People ask this like it's either/or. The honest answer: you want both — they protect against different disasters. Here's what each one does, what it costs, and how to combine them without overpaying.
| External hard drive | Cloud backup | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | One-time (~$50–$80 for 1–2 TB) | Free tier, then monthly for more space |
| Speed | Very fast (local) | Depends on your internet |
| Protects against | Cloud outage, account hacks | Fire, theft, drive failure at home |
| Weak spot | Can be lost/stolen/damaged with your home | Needs internet; account security matters |
| Offsite? | No (unless you store it elsewhere) | Yes — automatically |
An external drive is fast, cheap, and yours forever — great. But if it sits next to your computer, a single fire, flood, theft, or ransomware attack can destroy your computer and the drive at the same time. It has no "offsite" protection on its own.
Cloud storage keeps a copy safely away from your home — excellent for fire/theft. But most cloud tools are really sync, meaning a deletion or corruption on your computer can copy up and wipe the cloud version too. And if your account gets hacked or you lose access, that copy can vanish.
Combine them and each one covers the other's weak spot:
Together that's genuine 3-2-1 backup: more than one copy, on different media, with one kept separate. For most people it costs about the price of a single drive, once.
The 3-2-1 rule explained · Back up your phone photos · Best free cloud storage