Is peer-to-peer sync better than cloud backup?

They solve different problems. Peer-to-peer keeps files off other people's servers, but both devices have to be awake at the same time, which is why transfers sit waiting. Sync uses a cloud drive or USB drive you already own as the destination, so the copy completes on its own — the trade being that a provider holds it.

Can I sync files without a cloud account?

Yes. Sync can use local storage or a USB or external drive as the destination, with no cloud account involved, and the same task then works on your phone and your laptop. Resilio Sync is built entirely around that no-cloud model if you want nothing but peer-to-peer.

What happens if my other computer is switched off?

A peer-to-peer transfer waits until that machine is reachable. A Sync task uploads to a cloud drive, so it completes whether or not any of your other devices are on.

Does Sync have storage limits?

Sync does not add limits of its own beyond the free tier's per-task cap. The space available is whatever your Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, Box or S3 account gives you, and USB drives are limited only by the drive.

All comparisons

Sync

Resilio Sync

Sync vs. Resilio Sync

Sync sends your files to a cloud drive you already own, so a backup finishes whether or not any other device of yours is switched on. Resilio Sync is peer-to-peer by design, which keeps files off third-party servers but needs a reachable peer at the other end.

Feature comparison

Sync compared with Resilio Sync, feature by feature
Feature	Sync	Resilio Sync
Works on iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac and WindowsThe same tasks and the same drives on every device you own	Yes	Yes
Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, Box and Amazon S3 in one appFive services connected from a single install	Yes	NoPeer-to-peer by design, nothing stored in the cloud
Amazon S3 supportAccess key, secret, bucket and region	Yes	NoIts listing states files are never stored on cloud servers
USB and external drive supportCopy straight to a drive you can unplug	Yes	Not stated
Private DriveIn-app isolated storage on iPhone, iPad and Android	Yes	Not stated
Five named task operationsBackup, Backup Sync, Restore, Restore Sync and Full Sync	Yes	Not stated
A backup mode that never deletes at the destinationBackup only adds and updates, so a deletion does not travel	Yes	Not stated
Whole-folder tasks, no picking files one at a timeA task takes a source folder, not a hand-made selection	Yes	Not stated
Built-in file manager for every driveBrowse, upload, download, rename and delete inside the app	Yes	Not stated
Share files over Wi-Fi from a built-in web serverOpen a browser on any device on the same network	Yes	Not statedOn iPhone, iPad, Android and Mac
One-time lifetime purchaseBuy once, no recurring charge	Yes	Not stated
Free tierUsable without paying	Yes	Yes

“Not stated” means Resilio Sync’s own published material does not say either way. We only mark a feature as missing where their material says so.

Pricing

Sync

Free$0

Any one drive, ad-supported
One task, up to 100 MB or 50 files per run
Built-in file manager

Pro Monthly$1.99per month

Every cloud service at once
USB and external drives
Wi-Fi web server, no ads

Pro Yearly$14.99per year

Everything in Monthly
Around 37% less than paying monthly

Pro Lifetime$29.99one-time, yours for good

Everything in Pro, no recurring charge

Resilio Sync

Resilio Sync$0

Free to download on the App Store
No in-app purchases listed
Paid tiers are sold outside the app

Resilio Sync pricing is taken from its own published material and may have changed since we last checked.

Two answers to "where should the copy live"

Resilio Sync answers it one way: nowhere but your own hardware, moved directly between machines, with no storage limits because the storage is your own disks. That model has a real constituency — people who object to a company holding their files at all — and one structural condition attached, which the next section is about.

Sync answers it the other way. The destination is a cloud drive you already own — Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, Box or Amazon S3 — or a USB drive you can unplug. The trade is explicit: a provider holds a copy, and in exchange the destination is always awake.

The always-on problem

This is where the two models separate in daily use, and it shows up in Resilio's own reviews. Peer-to-peer needs a peer. If your laptop is closed, the phone has nothing to talk to, and the transfer waits. The usual fix is to leave a NAS or a server running, which works well and is what many Resilio users do — but it is an extra machine and an extra thing to maintain.

