. See cancelling without penalties. Last reviewed Oct 25, 2026. Product names belong to their owners and are used only to identify them.
Send us the export and see which lines are worth a second look. A connected version is planned. Carbonite is one of the lines worth a look.
Worked example. Type over it.
Result
| Self-hosting, per year | Amount |
|---|---|
| Hosting, backups, tooling | 720.00 |
| Admin and restore-test time | 2,640.00 |
| Total | 3,360.00 |
| One-off set-up (not in the yearly total) | 1,200.00 |
The saving holds only if the time is real. Price the admin hours at what that person's time costs the company, not at zero.
Worked example. Type over it.
Result
“In use” is your call: last sign-in in the past 30 or 90 days from the vendor's admin report. A seat for someone on leave is not idle.