I’ve tested NAS devices from some of the top brands over the past few months, with a focus on families who want to make backups and perhaps start an entertainment server to cut down on streaming subscriptions. These are the NAS devices I recommend.
You might also want to check out our related guides, like How to Set Up a NAS Server, How to Backup Your Digital Life, and The Best External Hard Drives.
The NAS servers I recommend most
Although no longer in dispute, Synology is still the heavyweight champion of the NAS market, and this two-bay NAS is ideal for the average home. It’s extremely fast, either topping the charts or coming close in my tests, and consistently reaching around 300 MB/s read and 250 MB/s write, although if your network is limited to 1 Gbps anywhere (router, port, cable, or switch) it drops to a little over 100 MB/s. It has a wide range of ports (2.5-Gbps and 1-Gbps Ethernet ports and USB ports on the front and back). Excellent hardware includes a fast Intel Celeron J4125 quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM that can be upgraded to 6GB, and space for two drives (up to 40TB). It’s compact and relatively quiet, with a slight fan noise when busy. The screwless clip-on tray design makes inserting drives quick.
Setup and configuration are simple and accessible. Synology’s software, through its web interface and mobile apps, is the most sophisticated and user-friendly I’ve tested, and Synology offers the largest selection of apps (both its own polished offerings and third-party apps like Plex and Jellyfin). It offers a lot of flexibility for NAS backup, works great as a media server, and offers a number of additional features, including VPN server and security camera support.
The downside is that Synology’s devices are relatively expensive. Remember that, like most NAS devices, you’ll have to provide your own drive. Synology also briefly discontinued its NAS lineup for Synology drives, deeming third-party drives incompatible. Although this has been rolled back after some outcry, so you can now use third-party drives, this is a bit of a red flag. There’s also no HDMI port here, which you might want for connecting a TV. If you find you need more space, the Synology DiskStation DS425+ ($520) adds an additional two bays.
For those wanting a simple network backup that doesn’t require too much thought or configuration, I also tested the all-in-one Synology BeeStation Plus, which comes with storage (prices are currently inflated due to AI-driven scarcity), but no apps or additional features. It’s quick and easy to set up, works fine for automatic backups, and has a good photos app that can recognize faces, but performance is mediocre.
The regular Synology BeeStation ($365) is a bit more affordable, but it has only half the space at 4TB. For a straightforward backup solution, BeeStation is as simple as that, but you can get more for your money.
Synology offers a very wide range of NAS devices, including powerful systems for large businesses. It also makes good routers that can be linked to create a mesh and security cameras that I have not tested yet.
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