Comparison

Backblaze vs ntfy

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Backblaze

Access and manage your cloud-backed-up files directly from your iOS device. Download, preview, and share files securely, with support for Face ID login. Keep your important data readily available wherever you go.

Highlights
  • Access backed-up files
  • Manage cloud storage
  • Face ID login
  • Search and download files
  • Image thumbnail previews
  • Share files
Read full description

Backblaze Mobile for iOS is a free app to view, download, and share files you have backed up to your Backblaze Personal Backup account. Easily access your files from devices running iOS 15+. Features: * Access files backed up to Backblaze Personal Backup * Manage buckets and files in Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage * Face ID access supported for login * Search for specific files and download to your iOS device * Thumbnail preview of downloaded image files * Share files via text, email, etc About Backblaze: * Founded in 2007 * 2.2+ Exabytes of customer data under storage * Recommended by About.com, The Verge, Lifehacker, re/code, Macworld... and hundreds of thousands of customers across over 175 countries "You will sleep so much better knowing you have Backblaze." - John Gruber "I've used other online backup, Backblaze is my favorite." - Marco Arment "I like and can recommend Backblaze." - Walt Mossberg

About

ntfy

This app allows you to send push notifications to your phone from scripts or other applications using simple HTTP requests. It acts as a client for a free, open-source pub-sub service, enabling you to receive alerts and updates directly on your device.

Highlights
  • Send notifications via REST API
  • Subscribe to topics
  • Publish messages via HTTP
  • Integrates with Bash/PowerShell
  • Free and open source client
Features
Read full description

Send push notifications to your phone from any Bash or PowerShell script, or from your own app using PUT/POST requests, e.g. via curl on Linux or Invoke-WebRequest. ntfy is a client for https://ntfy.sh, a free and open source HTTP-based pub-sub service. You can subscribe to topics in this app, and then publish messages via a simple HTTP API. Uses: * Notify yourself when a long-running process is done * Ping your phone when a backup has failed * Alerts when someone logs into your server Example: $ curl -d "Your backup is done" ntfy.sh/mytopic Find more examples and usage instructions here: https://ntfy.sh/docs

Screenshots

Backblaze4 screens
ntfy2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: ntfy at 79% against Backblaze's 35%. ntfy also leads on rating (4.8 vs 2.8) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ntfy holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 2.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ntfy has 425 ratings behind it against 27, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 35% of Backblaze's written reviews are positive against 79% of ntfy's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Backblaze ships an update every 2 months, ntfy fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Backblaze versus ntfy: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBackblazentfy
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.8 (27 ratings)4.8 (425 ratings) — better
Positive reviews34.6% of reviews78.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings27425 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size13 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBackblazePhilipp Heckel

Customer experience

Backblaze

All ratings27 ratings
Positive40.7%
Neutral7.4%
Negative51.9%
Written reviews237 reviews
Positive34.6%
Neutral13.5%
Negative51.9%

ntfy

All ratings425 ratings
Positive93.9%
Neutral1.6%
Negative4.5%
Written reviews142 reviews
Positive78.9%
Neutral4.9%
Negative16.2%

User reviews

Backblaze

From 27 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fast and easy access
  • 💡 Remote downloading
  • 👍 Secure backup access

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes, bugs, and reliability issues
  • 👎 Clunky, slow, and unintuitive UI
  • 🔒 Authentication and login problems
  • 📤 Limited file download capabilities

ntfy

From 425 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Simple and easy to use
  • 🔒 Great for self-hosting
  • 👍 Reliable and works as expected
  • 🚀 Quick and easy to set up
  • 🚀 Lightweight and functional

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Notification issues on iOS
  • 🔍 Limited features compared to other platforms
  • 🔍 Lacks customization options
  • 🐛 Occasional crashes or delivery issues

Bugs and requests

Backblaze

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App crashes on launch or login
  • Inconsistent performance and connectivity
  • Unreliable file downloads and restoration

Requested features

4 requests
  • Thumbnails and previews for media files
  • Ability to manage backups and buckets
  • Improved search and sorting options
  • Sync and upload capabilities from mobile

ntfy

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Notifications not working on iOS
  • Broken click URLs in notifications
  • Compatibility issues with iOS notification summarizing

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to change notification sounds
  • Support for Apple Watch
  • Customizable topic names/aliases
  • Improved iOS notification handling
  • All topics view and read/unread indicators

In-app purchases

None

Backblaze

No in-app purchases

None

ntfy

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Backblaze free?
Backblaze is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is ntfy free?
ntfy is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Backblaze or ntfy?
ntfy is rated higher. Backblaze averages 2.8 out of 5 from 27 ratings, while ntfy averages 4.8 from 425 ratings.
Do Backblaze or ntfy have ads?
Neither Backblaze nor ntfy shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Backblaze or ntfy?
Backblaze ships an update every 2 months, and ntfy fortnightly. Most recently, Backblaze was updated on September 23, 2026 and ntfy on September 24, 2026.

Other comparisons