The best NAS (Network Attached Storage) for home users in 2026 — Synology DS923+, QNAP TS-464, and TerraMaster F4-423 compared for media, backup, and Plex.
A NAS (Network Attached Storage) is a small dedicated server that holds files accessible to all devices in your home — photos, videos, music, documents, and backups. For families building media libraries, photographers managing image archives, or anyone wanting reliable backups, a NAS is the right long-term solution.
This guide identifies the best NAS units for home users in 2026.
| Use Case | Best Pick | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Best Overall | Synology DS923+ | $599 |
| Best for Plex/Media | QNAP TS-464 | $649 |
| Best Budget | TerraMaster F4-423 | $499 |
| Best Premium | Synology DS1522+ | $799 |
| Best Compact | Synology DS224+ | $359 |
| Best 2-Bay Beginner | Synology DS224+ | $359 |
A NAS is a small device (typically 8" × 7" × 7" cube) that contains hard drives and connects to your home network. Once configured, all your devices (computers, phones, smart TVs) can access files on the NAS as if they were on a local drive.
Backup: Automatic backups of all family computers. Drives fail; NAS backups save data. RAID configurations on NAS provide redundancy against drive failure.
Media Server (Plex/Jellyfin): Store and stream your entire movie/TV collection to TVs, phones, and tablets throughout your home. No need for separate hard drives or cloud subscriptions.
Photo Library: Centralize family photo collections. Apple Photos, Google Photos, and dedicated NAS photo apps make photos searchable and accessible from anywhere.
Document Storage: Tax records, family documents, important files — all centrally managed and backed up.
Time Machine (Mac users): Time Machine backup target. Multiple Macs can back up to a single NAS.
Smart Home Integration: Some NAS units (Synology, QNAP) can host Home Assistant, surveillance camera recording, and smart home automation.
The Synology DS923+ is the best overall home NAS in 2026. 4-bay (4 hard drives), AMD Ryzen R1600 CPU, 4GB RAM expandable to 32GB, 2× 1 GbE ports, 1× 10 GbE port (via optional card).
Why "best overall": Synology's DSM operating system is the most polished consumer NAS OS. Photo Station, Media Server, Drive (Dropbox alternative), Surveillance Station — all included. App ecosystem is the most extensive.
Features:
Compromise: Premium pricing. For users who just want a basic backup target, DS224+ at $359 is more cost-effective.
QNAP TS-464 specifically excels at Plex media streaming. Intel Celeron N5095 (4 cores), 4-8GB RAM, 4-bay, dual 2.5 GbE ports.
Why "best for Plex": Intel CPU includes Intel Quick Sync Video (hardware-accelerated 4K HEVC transcoding). For Plex users streaming 4K content to multiple devices simultaneously, hardware transcoding is essential.
Compromise vs Synology: QTS operating system is functional but less polished. QNAP has had security incidents in 2022-2023 — keep firmware updated.
The TerraMaster F4-423 brings genuine 4-bay NAS performance under $500. Intel Celeron N5105, 4-bay, 2.5 GbE ports, hardware transcoding support.
Why this budget pick: TerraMaster has improved significantly in 2024-2025. The TOS operating system is now competitive with Synology DSM for typical home use. Hardware quality matches Synology and QNAP.
Compromise: Smaller app ecosystem than Synology. Less brand recognition (less community support online).
For users wanting more capacity, the Synology DS1522+ is the right step up. 5-bay (5 hard drives), AMD Ryzen R1600, 8GB RAM expandable to 32GB, 4× 1 GbE ports, 1× 10 GbE port (via optional card).
For users: with large media libraries (5,000+ movies, 10+ TB of photos), or those running multiple services (Plex + Surveillance + Home Assistant) simultaneously.
The Synology DS224+ is the right beginner NAS. 2-bay (2 hard drives), Intel Celeron J4125, 2GB RAM, 2× 1 GbE ports.
Why "best compact/beginner": Lowest cost entry to Synology ecosystem. 2-bay is sufficient for: family photos, document backup, music collection, occasional video streaming. Can be upgraded to RAID 1 (mirrored drives for redundancy).
Buying drives separately is standard for NAS — manufacturers sell "diskless" NAS units. Drive selection determines reliability:
Use only drives marketed as NAS drives. They're designed for 24/7 operation, RAID configurations, and vibration resistance from multiple drives running together.
Top NAS hard drive options:
Desktop drives (Seagate Barracuda, WD Blue) are designed for occasional use, not 24/7. They will fail prematurely in NAS use. The cost savings of using desktop drives are eaten by replacement costs.
For a 4-bay NAS:
Backup-focused (RAID 5): 4× same-size drives. One drive can fail without data loss.
Performance-focused (RAID 10): 4× same-size drives. Faster reads, two drives can fail (one from each mirrored pair).
Maximum-capacity (no redundancy): Don't do this. Drive failure means data loss.
Long-term cost comparison for 4TB of storage:
iCloud+ 2TB plan: $9.99/month × 60 months = $599 (with 2 plans for 4TB, $1,198)
Synology DS224+ + 4× 4TB drives + 5-year RAID maintenance: $359 + $360 + ~$200 maintenance = $919
For larger storage needs (10TB+), NAS becomes dramatically cheaper. The flexibility of accessing files anywhere via VPN or Synology QuickConnect also exceeds cloud capability.
When cloud wins: Small storage needs (under 1TB), no technical setup willingness, mobile-primary usage.
When NAS wins: 5TB+ storage needs, multi-user families, photo/video professionals, willingness to do basic setup.
1. Hardware setup: Install drives in NAS bays (10 minutes)
2. Network connection: Connect NAS to router via Ethernet
3. Software setup: Visit find.synology.com on a computer; web-based setup wizard runs
4. DSM installation: NAS downloads and installs Synology DSM operating system
5. Initial configuration: Create user accounts, set up storage pool (RAID configuration)
6. App installation: Install needed apps (Photos, Drive, Plex, etc.)
Total time: 1-2 hours for complete setup.
NAS should have a static IP address (rather than DHCP-assigned changing IP). This makes it consistently accessible by name and IP.
Set static IP:
1. In your router, configure DHCP reservation for the NAS MAC address
2. NAS will always receive the same IP
Optional but recommended: Set up a custom domain name for your NAS (yournas.local) for easier access.
Hard drives fail. RAID configurations protect against single-drive failures, but not all failures. Best practices:
A UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) is the most underrated NAS accessory. Power outages while writing to disk can corrupt entire storage volumes.
Both Synology and QNAP integrate with UPS hardware — when power fails, the NAS shuts down gracefully before battery dies.
Browse networking: Networking category
Consumer Electronics & Smart Home Editor
Alex Carter has spent over 8 years testing and reviewing consumer electronics, with a focus on smart home gadgets, home appliances, and everyday tech. Before joining VersusMatrix, Alex wrote for sever...