How we rank

A verdict without a method is a guess with a logo on it. This page sets out how BackupShortlist arrives at its order: what gets measured, which sources count, how often the numbers move, and the things no commission can buy. Any recommendation on the site that cannot be traced back to something on this page is a flaw in our process, and we would like to hear about it.

The inputs, in order of weight

The order is built from things we can measure, weighted in the sequence below. You will not find a score to one decimal place on this site: the first promotion or price change would make it wrong, and a wrong-looking precise number is worse than an honest ordering. The order is the part we stand behind; how far apart two neighbouring services really are is explained in the review of each one.

• Checks we can document, plus published guidance. No independent laboratory benchmarks cloud storage and backup services side by side, and we will not invent one. The order rests on our own monthly Price Index, on feature checks we run against each provider’s own documentation (version retention, encryption model, restore options), and on named third-party reviewers cited on each provider page. On ransomware and backup practice we defer to the published guidance of CISA on ransomware & backups, which is advice from an authority rather than test results.
• The price you keep paying. The number we log is the renewal price, not the introductory rate that expires after year one. When the two differ, both are shown. All of it feeds the Price Index, a series we compile ourselves.
• What it does when you need it. Features are weighed against what someone storing or backing up real data will use: how many versions are kept and for how long, whether a restore is straightforward, how the encryption keys are handled. A long list of options nobody touches earns no credit.
• Whether paying is necessary at all. When a free allowance, or something already bundled with your phone or operating system, does the job for most people, that is stated up front, commission or not.

What we hold ourselves to

None of these is a slogan. Every line below describes a rule the ranking process is built to obey.

• Sync is not backup. A synced drive copies your mistakes as faithfully as your files; proper backup keeps earlier versions so you can step back. We say plainly which service does which.
• Encryption checked. For every provider we state who holds the encryption keys: the company, or only you (zero-knowledge), in which case nobody there can open your files.
• Lifetime deals examined. A single payment for permanent storage is tempting. We work out the break-even against a subscription, and say when a lifetime plan is a bargain and when it is a bet you should not take.
• No sponsored rankings. Commissions pay the bills and stop there; they have no vote in the order. Services from the big technology companies that earn us nothing are listed alongside the rest.

How often the numbers move

Nothing drives a technical reader away faster than a renewal price that stopped being true months ago, so keeping the figures current is a job for scripts, not for good intentions. With every build the storage prices get read again and the Price Index is rebuilt from them; a monthly automated measurement is being phased in, so a history accumulates month by month. That history is what almost nobody in this niche publishes, and it is why the site is built to be quoted rather than to beg for links. Every data page carries a visible last updated date and a feed that machines can read, so the freshness claim can be checked instead of believed.

Lines we do not cross

• Ranking positions are not for sale. No provider can pay its way up the list.
• Nothing moves on sentiment, brand affection or the look of a logo. Without data behind it, a change of order does not happen.
• A renewal price, a limit buried in the small print, or a cheaper option is never hidden to protect a commission.
• Ratings are not made up. Where you see a star score, there is real evidence underneath it.

Affiliate income, and why it cannot move a service up the list

BackupShortlist costs nothing to use and is paid for through affiliate links: buy through one and we may receive a commission, at no extra cost to you. The order is settled on the inputs above before commissions come into it at all. The full terms are in the disclaimer; who runs the site is on the about page.

Check us

Publishing the method is pointless unless the outcome can be held against it. Should a position on this site contradict the figures, or should a renewal price have gone stale, that counts as a defect and we want to know. The underlying numbers are out in the open on purpose: the Price Index is released with a free feed under CC BY 4.0 that machines can read, so any person, and any automated reader, can check the figures and reuse them with attribution.