BackUpMyStuff

If there were a prize for the easiest to understand pricing plan, BackUpMyStuff would win it hands down. Instead of a myriad of options, the service offers just one: 10GB uncompressed, at £15 per month. This makes it one of the cheaper services on a per-gigabyte basis, but - perhaps more importantly - means that it's a remarkably attractive proposition for the home user or small business. The 10GB is more than enough space to store vital documents, as well as meeting most people's needs for backing up music and images.

BackUpMyStuff is a reseller for Sungard Services, the company behind Connected. And, like Connected, BackUpMyStuff uses the MobileVault backup client, which is even easier to use than the NovaStor client used by some other services. There's an Automatic setting that allows you to specify that you only want data files backing up, saving you from having to use up space with system or application files. The client walks you through setting up a backup, allowing you to select which files you're backing up and to set an automatic schedule for weekly or daily use.

Recovering files is simple, and can be done directly through the MobileVault client. Usefully you can also recover files to any machine through iRoam, a web-based client that gives you access to your backup through any web browser.

Overall, we liked this service for two reasons. The first was the software, which is easy enough for anyone to use, yet powerful enough to handle a fairly sophisticated backup regime. The walkthrough on installation made creating backup options easy, which is particularly important for first-time users.

But what really makes it a good service is the pricing structure, which is incredibly simple to understand, yet offers enough storage space for most users' files. At £15 per month, 10GB is affordable, but gives you plenty of room for virtually everything.