Acronis True Image is a suite: whole disk images, cloning, cloud storage and anti-malware, on Windows, Mac, Android and iPhone, sold as a yearly subscription. Copy Shelter does one job on Mac and Windows alike: keeping encrypted copies of your files wherever you choose and checking that each one can be read back.
Where Acronis is the better answer
- You want a whole disk image or a clone. Acronis does full image backups, active disk cloning, Universal Restore to different hardware, and a bootable recovery drive it calls the Survival Kit. Copy Shelter backs up files and folders, or the whole machine on Pro, but does not clone a startup disk.
- You use Android or iPhone as well. One Acronis plan covers up to five PCs or Macs and any number of mobile devices, with automatic mobile backups built in.
- You want backup and anti-malware from one company. Advanced and Premium add real-time anti-malware, anti-ransomware defenses and vulnerability scanning alongside the backup.
Where Copy Shelter is the better answer
- Paying once, or nothing. Every Acronis plan is a one year subscription: Essentials $49.99, Advanced $72.99 and Premium $124.99, before a first-year discount. Copy Shelter is free for one backup location, $39.99 a year for Pro, or $79.99 once for this major version, on every platform it runs on.
- Storage you choose. Acronis's cloud is Acronis Cloud: 50 GB with Essentials, 1 TB with Advanced and up to 10 TB with Premium. Copy Shelter writes to any drive or folder, to Amazon S3, Backblaze B2, Cloudflare R2, Wasabi or other S3 compatible storage, to a WebDAV server, or to another machine you own.
- Every copy checked. Copy Shelter reads each copy back and verifies it, and tells you when one has fallen behind or stopped answering.
- Your files back with nothing from us. The format is documented and csctl, a free single file tool, restores with the folder and your passphrase alone.
- One purchase, every platform. Pro covers Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Android, Windows and Linux, up to 10 devices, with no per-platform charge.
Using both
A disk image that can start a PC or a Mac again is a job for an imaging tool. Many people keep an image for getting a machine running again and a file backup with history for getting a file back. The two fail for different reasons, which is the point of having both.
The question to ask any backup
Can you get a file back today, from the backup as it is now, on a machine that has never seen it? Try it with one file before you need it. Copy Shelter's answer is csctl and the published format.
Common questions
Is Copy Shelter an Acronis True Image alternative?
For file backup, yes, on Mac and Windows alike. If you need disk images, cloning or Universal Restore to different hardware, Acronis covers those and Copy Shelter does not.
Does Copy Shelter clone a startup disk?
No. It backs up files and folders, encrypted, to the places you choose, and restores them to any machine. For a clone or a bootable image, use an imaging tool alongside it.
Do I need a subscription for Copy Shelter?
You can pay monthly or yearly, pay once for this major version, or use Free for one backup location with no time limit. Restoring is included in every one of them, on every platform.
Where does Acronis keep a cloud backup?
In Acronis Cloud: 50 GB with Essentials, 1 TB with Advanced, and up to 10 TB with Premium, with paid upgrades available on every plan.
Acronis figures are from acronis.com, the True Image purchasing page, read on 19 September 2026. Prices are the full yearly prices, before the first-year discount shown on that page, and prices change, so check them before deciding. Related: Copy Shelter and Backblaze, Copy Shelter and Arq.