Finest NAS for dwelling in 2024

NAS, or Community Connected Storage, are specialist computer systems that maintain recordsdata and run providers. A typical dwelling NAS can assist a number of customers and supply many helpful capabilities, offering an alternate approach to safe private knowledge quite than merely counting on cloud providers.

These capabilities and the flexibility to tackle new capabilities and further storage make them perfect for a digital family. They will present a centralized media retailer, a location for backups, and even combine with safety cameras. We take into account these enclosures the very finest NAS for dwelling use, with a deal with affordability and suppleness.

Prime picks for finest NAS for the house

Finest NAS for dwelling

Synology DiskStation DS224+

The undisputed finest NAS for even the busiest of households

$298 $309 Save
$11

The Synology DiskStation DS224+ is the direct successor to the favored DS220+, which was praised for the worth it supplied to shoppers seeking to purchase their first enclosure. The DS224+ has an Intel Celeron processor, 2GB of DDR4 RAM, and assist for Synology’s wonderful DSM working system and catalog of apps.

Professionals

• Nice worth
• Wonderful DSM OS
• Highly effective Intel processor

Cons

• Solely 1GbE networking
• Restricted upgrades
• No growth assist

The Synology DiskStation DS224+ is a superb NAS, changing the favored DS220+, which launched in 2020. Whereas this newer enclosure did not arrive with all of the upgrades many inside the NAS neighborhood have been hoping for, Synology hasn’t elevated the MSRP over the predecessor, successfully providing a CPU improve free of charge. The Intel Celeron J4125 is a well-recognized processor and was current contained in the Synology DiskStation DS920+. This enclosure was considered top-of-the-line NAS for Plex, making this DS224+ a compelling selection for the house.

In our in depth testing, we discovered the NAS to carry out simply in addition to its predecessor, with notable enhancements in media transcoding and working extra intensive apps. The quicker processor can do all duties with fewer system sources, permitting different duties to be run or accounts to hook up with the enclosure with out slowing down general efficiency. 2GB of DDR4 RAM must be sufficient to get began, however it may be expanded to a most of 6GB, as supported by Synology.

There is not any approach to join an growth unit or any M.2 slots. As soon as you have absolutely loaded this NAS with knowledge, you may want to think about a alternative with extra bays. Nonetheless, it is a good place to begin for a house NAS with its good worth and inexpensive price ticket. Simply keep in mind to consider the price of NAS drives.

The TerraMaster F2-223 presents nice worth in comparison in opposition to our high advice. The corporate priced this NAS at $260 whereas providing an Intel Celeron N4505 processor, supporting as much as 32GB of RAM — which is greater than some have of their desktop PCs — and M.2 slots for good measure. Not solely is that this NAS able to dealing with a busier family, but it surely’s additionally an excellent choose for a smaller Plex Media Server set up. Do not learn an excessive amount of into the obtainable HDMI port, as TerraMaster has but to allow this for media playback.

Nonetheless, the specs and worth make this a fantastic choose for these wanting one of the best bang for his or her buck. The 2 2.5GbE connections on the rear are perfect for benefiting from further community bandwidth or offering scope for infrastructure upgrades sooner or later. We present in our testing for assessment that the TerraMaster F2-223 solely suffered from a restricted app choice, ensuing within the firm counting on community-maintained choices and a downgrade in cloud assist in comparison with Synology.

Should you’re on the lookout for a NAS to make use of as native storage with out cloud-backed providers, the TerraMaster F2-223 could also be a greater match than the Synology DiskStation DS224+

Ugreen entered the NAS market with all of the panache of a canon baller in a swimming pool, launching six completely different NAS choices from the outset. The DXP6800 Professional is one rung beneath its flagship DXP8800 Plus, and this can be a high-end design with all of the bells and whistles that make it a remarkably versatile answer.

The Intel twelfth Era Core i5 processor mixed with as much as 64GB of RAM permits this NAS to host a number of functions and providers with out breaking right into a sweat. There are six typical drive bays and two NVMe SSD slots, giving a complete potential storage capability of 160TB, primarily based on present drive scales.

