ElephantDrive Review

1-Minute Review: ElephantDrive is an online backup service that allows you to backup and share files between devices. There are several plan options to choose from, starting at a basic free account and working up to an enterprise account. 

Each plan offers its own set of features and customer support options. Within each account, you can choose between a monthly or yearly pay structure for each plan option. 

Some of ElephantDrive’s best features include its NAS integration and collaborative sharing options. The app makes it simple to upload and share files either from your computer or mobile devices. 

But as with any tool, there are some drawbacks that could turn off some users. ElephantDrive’s maximum file sizes can make uploading large files more difficult or even impossible, depending on which plan you’re using. The privacy features also leave something to be desired.

ElephantDrive offers a few plans, including a forever-free account. Although the forever-free account sounds like an attractive option, it only offers storage for up to 2GB of data. 

If you want to test out products or if you don’t have a large amount of data to store, this could work for you, but those with larger storage needs won’t benefit from the forever free account. 

Paid accounts are broken down into 3 categories: home, business, and enterprise. 

Home is $10 per month or $100 per year. It comes with a base storage of 1,000GB and maximum storage of 15,000GB. If you need more than what the base storage offers, it can be purchased at an additional cost. Files have a maximum size of 2GB, so if you have videos or other large files, this may not work for you.

Business is $20 per month or $200 per year. Like the Home plan, it comes with a base storage of 1,000GB. Additional storage can be purchased, and a maximum of 50,000GB of storage is allowed. Individual file sizes can be up to 15GB. 

Enterprise is $30 per month or $300 per year. Base storage remains at 1,000GB with the option to purchase additional storage. There is no maximum storage limit with the Enterprise plan. Individual files can be up to 200GB. 

ElephantDrive offers a variety of features with each of its plans. To start, ElephantDrive is pre-installed on many of today’s leading network-attached storage (NAS) platforms. This can allow you to integrate your ElephantDrive account and receive a direct backup without mapping the NAS to your computer. 

You can sync your files and data across devices by using the Everywhere folder. When you install ElephantDrive on your computer, the Everywhere folder will be created. 

If you put files into the Everywhere folder, it will automatically sync in the Everywhere folder on all of your other registered devices as well. ElephantDrive works with Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android devices. Files can be uploaded and backed up to your ElephantDrive account via mobile devices as well as your computer.

ElephantDrive even offers collaborative sharing features. To share folders with colleagues or friends, all they need to do is set up a free ElephantDrive account. It will then be able to view, edit or delete files that are within the shared folder. 

You can also use file sharing, which allows you to create a link to files that you want to share with others. For an added layer of protection, you can also add passwords to the URL links to ensure that no one has access to the file unless you’ve given them the password.

The archive feature can help you recover files that you may have accidentally deleted or deleted and then realized that you needed later. ElephantDrive can recognize when you delete files from your device, and if they’re in your ElephantDrive account, it will archive the deleted files. 

This feature allows you to keep copies of deleted files and folders within your online hard drive. ElephantDrive also offers restoration of old versions of your files, which are tracked by time and date.

ElephantDrive’s customer service is a little different in that the level of support that you receive will depend on the plan that you have. That being said, anybody can access ElephantDrive’s Help Center, which has plenty of answers to frequently asked questions. 

Most basic how-to questions should be able to be answered within the Help Center, but for personal assistance, you’ll have limited options.

Here’s how the customer service options break down by plan:

Home: To speak with someone on the customer service team, you can schedule an online chat. There is no support for onboarding, managed restores, nor will you have a dedicated account manager.

Business: Business plans have access to scheduled phone calls with the customer service team. These plans also receive concierge onboarding service and managed restores. There is no dedicated account manager for Business plan members.

Enterprise: Enterprise plans receive priority support from the customer service team. They also receive concierge onboarding service, managed restores, and a dedicated account manager.

ElephantDrive’s mobile app is available for both Android and iOS devices. The app is clean, with only 4 tabs to choose from. You can easily start a backup of your photos, videos or even your phone contacts. You can also select any file and make it available offline, which will place it in your offline resources tab. 

The settings section of the app has a few features as well. You can easily view your subscription, account capacity, and account usage. It’s also possible to toggle your backup and other settings on and off within the app.

ElephantDrive’s privacy and security functions are reasonable, but may not offer the protection that would make some users more comfortable. 

The company encrypts files locally using AES-256 and transfers files to its servers over a 128-bit SSL channel. It also allows you to set up personal encryption keys for your account. 

However, if you use this option, you need to make sure that you don’t forget what it is because ElephantDrive can’t help you recover or reset your personal encryption key. 

The biggest downfall to ElephantDrive’s security is that it does not support 2-factor authentication for logins. This can make it more susceptible to hacking if hacking attempts occur.

One of ElephantDrive’s major pros is that it is often preinstalled and natively integrated on most NAS software. This means that you’ll likely have a higher quality performance and user experience than you may with some of its competitors if they don’t have this feature.

However, ElephantDrive does have some setbacks in the performance area. Since many of the plans have a maximum file size, you may run into issues when uploading large files. 

This can cause your uploading process to take longer or may even prevent you from uploading some files. This experience can make the overall performance of ElephantDrive feel clunky for some users.

If you’re looking for a simple online backup service, ElephantDrive can probably do the job for you. Its free account is a great option for those who want to try out an online backup service or need a way to easily sync files between devices. 

The paid plan options also make it easy to pick the plan that works best for your needs, whether you need more storage for personal files or a way to collaborate and share files among colleagues. 

ElephantDrive’s mobile app is simple and easy to navigate, even if it doesn’t offer as many bells and whistles as some competitors might. Its privacy encryption is up to standard, but ElephantDrive is lacking in some other crucial security features, such as 2-factor authentication. The customer support also leaves something to be desired, with rigid options that are available based on your plan. 

ElephantDrive can be a cost-effective and useful tool for many. Fortunately, you can enroll in the free account or in a free trial to test out the tool and see if it’s right for you.