Personal Backup storage: off-site space for your files
UnderHost Personal Backup gives you 10 GB to 1 TB of off-site storage in Canada with FTP, SFTP, SCP and rsync access. Compare backup products, connect, and automate your own backups with cron.
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Personal Backup is off-site storage space for your files: 10 GB, 500 GB or 1 TB, located in UnderHost's Canada data center. You send data to it with FTP, SFTP, SCP or rsync, from a computer, a website or a server. It is storage you control: you decide what to back up and when, and you can retrieve your files at any time.
Which backup product to choose
| Personal Backup | Business Backup | Cold Storage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sizes | 10 GB, 500 GB, 1 TB | 2 TB, 5 TB, 20 TB | 1 TB, 5 TB, 10 TB |
| Access | FTP, SFTP, SCP, rsync | Full root and SSH, plus aaPanel | Staging server for uploads; the vault drive is offline |
| How data gets in | You upload or sync, whenever you like | You run rsync, cron jobs or any software you install | You upload to staging; it is copied to your drive on the 1st of each month |
| Best for | Personal files and small sites | Large and business data with full control | Long-term archives that must be offline |
| Guide | This page | Business Backup | Cold Storage |
Your hosting plan may already include backups. See Backup options at UnderHost. An extra off-site copy that you control protects you even if a hosting account is lost or compromised.
Plans
| Plan | Storage | Bandwidth | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10GB Backup | 10 GB HDD | Unlimited at 100 Mbps | $3.95 USD / month |
| 500GB Backup | 500 GB HDD | Unlimited at 100 Mbps | $13.95 USD / month |
| 1TB Backup | 1 TB HDD | Unlimited at 100 Mbps | $19.95 USD / month |
Setup is free. For more than 1 TB, see Business Backup, or ask for a custom quote. Current prices are on the backup page.
What is and is not included
| Included | Not included |
|---|---|
| FTP and SFTP access for file management | A control panel (no cPanel or DirectAdmin) |
| SCP and rsync for copies and incremental syncs | Automatic scheduling: you run backups with cron or scripts |
| Unmetered traffic on a 100 Mbps port | Version history: an overwritten file replaces the old one, unless you use a tool that keeps versions |
| Free setup and 24/7 support | Live databases: it stores files, such as database dump files |
Connect to your storage
After the order, your FTP/SFTP login and server name are sent by email. In the examples, replace your-backup.underhost.com and your_username with your own details.
# SFTP (encrypted, recommended)
sftp your_username@your-backup.underhost.com
# copy one file with SCP
scp /local/file.tar.gz your_username@your-backup.underhost.com:/backups/
# sync a folder with rsync: only changed files are sent
rsync -avz /local/folder/ your_username@your-backup.underhost.com:/backups/folder/In FileZilla, choose SFTP as the protocol with the same server and login. Prefer SFTP, SCP or rsync over plain FTP, because plain FTP does not encrypt your password or data. See FTP vs SFTP.
Automate your backups
Personal Backup does not run backups by itself, so schedule them where your data lives. On a Linux server or computer, set up a key login first so the job can run without a password: add your public key to ~/.ssh/authorized_keys on the backup storage, or ask support to add it (see SSH key authentication). Then add a cron job:
# every night at 02:30: dump the database, then sync files and the dump
30 2 * * * mysqldump --single-transaction mydb | gzip > /home/me/db-backup.sql.gz && rsync -az --delete /var/www/example.com/ /home/me/db-backup.sql.gz your_username@your-backup.underhost.com:/backups/example.com/ >> /home/me/backup.log 2>&1Check the log after the first run, and test a restore. On Windows, WinSCP can run a scripted sync from Task Scheduler.
With --delete, a file deleted or encrypted by ransomware on your side is also removed or overwritten in the backup at the next sync. Keep dated copies (next section) so one bad sync cannot wipe out your only copy.
Keep older versions
The storage keeps only what you send. To keep history, send dated copies or use a tool that keeps versions:
- Dated archives: upload
site-2026-10-23.tar.gzeach day and delete the oldest after a set number of days. - rsnapshot or rdiff-backup: keep several snapshots while storing unchanged files only once.
- duplicity: encrypted, incremental backups, useful for sensitive data.
See Backup retention for how long to keep copies.
Restore files
# bring a whole folder back
rsync -avz your_username@your-backup.underhost.com:/backups/example.com/ /restore/example.com/
# or download one file
scp your_username@your-backup.underhost.com:/backups/db-backup.sql.gz .Restore into a separate folder first, check it, then move it into place. See Restore files and databases.
FAQ
mysqldump or your control panel, then upload the file. The storage cannot run a live database.Related: Business Backup | Cold Storage | Backup best practices | Backup options at UnderHost
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