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But, like any other appliance, buying a NAS box requires a fair amount of research. With a wide range of options on the market, your choices range from selecting the fastest processor around, more drive bays for future expansion, or software that adds simplicity and reliability to your setup. The latter is much more important than you’d think. After all, you are investing in a software ecosystem that will determine how easy your data is to access, back up, and secure for as much as a decade.
So, if you’re in the market for a new NAS, here’s how the top manufacturers stack up, along with their pros and cons based on software maturity, hardware, and long-term reliability.
Dhruv Bhutani / Android AuthoritySynology has been in the news a lot lately and not necessarily for good reasons. But despite the company repeatedly shooting itself in the foot by limiting hard drive choices to a curated list of vendors, it remains the most popular choice in the consumer storage market.
While other manufacturers offer faster processors, higher RAM capacity, and 2.5GbE or even 10GbE connectivity for less money, Synology keeps the top spot because its software experience is unmatched. Synology’s DiskStation Manager, the web-based operating system running on Synology hardware, is designed to feel as refined and responsive as a desktop operating system while offering instant familiarity.
The main draw of Synology is the frictionless user experience. While the core operating system is designed to look and feel exactly like any other operating system you might’ve used, Synology complements it with a suite of apps for Android and iOS devices. In fact, it has an app for pretty much any task you can think of. Want to back up photos? Synology Photos is your app. Files? DS File is what you use. Music streaming? Let me point you toward DS Music. And that’s before you install third-party options like Plex, Navidrome, or Immich.
Elsewhere, configuring off-site backups with Hyper Backup or syncing personal files with Drive takes minutes without needing advanced network management skills. The app ecosystem receives regular security updates and long-term support that often extends to devices released half a decade ago. I’d know, I’ve been using Synology boxes for the last fifteen years.
The trade-off comes down to hardware specs and pricing. The company has been slow to adopt faster-than-gigabit Ethernet on its mid-range enclosures, and the processors are nearly five years old at this point. If you’re looking for great hardware, Synology is not the one for you.
With Synology, you are paying a premium for software stability. However, for users who want a set-it-and-forget-it private cloud that works every single day, that stability is what still makes Synology the best overall choice.
AmazonUGREEN is the newest major player on this list, but it has aggressively shaken up the industry with its broad range of NAS boxes. Unlike Synology, UGREEN is taking a wholly different approach. Its entire market positioning is around sleek aluminum designs, fast Intel processors, standard 2.5GbE and 10GbE networking, and generous RAM configurations at aggressive price points.
But all that hardware means nothing if the software can’t keep up. It’s no DiskStation Manager yet, but UGREEN’s proprietary UGOS Pro is rapidly turning into a capable operating system thanks to frequent updates. It offers a clean browser-based interface, reliable mobile apps, good enough media management capabilities, and native Docker support for expanding functionality where the first-party apps can’t keep up.
In fact, the main reason UGREEN takes second place is overall software maturity. While basic file sharing, media management, and local backups work well enough, the native app catalog and ecosystem comes nowhere close to Synology or QNAP. That said, there’s a point to be made that third-party open-source apps are even better options. All that to say, if you’re willing to get your hands dirty with Docker containers, the top-tier hardware specs here make UGREEN one of the more exciting hardware packages right now.
AmazonQNAP has been making network-attached storage boxes for almost as long as Synology. However, where Synology took a more mass-market and prosumer approach, QNAP is designed primarily for enthusiasts and small businesses. QNAP’s NAS boxes sit at a middle ground between UGREEN and Synology, with their focus on powerful hardware, plenty of ports and Thunderbolt connectivity, coupled with a stable software build.
Where QNAP excels is in raw performance and much more customization than Synology’s DSM. The QTS operating system offers deep virtualization support and advanced networking configuration options like link aggregation. That’s not to say that Synology doesn’t offer some of these features, but QTS exposes more features for power users. Additionally, QNAP’s Docker implementation tends to be more robust than Synology’s. QNAP’s enclosures are well placed in heavy-use environments like production setups, where tasks like high-resolution video editing off the network drive are an anticipated use case.
