01Home & small-business NAS
Synology
NAS appliances with the DiskStation Manager operating system, backup, sync and surveillance apps.
Best for: Easy, feature-rich small-business NAS.
Visit Synology →Network Attached Storage (NAS)
File-storage appliances and software for home, small-business and enterprise use: NAS systems, scale-out file platforms and NAS operating systems.
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02Home & small-business NAS
QNAP
NAS devices with the QTS and QuTS hero operating systems, including models with 10GbE and NVMe.
Best for: Flexible hardware and apps.
Visit QNAP →03Home & small-business NAS
ASUSTOR
NAS devices and the ADM operating system for home and business use.
Best for: Home media and backup.
Visit ASUSTOR →04Home & small-business NAS
TerraMaster
NAS devices with the TOS operating system for home and small offices.
Best for: Budget-friendly multi-bay NAS.
Visit TerraMaster →05Home & small-business NAS
Western Digital My Cloud
Personal and small-business network-attached storage from Western Digital.
Best for: Simple personal cloud storage.
Visit Western Digital My Cloud →06Home & small-business NAS
Buffalo
Buffalo's NAS and storage products for homes and businesses.
Best for: Straightforward file sharing.
Visit Buffalo →07Enterprise & scale-out NAS
NetApp ONTAP
NetApp's data-management software behind its NAS and unified storage systems.
Best for: Enterprise NAS with rich data services.
Visit NetApp ONTAP →08Enterprise & scale-out NAS
Dell PowerScale
Dell's scale-out NAS family for large amounts of unstructured data.
Best for: Large unstructured data and analytics.
Visit Dell PowerScale →09Enterprise & scale-out NAS
Qumulo
Scale-out file storage that runs on-premises and in the cloud.
Best for: Hybrid scale-out file storage.
Visit Qumulo →10Enterprise & scale-out NAS
VAST Data
A data platform that provides file, object and database services on one architecture.
Best for: AI and analytics data pipelines.
Visit VAST Data →11Enterprise & scale-out NAS
Nasuni
A cloud-native file-services platform that replaces traditional file servers and NAS.
Best for: Multi-site file sharing with cloud storage.
Visit Nasuni →12NAS software & operating systems
TrueNAS
NAS software built on OpenZFS, available as free community software and as commercial appliances.
Best for: DIY and professional ZFS NAS.
Visit TrueNAS →13NAS software & operating systems
Unraid
A NAS operating system that mixes drives of different sizes and also runs VMs and containers.
Best for: Home labs with mixed disks.
Visit Unraid →14NAS software & operating systems
OpenMediaVault
A free, Debian-based NAS operating system with a web interface.
Best for: Lightweight DIY NAS.
Visit OpenMediaVault →15NAS software & operating systems
Samba
The open-source implementation of the SMB protocol that lets Linux and Unix systems share files with Windows.
Best for: SMB file sharing on Linux.
Visit Samba →Choosing the right approach
Match your requirement to a starting point, then compare vendors.
| Shared files for a small office | A small-business NAS such as Synology or QNAP |
|---|---|
| Build your own | TrueNAS, Unraid or OpenMediaVault on your own hardware |
| Petabyte-scale unstructured data | Scale-out NAS such as PowerScale, Qumulo or VAST |
| Windows and Linux file sharing | SMB (Samba) and NFS on the NAS |
| Multi-site file sharing | A cloud-backed file platform such as Nasuni |
| Block storage for databases | A SAN or direct-attached storage instead |
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Neighbouring directories and hubs.
IT StorageThe storage hub.Storage Area Networks (SAN)Block storage networks.Direct Attached Storage (DAS)Storage attached to one server.RAIDDisk redundancy and striping.Software-Defined StorageStorage as software.File Storage SolutionsScale-out file and object.Backup and Recovery SoftwareProtect NAS data.Object Storage SolutionsObject storage compared.Block Storage SolutionsBlock volumes.Other Storage SolutionsTape, archive and specialty.AI Storage SolutionsStorage built for AI workloads.Enterprise Storage SolutionsEnterprise arrays and services.
Frequently asked questions
Quick answers.
What is network attached storage?
NAS is a storage device or system that shares files over a network using protocols such as SMB and NFS, so many users and devices can read and write the same data.
NAS or SAN?
Use NAS when people and applications need shared files. Use a SAN when servers need raw block storage, for example for databases and virtual machines. Some systems offer both.
Is RAID a backup?
No. RAID protects against drive failure but not against deletion, corruption, ransomware or loss of the whole device. Keep separate backups, including an off-site copy.
What are SMB and NFS?
SMB is the file-sharing protocol used by Windows and many other systems. NFS is the standard file protocol on Linux and Unix. Most NAS systems support both.
How much NAS capacity do I need?
Estimate current data plus several years of growth, then allow for RAID overhead and snapshots. Plan for expansion bays or a scale-out system.
Descriptions summarise each vendor's or project's own positioning, checked on 5 October 2026. Product names and offerings change often, so confirm details on the linked site before deciding.