SpiderOak Cloud Storage Service Review
If you’re currently on the lookout for an alternative to Dropbox or Tresorit, then you might want to check out our Spideroak review. Because we know just how hard it is to find the perfect hosting and backup service, we are going to pen down the pros and cons, advantages, and disadvantages of using this client.
Related Articles
SpiderOak – General Info
Presently, SpiderOak offers three products. One is the SpiderOak Semaphor, which is a highly secure team collaboration tool. They also offer SpiderOak One, the SpiderOak cloud storage solution.
Lastly, they offer SpiderOak Encryptr. The SpiderOak Encryptr is a password manager that allows you to generate and keep track of all your passwords.
In our SpiderOak review, we will be focusing mostly on the SpiderOak cloud storage service, SpiderOak One.
SpiderOak One is a cloud-based hosting and backup solution built on the Crypton Java-based platform. With SpiderOak One, you can backup files and folders to SpiderOak’s cloud, and access files and folders from across multiple devices. You can also share files and review and edit multiple versions of the same file.
Setting up your first SpiderOak account is very easy. All you’ll have to do is to head over to SpiderOak’s official page, click on the SpiderOak One Service, and then on the “Get started for free” button.
Plans & Pricing
At first glance, SpiderOak pricing tears may seem a bit complicated. However, on closer inspection, you’ll realize they’re actually quite straightforward,
Here are SpiderOak price tiers.
| Plan | Price | Storage Allotment | Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | 250 GB | Requires no credit card; no obligations to purchase; expires after 21 days |
| Personal One | $5/month or $59/year | 100 GB | |
| Personal Two | $9/month or $99/year | 250 GB | Offers the best value for price |
| Personal Three | $12/month or $129/year | 1 TB | Ideal for professionals working at home |
| Groups | $9/month/user (requires at least 10 users) |
Unlimited | Simplified Fast Start; folder management access; sync across multiple devices; 30-day file versioning; access to deleted data; collaboration |
| Enterprises | $299 setup fee and $5/month/users (requires at least 100 users) | Unlimited | Active Directory (LDAP); unlimited files; minimum 100 users |
| On-Premise | Contact SpiderOak for pricing (requires at least 1,500 users) | Unlimited | Active Directory (LDAP); unlimited files; minimum 1500 users |
SpiderOak In-Depth Review
Now that we’ve looked at SpiderOak pricing plans, we will continue our SpiderOak review with an in-depth look at its main features.
File Backup
Backing up your files will seem like a breeze with SpiderOak One. You can do this by using the desktop manager or by using SpiderOak’s cleverly-designed web-based interface.
Using the desktop application, to back up your first files and folders, you must access the “BACKUP” section. SpiderOak offers quite a lot of choices when it comes to choosing which files should go to the cloud and which one should stay on the local drive.
Unlike other cloud backup services that offer rudimentary search boxes and drop box menus, SpiderOak One employs multiple selection filters. Using the category menu, you will be able to tell SpiderOak what kind of files should it start scanning.
File Restoration
SpiderOak One offers two methods for restoring your files and data: either by using the web-based application or the desktop manager.
In order to restore one or more deleted a file or folders, just head over to the “Manage” tab, and choose the files you wish to restore. You can either restore individual files or restore all of them.
SpiderOak One will restore all your stored files in the Download folder. Alternatively, you can set the restoration folder for yourself.
Another thing we’ve appreciated about SpiderOak’s restoration manager is that it allows you to view certain types of files before restoring them to the desktop. Unfortunately, file viewing is only confined to png, jpeg, or other types of picture extensions. You cannot preview documents or videos.
Security
Security is definitely one of SpiderOak’s main strong points. Apart from adhering to the Zero-knowledge policy, SpiderOak has many other tricks up its sleeve to ensure that all your data is safeguarded. For example, your password is encrypted using a PBKDF2 salted and multi-round key.
Furthermore, all your keys are created using AES-256-CFB and HMAC-SHA-256 encryption protocol. To make things even more complicated, SpiderOak will also add an extra layer of TLS/SSL encryption.
Advanced/Other Features
One of the things that make SpiderOak One quite the star is that it keeps a record of virtually any action. By comparison, Touro only keeps 30 versions of each folder. On the other hand, SpiderOak maintains a record of each change committed to the same file, no matter how old it is.
During our SpiderOak review, we noticed that this cloud solution is better optimized for businesses rather than individual users. This is quite noticeable when it comes to SpiderOak file sharing feature. The system is incredibly secure, which is great news for corporate needs. However, individuals may find these complex security measures a bit frustrating.
To be able to share something with a contact, you’ll first need to create a ShareID. You can create a ShareID by accessing the “Share” tab. After creating a ShareID, you will need to create a ShareRoom, and, of course, a ShareFolder.
Alternatively, you can create a simple share link. However, this share link has a limited availability. It will expire after just 3 days.
SpiderOak PROs and CONs
In this section of our SpiderOak review, we will offer a brief recap of the main strong points and disadvantages SpiderOak cloud storage has.
Pros:
- Excellent cross-platform compatibility;
- Above the average upload and download speeds;
- Excellent OS integration;
- Enhanced security;
- Keeps each version of your file;
- One-key backup;
- Drag-and-drop sync feature;
- Unlimited devices;
- Easy to deploy;
- Unlimited storage for business plans.
Cons:
- Interface is hard to use;
- Sharing files is quite difficult and unintuitive;
- No video streaming option;
- Desktop application is bugged;
- Prices are quite high;
- Can’t perform backups from the web-based platform.
SpiderOak Alternative Options
If you’d prefer a SpiderOak alternative that’s easier to use overall, then we would highly recommend Sync. While it may not have the same security levels as SpiderOak, Sync makes up for it in usability. It’s a great alternative for those looking for a home cloud storage solution.
Likewise, ADrive provides better value for personal use than SpiderOak. Even though it offers fewer advanced features, with 50 GB of free cloud storage, ADrive is a solid option.
As far as business needs are concerned, it’s difficult to beat SpiderOak’s offer. However, if you are looking for more cloud storage space, at a relatively low cost, we would recommend looking into our Zoolz review.
Our Verdict
SpiderOak One is an excellent cloud-based storage and backup service, capable of accommodating any of your cloud storage needs. However, since the service stresses security above everything else, it may be hard for a beginner to get the hang of it.
To conclude our SpiderOak review, we would recommend SpiderOak, but mostly for business needs. Home users may find SpiderOak a bit awkward to use. And while the complicated security features can be a great asset for larger businesses, for personal use they may be slightly excessive.
