Why I started Skeptu - because price comparison websites suck

Two years ago I started Skeptu to try and bring transparency to price comparisons. Just before I set off on a round the world trip, I was searching for an online service which I could use to keep my work, source code and travel photos backed up online. I knew that inevitably I would do something stupid like drop my laptop in the ocean or have it stolen from the back of a truck.

I first tried

Mozy on a recommendation, and it seemed to work fine backing up lots of data (I had about 50 GB), but then I discovered a blog describing some problems people had restoring data. So, I let my subscription expire. So, I created Skeptu. It's a little rough around the edges right now, but I'm going to keep on working on it until it's the best website for comparing online backup. Here's how: Including every possible service The first thing that frustrated me about other comparison websites was that they only compared a few (often between 5-10) services, and in order to compare all of them I had to trawl each of these websites looking for them each in turn. This takes a while. Skeptu lists every online backup service I can find.

I have no doubt missed a few, but I add them as soon as I find out about them. I think that currently it is still one of the most comprehensive lists on the web. Still, if I've missed a service, if you send me a quick message I'll include it.

Describing each service in precise detail and letting the user query in precise detail

The second thing that frustrated me about other comparison websites was that they were mostly just tables. I couldn't ask them questions. I had to laboriously go through each table and compare each feature and price point until I found one that matched what I was looking for. I couldn't just tell them what I wanted and have them tell me what they had. With Skeptu, you can.

For example, you can ask for online backup services with a windows application and a linux application, under 15 dollars a month with more than 40 gigabytes of storage and file versioning and strong encryption.

Exposing what sucks about the services

Most comparison sites are very positive about the services they are trying to sell, and usually include fawning reviews. They sometimes include token negative reviews as well that don't really expose what's wrong with the service. Ironically, this makes me want to buy from them less.

I've collected what I think are authentic reviews found by googling for "x sucks" (a handy tip for finding out all of the hidden flaws with any service), and I'm currently collecting experiences of people who have both successfully restored after a disaster and those who failed.