{"id":13237,"date":"2021-12-29T10:30:09","date_gmt":"2021-12-29T09:30:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woocommerce-331985-2347979.cloudwaysapps.com\/sugarsync-review-pcmag\/"},"modified":"2022-01-18T16:20:33","modified_gmt":"2022-01-18T15:20:33","slug":"sugarsync-review-pcmag","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smartmileco.com\/sugarsync-review-pcmag\/","title":{"rendered":"SugarSync Review | PCMag","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"
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SugarSync was an early innovator in the cloud storage and syncing space, letting you mark any file anywhere on your system for syncing. Most competitors have moved to a special folder setup where all your cloud files live inside a synced folder along with any subfolders, which can eliminate complexity, however.\u00a0SugarSync has redesigned its apps since our last review, but it\u2019s still overpriced for today\u2019s market and offers fewer security and sharing options than its competitors.<\/p>\n
(Editors' Note: SugarSync is owned by Ziff Davis, PCMag's parent company.)<\/em><\/p>\n SugarSync\u2019s pricing is well above the going rate for cloud storage and syncing services. For $9.99, you get 250GB of storage\u2014that\u2019s eight times the rate you pay for the equivalent tiers on Apple\u2019s iCloud, Box, and Google Drive. You could drop down to SugarSync\u2019s $7.49-per-month plan, but that only gets you 100GB. To get to half a terabyte, you pay $18.95 per month. The business plan includes a full terabyte for $55 per month\u2014but that\u2019s more than 10 times the competitors\u2019 rate of $10 for 2TB. Microsoft charges $6.95 for 1TB, and that plan includes all the downloadable Office applications. IDrive, an online backup service that also includes syncing features, charges $79.50 per year for 2TB with unlimited devices.<\/p>\n You Can Trust Our Reviews<\/p>\n<\/div>\n SugarSync doesn\u2019t offer a permanent free storage account option, as iCloud Drive, Dropbox, Google Drive, IDrive, and OneDrive do, but you can try out the service with a free 30-day trial. That trial requires you to enter payment info, however, so you need to remember to cancel your subscription before it renews.<\/p>\n Setting up SugarSync is a breeze. After you sign up for an account with your email, password, and payment info, you start by downloading one of the SugarSync desktop apps.<\/p>\n The setup doesn\u2019t have requirements for password security, such as a minimum length or the use of special characters. You can\u2019t create an account with a private encryption key\u2014that is, one that only you know and that the service provider can\u2019t access. IDrive and SpiderOAK offer this level of security. Once you launch the app, you sign into the same account you just created on the website, and create a name for the current device.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Next, you see a folder tree of your file system and select which folders you want synced to the cloud. When you select a folder, SugarSync calculates how much space the files included will take up. SugarSync\u2019s documentation says you shouldn\u2019t include live data files such as those used by Outlook email (.eml\/.emlx or .pst), Quicken, iTunes, or the Apple Photos folder on macOS. The documentation also notes that you should not use the service for full disk backup. Once you finish selecting folders, SugarSync takes you to the app\u2019s main section.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n When you install the client application on a second computer, you see an indication of which computer any file is from, and when you want to sync a folder, you get a choice of creating a new folder or merging it with one on the second computer.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Merge option is unique to SugarSync. It lets you map a folder on one system to one on another. This can complicate things, which is why OneDrive and Google Drive don\u2019t offer the option. OneDrive does let you do something similar with the main user folders\u2014Documents, Pictures, and so on\u2014but SugarSync expands the capability to any location on your drive. It\u2019s a good option for those who want to replicate the folder structures on multiple machines.<\/p>\n One minor annoyance is that when you log into your account on the website on a second computer, there\u2019s no download link in your account pages to install the software on the second system. You have to hunt for the installer elsewhere on the SugarSync site. Most syncing apps make it easier to find the app download link.<\/p>\n I\u2019m happy to see that SugarSync supports SMS-based multifactor authentication (aka two-factor authentication, or 2FA). Unfortunately, it doesn\u2019t use an authenticator app that implements the standard one-time-password algorithm.<\/p>\nHow Much Does SugarSync Cost?<\/h2>\n
Setting Up SugarSync<\/h2>\n
Security<\/h2>\n