On the flip side, I wouldn’t really recommend QNAP as a first NAS. All that hardware flexibility comes with a steep learning curve. The QTS interface can feel overwhelming for beginners, with settings scattered across dense menus. Additionally, QNAP has faced security vulnerabilities in the past, where response times to issue a fix weren’t quite as fast as I’d expect. NAS boxes tend to attract a fair amount of bot attacks, and a misconfigured NAS can mean opening yourself up to ransomware, data corruption, and more.
AmazonChances are, you’ve come across an Asustor NAS if you’ve been looking for a new NAS box. Asustor occupies a middle ground in the market by offering a balanced mix of hardware and competitive pricing. The brand tends to offer somewhat unique designs and even has a range of compact all-flash NAS boxes.
However, more than that, the brand has carved out a niche for itself among media server enthusiasts by equipping many of its enclosures with direct HDMI output, allowing users to connect their server straight to a television or home theater receiver. It’s a fairly niche use case with the prevalence of smart TVs and streaming boxes. However, if it’s something you want to pull off, Asustor remains one of the few options.
Elsewhere, ASUSTOR Data Manager, or the ADM operating system, sits somewhere between Synology’s simplicity and QNAP’s capabilities. Generally speaking, Asustor NAS boxes give you a lot of bang for your buck as far as hardware is concerned, but I wouldn’t look toward the brand for the software ecosystem. In fact, Asustor acknowledges that and offers one-click installs for popular open-source container management and home automation solutions.
It’s a decent choice for budget-conscious buyers or those who want the flexibility of being able to connect the NAS to a television, or the extremely compact form factor of a flash-only NAS. For everyone else, I’d recommend looking at Synology or UGREEN instead.
AmazonIf you’re just looking at dipping your toes into the NAS world or have simpler needs like file sharing, TerraMaster tends to offer budget-friendly options that often undercut major brands like Synology and QNAP. The company is appealing to price-sensitive buyers looking for their first network enclosure.
The physical hardware from TerraMaster is generally solid, featuring clean, minimal designs and modern connectivity options. However, the software side isn’t quite as solid. The TOS operating system has improved steadily over recent years, but it lacks refinement and stability compared to other alternatives. This is especially true if you want to use features like mobile syncing and remote access. These features, while present, require more manual effort to set up.
TerraMaster devices work well enough if your goals are straightforward, such as maintaining local backup shares, running a simple network file sharing hub, or serving media through a third-party application. However, sluggish software updates and a limited native app ecosystem mean that you will, by default, have to look at third-party software options to fill the gaps.
Robert Triggs / Android AuthorityChoosing the right network storage brand comes down to balancing your software and hardware needs. That, as it turns out, is not quite as straightforward a choice as you’d expect, and there’s no single winner here. Moreover, I’ve purposely excluded DIY NAS software like Unraid and TrueNAS because the focus here is on turnkey NAS appliances. While both can run on prebuilt hardware, they’re primarily designed for users who want to choose and manage their own hardware configuration.
Personally, I stick with Synology despite the lackluster hardware simply because the software is rock solid, the app support and software ecosystem are excellent, and the hardware, despite its limitations, is good enough for what I need it to do. A NAS is a long-term investment, so it’s worth paying attention to the software ecosystem, and software maturity is what I prioritize for my needs.
That said, if you want bleeding-edge hardware specs, fast connectivity, and rapidly evolving software, UGREEN is shaping itself as an excellent choice.
For power users who want to deploy a NAS in a production environment or need professional features like virtual machines, QNAP’s lineup of NAS boxes is a good option. Finally, Asustor and TerraMaster serve well as budget-friendly picks if your needs are simpler, like file sharing or a basic media server.
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