Evaluating this unit to these from different manufacturers, the DXP8800 Plus is extra oriented to the software program developer and technically minded. Ugreen’s UGOS working system is comparatively new, it doesn’t supply the suite of apps you would possibly count on from Synology or QNAP. Nonetheless, those that know use Docker containers and digital machines can set up all of the basic NAS instruments, like Plex.

Nonetheless, those that desire a extra subtle NAS setting from the outset can swap UGOS for TrueNAS, a third-party NAS OS. However that change is one other technical train hinting that the DXP6800 Professional is extra for know-how aficionados than the typical dwelling consumer.

Spinning mechanical drives supply one of the best worth when it comes to price-per-GB, however they’re loud, have motors that trigger vibrations, and are not terribly dependable. Shifting elements usually tend to break than motionless elements, so SSDs have gotten extra commonplace in NAS. Asustor went above and past with the Asustor Flashstor FS6706T by providing no 3.5-inch drive bays. As an alternative, this enclosure homes six M.2 NVMe drive slots for fast solid-state storage.

This opens entry to many potentialities for creating a house server with out noise, excessive energy draw, and vibrations. Utilizing SSDs could also be costlier than mechanical drives, particularly when buying these designed for NAS utilization, but it surely could possibly be value it for those who need one of the best endurance. This NAS can be an excellent match for storing knowledge and working some providers or making a media streaming platform. The Intel Celeron N5095 is one we have seen in most of the finest NAS, and 4GB of DDR4 RAM is a good place to begin.

Gaining access to six M.2 slots for fast NVMe drives is nice by itself, however this requires appreciable bandwidth for it to be definitely worth the funding. Sadly, as we highlighted in our assessment, it is unimaginable to run six PCIe 3.0 drives at full velocity and benefit from the highest knowledge switch charges. The CPU and two 2.5GbE community factors act as a bottleneck for the obtainable storage slots. It is no deal-breaker and can solely have an effect on these looking for excessive speeds throughout the community. We discovered absolutely saturating the 2 2.5GbE ports to be greater than sufficient for the house or workplace.

There’s little cause to think about something aside from the Synology DiskStation DS223j for a NAS that will not value a lot. This enclosure prices lower than $200, but manages to deal with two 3.5-inch drive bays for as much as 40TB of uncooked storage capability. This makes it the best NAS for properties and NAS newbies the place extra intensive apps equivalent to Plex Media Server won’t be put in. Streaming media with this enclosure is feasible, however transcoding is out of the query because of the ARM processor.

Synology made this NAS inexpensive through the use of a Realtek RTD1619B processor. It is an ARM chip that packs much less punch than its Intel Celeron counterparts. This does imply the enclosure attracts much less energy and will run cooler. 1GB of DDR4 RAM is put in, and that is all you can use, as there isn’t any choice to develop it. Like all different Synology NAS enclosures, the DS223j runs DiskStation Supervisor (DSM), offering entry to the best-in-class working system.

We discovered the NAS to be a superb budget-friendly enclosure with just a few drawbacks when factoring in its low worth. First, there’s the problem of restricted system sources. 1GB of RAM might not be sufficient for busier households with a number of accounts making an attempt to carry out numerous NAS-related duties. The CPU is not probably the most highly effective in an enclosure, both. There is not any growth assist and a single 1GbE connection to the community can rapidly grow to be saturated. Nonetheless, the DS223j is an efficient, inexpensive NAS for many properties.

TerraMaster NAS options have matured lately, and the TerraMaster F4-424 Max demonstrates what a classy machine it might now supply.

From the surface, this can be a black four-bay NAS made largely of plastic that appears to ape these made by Synology, however inside, TerraMaster delivers many distinctive options that its opponents don’t present at this, or in some circumstances, at any worth.

The ten-core Intel Core i5-1235U processor delivers as a lot processing energy as a typical high-end Ultrabook, and when mixed with as much as 64GB of DDR5 reminiscence, there are many sources to run a number of demanding functions and providers with ease.

The utmost inside storage is 88 TB (22 TB x4), however further exterior drives will be connected by way of USB utilizing drive arrays just like the TerraMaster D8 Hybrid.

Different useful ports embody HDMI output and the twin 10GbE LAN ports, enabling the TerraMaster F4-424 Max to assist many customers concurrently.

