# rsync.net vs SnapShooter

Canonical: https://inetgeek.com/compare/rsync-net-vs-snapshooter/

Every value below is read from rsync.net's and SnapShooter's own documentation. See https://inetgeek.com/methodology/ for how.

## At a glance

| Criterion | rsync.net | SnapShooter |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Entry paid plan | No plan fee. The floor is an 800 GB minimum order at 1.5 cents per GB per month; the page states the minimum and the rate separately and does not multiply them out. | $14 a month for Lite, covering up to 3 backup resources with 10 GB of included storage and daily runs. |
| Pricing model | Per gigabyte held, per month, tiered by total volume with no contract. The same features are offered at every tier and at every location — what a larger commitment buys is a lower rate, longer snapshot retention, physical media shipment and integration engineering, not a different product. | Per backup resource — 3, 20, 50, then 250 — with included storage at each step and unlimited bring-your-own storage throughout. As with SimpleBackups the tier also buys frequency, from daily to twice daily to every 5 minutes, so the plan is really priced on how much you protect and how recently. |
| Backup retention | 7 daily snapshots below 10 TB, and 7 days plus 4 weeks above it. Snapshots are taken and held by rsync.net rather than scheduled by the customer, though the page says every account can set a custom schedule. | Daily only on the entry plan; daily, weekly and monthly rotation from the $39 Startup plan upward. Retention rotation is a paid feature rather than a default. |

## Where they differ

### Entry paid plan

- rsync.net: No plan fee. The floor is an 800 GB minimum order at 1.5 cents per GB per month; the page states the minimum and the rate separately and does not multiply them out. ([source](https://www.rsync.net/pricing.html))
- SnapShooter: $14 a month for Lite, covering up to 3 backup resources with 10 GB of included storage and daily runs. ([source](https://snapshooter.com/pricing))

### Pricing model

- rsync.net: Per gigabyte held, per month, tiered by total volume with no contract. The same features are offered at every tier and at every location — what a larger commitment buys is a lower rate, longer snapshot retention, physical media shipment and integration engineering, not a different product. ([source](https://www.rsync.net/pricing.html))
- SnapShooter: Per backup resource — 3, 20, 50, then 250 — with included storage at each step and unlimited bring-your-own storage throughout. As with SimpleBackups the tier also buys frequency, from daily to twice daily to every 5 minutes, so the plan is really priced on how much you protect and how recently. ([source](https://snapshooter.com/pricing))

### Backup retention

- rsync.net: 7 daily snapshots below 10 TB, and 7 days plus 4 weeks above it. Snapshots are taken and held by rsync.net rather than scheduled by the customer, though the page says every account can set a custom schedule. ([source](https://www.rsync.net/pricing.html))
- SnapShooter: Daily only on the entry plan; daily, weekly and monthly rotation from the $39 Startup plan upward. Retention rotation is a paid feature rather than a default. ([source](https://snapshooter.com/pricing))

## Which should you choose?

Pick rsync.net if Holding a lot of data cheaply and reading it back for nothing: 1.5 cents per GB a month, falling to 0.75 cents above 100 TB, with no egress charge on a restore and unlimited email and phone support at every size.

Pick SnapShooter if Protecting a handful of servers or DigitalOcean resources without paying for a platform: $14 a month covers three, with daily runs, 10 GB included and unlimited bring-your-own storage on every tier including the free one.

Consider something else: rsync.net — You have less than 800 GB to protect. The minimum order is a floor rather than a discount threshold, so a small estate pays for capacity it is not using — BorgBase starts at $2 a month and gives 10 GB away.

Consider something else: SnapShooter — You need backups encrypted or rotated. Backup encryption is listed from the $79 Business plan and weekly and monthly retention from $39, so the entry tier keeps daily copies in whatever state they arrived.

## Documented by only one

- Free tier: SnapShooter: Yes
- What the free plan includes: SnapShooter: One backup job, daily, with daily retention and 500 MB of included storage. The card is titled Free and its call to action is Register rather than the Try for free used on paid cards — but it also prints $14 a month, which is the Lite price, and the page shows Lite at both $14 and $13 elsewhere. Recorded as printed; the $14 on a plan called Free is not resolved here.
- Egress over allowance: rsync.net: None. Restoring is not charged for, which is the difference that matters in this category: a backup you cannot afford to read is not a backup.
- Storage price: rsync.net: 1.5 cents per GB per month up to 9 TB, falling to 1.25 cents from 10 TB and 0.75 cents from 100 TB. Priced in cents rather than dollars, which is the unit the page uses throughout.
- Support on entry paid plan: rsync.net: Unlimited email and phone support on every tier, with a 24/7 hotline added above 100 TB. Support is not a paid add-on at any volume.
- SOC 2: rsync.net: Not SOC 2. Both US locations — San Diego and Denver — are SSAE16 certified with zero exceptions as of May 2015, SSAE16 being the older attestation standard SOC 1 reports are issued under. The company says the certification is not relevant outside the US and holds its Hong Kong and Zurich sites to the same standards without it. Full compliance reports are available, as are in-person datacentre visits.
- HIPAA: rsync.net: Yes, and they will sign a Business Associate Agreement — the thing that actually matters, since HIPAA obligations flow to the vendor only through a BAA. They also document a Massachusetts 201 CMR 17 data security plan, and publish a separate full HIPAA Compliance Statement.
- GDPR / data residency: rsync.net: Absolute by location: data never leaves the geographic location chosen at signup, and the page names Zurich specifically — choose it and not one bit of data leaves Switzerland. Account contact and payment details are held only by full-time employees and shared with nobody, the company having no partners, affiliates or parent.
- PCI DSS: rsync.net: Updated quarterly, with overall and site-specific documentation supplied on request. The page is unusually blunt about it — it dismisses the standard as worthless before confirming they maintain it anyway, on the grounds that customers still have reporting requirements to meet.
- Encryption at rest: SnapShooter: Listed as a feature of the $79 Business plan and above, so the two cheapest paid tiers do not name it.

## Questions this comparison answers

**Entry paid plan: rsync.net or SnapShooter?**

rsync.net: No plan fee. The floor is an 800 GB minimum order at 1.5 cents per GB per month; the page states the minimum and the rate separately and does not multiply them out.
SnapShooter: $14 a month for Lite, covering up to 3 backup resources with 10 GB of included storage and daily runs.

**Should I choose rsync.net or SnapShooter?**

Pick rsync.net if Holding a lot of data cheaply and reading it back for nothing: 1.5 cents per GB a month, falling to 0.75 cents above 100 TB, with no egress charge on a restore and unlimited email and phone support at every size.
Pick SnapShooter if Protecting a handful of servers or DigitalOcean resources without paying for a platform: $14 a month covers three, with daily runs, 10 GB included and unlimited bring-your-own storage on every tier including the free one.