A Sync task has no such dependency. The cloud drive is the peer, and it does not sleep, so a backup started on a phone at an airport finishes without anything else of yours being switched on.

Choosing what a task does

Sync's five operations are named and picked per task: Backup and Backup Sync copy one way and never delete at the destination, Restore and Restore Sync bring files back, and Full Sync reconciles both sides including deletions. The naming exists so that the moment you decide whether deletions can travel is a moment you notice.

Tasks also work on whole folders. You point one at a source and a destination and run it, rather than selecting files by hand — which is the difference between backing up a photo library once and backing it up never.

A destination that is always awake

Peer-to-peer is elegant until the other machine is closed, and then the transfer simply waits. Leaving a NAS or a server running fixes it, at the cost of owning and maintaining another machine.

Sync's destination is a cloud drive you already pay for, or a USB drive in your hand. Neither sleeps. A backup started on a phone at an airport finishes without anything else of yours being switched on, and a task run again later picks up whatever is missing. Five named operations mean Backup never deletes at the destination, so a bad run cannot take the copy you already had.

Start free with any one drive, on whichever device is in your hand right now.

What Resilio Sync users report

We read the 250 most recent Resilio Sync reviews on the US App Store (2026-08-09). 41 were one or two stars. These are the themes that came up most, in our own words, with how often they appeared. We have left out complaints Sync does not answer — background syncing is one, and Resilio and Sync are in the same position on it.

The phone cannot find the desktop — syncs stuck pending, or connections that stop working after an update.

6 of 41 recent negative reviews

Sync: Sync does not look for peers. A task talks to a cloud drive over its normal API, so there is nothing to discover on the network and no second machine that has to be switched on for the transfer to happen.

Crashes and stalled transfers, in a few cases with files reported lost or corrupted.

6 of 41

Sync: Sync tasks are explicit and re-runnable — you can run the same task again and it picks up what is missing, because nothing depends on a live session between two devices. Backup operations never delete at the destination, so a failed run does not remove the copy you already have.

Files have to be selected individually, with no select-all for large photo sets.

3 of 41

Sync: A Sync task takes a whole source folder rather than a hand-made selection, so adding thousands of files is the same amount of work as adding one.

The mobile app feels neglected next to the desktop version.

5 of 41

Sync: Sync is developed as one product across iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac and Windows, with the same task model on each, rather than a desktop tool with a companion app attached.

The bottom line

A backup you cannot complete is not a backup. Sync's destination is a Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, Box or S3 account you already pay for, or a USB drive you can hold — none of which sleep, so a transfer started on a phone finishes on its own. Tasks are whole-folder and re-runnable, and Backup never deletes at the destination. Resilio's peer-to-peer model keeps files off third-party servers entirely, which is the reason to choose it; the cost is that another machine of yours has to be awake and reachable every time you want the copy to move.

Frequently asked questions

Is peer-to-peer sync better than cloud backup?: They solve different problems. Peer-to-peer keeps files off other people's servers, but both devices have to be awake at the same time, which is why transfers sit waiting. Sync uses a cloud drive or USB drive you already own as the destination, so the copy completes on its own — the trade being that a provider holds it.
Can I sync files without a cloud account?: Yes. Sync can use local storage or a USB or external drive as the destination, with no cloud account involved, and the same task then works on your phone and your laptop. Resilio Sync is built entirely around that no-cloud model if you want nothing but peer-to-peer.
What happens if my other computer is switched off?: A peer-to-peer transfer waits until that machine is reachable. A Sync task uploads to a cloud drive, so it completes whether or not any of your other devices are on.
Does Sync have storage limits?: Sync does not add limits of its own beyond the free tier's per-task cap. The space available is whatever your Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, Box or S3 account gives you, and USB drives are limited only by the drive.

Try Sync

Your cloud drives and your USB drives, in one app. Free to start.

The same tasks across macOS, iOS, Android, Windows.

Feature comparison

Pricing

Sync

Resilio Sync

Two answers to "where should the copy live"

The always-on problem

Choosing what a task does

A destination that is always awake

What Resilio Sync users report

The bottom line

Frequently asked questions

Try Sync

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