Whereas the apps obtainable for the TerraMaster TOS working system aren’t as polished as these obtainable from Synology, native variations of Plex and Time Machine assist can be found. For these with extra specialist wants, this NAS additionally helps Docker containers.

Just like the Ugreen DXP6800 Professional, the TerraMaster F4-424 Max might be overkill for many dwelling customers, but it surely has loads of potential for individuals who need to develop a system and have a centralized file retailer on the middle of the community.

With the identical processor and reminiscence because the Synology DiskStation DS233j, the BeeStation has sufficient sources to serve recordsdata and sync Cloud providers to dwelling community set up. In its place to a whole Synology DiskStation NAS structure, Synology honed the BeeStation to be a fundamental NAS with its personal pre-installed 4TB drive and BSM working system.

Synology shopper software program permits folders to be synced to the BeeStation and different techniques, together with Home windows, Apple Mac, and Android gadgets. And, as you would possibly count on with Synology, the answer is extremely polished and able to exit of the field.

The BeeStation may be much less perfect as a result of the inner storage can’t be upgraded, although exterior USB drives will be added. The BSM working system doesn’t have user-installable apps like DSM, and aside from the 2 BeeFiles and BeePhoto instruments, there isn’t any further web-based performance. The BeeStation wants DNLA media serving and a BeeVideo software, however Synology hasn’t delivered these but or indicated that they are going to be coming.

What the BeeStation presents is a simple-to-deploy NAS answer that may centrally sync recordsdata from a number of gadgets and in addition maintain a neighborhood copy of Cloud saved recordsdata from Google Drive, DropBox, or OneDrive. Those that want extra performance than that ought to take into account alternate options, together with these from Synology that run DSM and have drive bays.

For a very long time, NAS followers have anticipated an SSD NAS from TerraMaster, and whereas they appeared from QNAP and Asustor, it took TerraMaster a little bit longer to ship.

The F8 SD Plus is a high-end SSD NAS that rivals the likes of the Asustor Flashstor 6 FS6706T, with eight M.2 slots, not the six that the FS6706T has. These further slots enable for extra capability and further efficiency when the drives are organized into RAID packs.

Being quick internally is barely so helpful, however TerraMaster additionally offered a 10GbE LAN port, enabling the unit to file server to a PC with the identical community port at 800MB/s, or a number of related machines utilizing slower connections. That’s spectacular for a NAS you can simply carry, and is good for individuals who want to gather or dispense giant quantities of knowledge rapidly.

The place TerraMaster considerably dropped the ball is that there are not any SD Card slots on this NAS for dumping video or images, and the USB offered is barely USB 3.2 Gen 1, not Gen 2 or Thunderbolt.

For individuals who like the concept of the F8 SSD Plus, however not the worth, TerraMaster additionally presents a less expensive mannequin with the identical variety of slots, however with a much less highly effective CPU and fewer reminiscence.

Selecting one of the best NAS for dwelling

Spending a number of cash on an unique NAS with options you’re unlikely to make use of and even want is tempting. Relying on the model and enclosure, techniques with many bays can value 1000’s of {dollars} as soon as populated with drives.

Much less formidable NAS will be purchased for as little as $100 and fitted with a few smaller drives salvaged from outdated PCs in case your price range is proscribed.

One other approach to cut back the price range is to repurpose outdated PC {hardware}, utilizing cheap NAS enclosures made for system builders. Precisely how highly effective a NAS must be is ruled by the variety of simultaneous customers it’s more likely to assist and the types of providers it can run.

The least highly effective NAS obtainable can serve recordsdata to a handful of customers, however platforms that may transcode video on the fly and seize video from a number of safety cameras want higher {hardware}.

As a place to begin, we would advocate a two-bay NAS with an Intel Celeron processor, as this has enough energy for even a busy family with a number of relations who’re concurrently accessing knowledge saved on the server or apps.

An incredible instance of such a NAS is the Synology DiskStation DS224+, a succesful enclosure with an Intel Celeron processor and DDR4 reminiscence with 2GB put in from the manufacturing facility that may be upgraded. Out of the field, it has entry to Synology’s wonderful DSM working system and comes with two 1GbE community connections.

Opponents like TerraMaster could supply NAS with 2.5GbE ports and even 10GbE on some NAS, however two 1GbE hyperlinks are enough for many dwelling networks streaming video and music.