The best NAS drives for 2018 NAS drives do a lot more than simply store files like a hard drive. They're your personal cloud service, media server and can even record footage from security cameras. Apple TV -Best Media Streaming from your NAS for Mac users in 2018 For those that are in love with their iPhone and iPad and want to keep everything on a consistent and user-friendly platform, then there is little alternative to Apple TV. A Network Attached Storage device can provide shared storage, a Time Machine backup target, and additional useful features for Mac, iPhone, and iPad users on a local area network -- and beyond. The Best NAS (Network Attached Storage) Devices of 2018 Why buy a network-attached storage (NAS) device? To give a pool of users you choose remote access to large amounts of your data.
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The Rundown
A proper NAS-Mac setup can save time and reduce stress through easier downloads, improved organization, smoother backups, and more. Here are some great ways you can use NAS to make the most of.
- Best Streaming: Western Digital My Cloud EX2 at Amazon, “Outstanding performance for both media streaming and file transfers.”
- Best Budget: Synology DS115J at Amazon, “Offers both sharp looks and good performance at a welcoming price tag.”
- Best Storage: Synology DiskStation DS918+ at Amazon, “Nine drives of storage...a smart option for NAS shoppers looking for a single solution to hold all their data.”
- Best Media: Qnap TS-251A at Newegg.com, “HDMI support on the rear of the box, which allows 1080p videos to play directly from the NAS to an HDTV.”
- Best for Small Businesses: Synology D216II+ at Amazon, “Allowing terabytes of data to fit neatly in your pocket over the cloud with Synology’s mobile app.”
- Best for Home: Western Digital My Cloud EX4100 at Amazon, “Its eight terabytes of storage space offers up a wide set of possibilities for home storage options.”
- Best Splurge:Netgear ReadyNAS 626XOO at Amazon, “The best NAS money can buy.”
Our Top Picks
Best Streaming: Western Digital My Cloud EX2
5
For personal use, the Western Digital My Cloud EX2 ultra network attached storage is the king of the hill. Available in a slew of storage options, the high-performance dual-core processor and 1GB of RAM combine to provide outstanding performance for both media streaming and file transfers. The two-bay unit creates a mirrored backup of all your personal computer files and folders utilizing RAID configuration. For a consumer box, the inclusion of RAID technology is both notable and welcomed and, when combined with Western Digital’s user-friendly operating system, it’s an overall enjoyable experience. Backups can be scheduled or synchronized across computers and My Cloud devices mean that even if you miss a manual backup, you’re still covered.
Additionally, the My Cloud makes it easy to share files publicly by creating a private link that can be user-limited or can allow full-access to anyone with the link. Streaming media fans will love the inclusion of Plex Media Server, which allows quick and easy support for sharing files directly to a PC, smartphone or gaming console in its original uploaded quality. Add in extras such as Mac and Windows compatibility and 256-AES encryption and you’ll find plenty of reasons to grab this backup device for all the peace of mind you need.
Best Budget: Synology DS115J
If you’re running on a lean budget, the Synology DS115j offers both sharp looks and good performance at a welcoming price tag. The DS115j provides both an easy way to automate simple tasks or backup your multimedia files for later playback all while accessing everything from Synology’s smartphone apps. Options such as Cloud Stations and Cloud Sync provide quick and easy access to files across multiple devices, including cloud services such as Dropbox, Google Drive and OneDrive. Fortunately, once these files are loaded onto the NAS, Synology provides a simple backup solution with file protection to back up everything to another NAS, a cloud service or a separate external device for redundancy across the board. With capacity up to eight terabytes of space (hard drives sold separately), there’s still plenty of room on this budget all-star for added services such as 24/7 home surveillance with Surveillance Station, which allows an owner to view and monitor live streams on both desktop and mobile devices.
Best Storage: Synology DiskStation DS918+
With up to nine drives of storage available for data, the Synology DiskStation DS918+ is a smart option for NAS shoppers looking for a single solution to hold all their data. Whether it’s 4K video or thousands of photos or documents, external hard drives can only hold so much — a NAS can go well beyond for homes or small offices. Two large 120mm fans on the rear keep everything cool, and there are dual RJ-45 ethernet points with support for link aggregation. A rear eSATA port adds to the storage potential in the event the drive bays are used up. Inside the DS918+, the hot-swappable and easily removed trays can be removed to make room for even more RAM. Capable of supporting up to 48 TB in total, each drive bay can hold up to a 12TB drive which, when paired with the eSATA port, enables the DS918+ to support up to 108TB max on a single volume. Write speeds are handled at 225 MB/s for reading system files and 221 MB/s for writing files.
Best Nas Drive For Mac
Best Media: Qnap TS-251A
The Qnap TS-251A is a dual-bay (front-accessible) box that features an Intel Celeron dual-core processor, 2GB of RAM, twin Ethernet inputs, a slew of USB ports and an SD card slot for quickly copying files directly to the box. It also has HDMI support on the rear of the box, which allows 1080p videos to play directly from the NAS to an HDTV. There’s added support for HD video transcoding, plus DLNA and AirPlay (iTunes) streaming.
Popular services such as XBMC and Plex’s media server provide third-party support to help move media directly from the NAS to a media-playing device, including a smartphone or tablet. Additionally, the TS-251A supports the Roon streaming service (priced separately), which upscales nearly any type of audio file to near studio-quality. You can even attach a USB TV tuner and record cable shows or decode and transcode 4K H.264 videos. Beyond multimedia, the Qnap performs exceptionally well as a traditional NAS with good RAID recovery, remote access and powerful virtualization capabilities.
Best for Small Businesses: Synology D216II+
While this is a standout two-bay device, there’s no included storage out of the box on the Synology D216II+, allowing you to choose your own drive capacity and speed. The swappable drive tray design offers easy installation and care while allowing terabytes of data to fit neatly in your pocket over the cloud with Synology’s mobile app. With built-in 4K Ultra HD video transcoding, the DS216II+ is as much a multimedia machine as it is a 24/7 security solution with intelligent monitoring and video management tools. Extras include advanced file management between the NAS and your computer, Cloud Sync for connecting to a slew of popular cloud providers, as well as a well-designed software interface for managing all the above. The lack of Ethernet and HDMI ports is notable, but is easily overshadowed by its integration into a business environment with admin support for monitoring and controlling access to files and folders.
Best for Home: Western Digital My Cloud EX4100
Western Digital’s My Cloud EX4100 and its eight terabytes of storage space offers up a wide set of possibilities for home storage options. With plenty of room for photos, videos, music and files, the EX4100 helps protect your content with multiple RAID options all the way from RAID 0 to RAID 10. Powered by a Marvell Armada dual-core processor and 1GB of RAM, transfer speeds are excellent at a maximum of 114 MB/s upload and 108 MB/s download. The speedy performance will come in extra handy with Plex’s Media Server, which allows EX4100 owners to stream videos, photos and music directly to a PC, smartphone, game console or other capable media player. Families can make use of collaborative sharing, where everyone can access all their most important files and folders in one place. In addition, the EX4100 is also ready to help protect the home with Milestone Arcus surveillance software that provides live feeds and records video with separately purchased cameras.
Best Splurge: Netgear ReadyNAS 626X00
Featuring unrivaled data protection, state-of-the-art backup recovery and the ability to support up to 120 users, the Netgear ReadyNAS 626X00 is the best NAS money can buy. With a maximum of six available bays for storage, the ReadyNAS can handle up to 60TBs of storage that can process at up to 20 gigabits per second for both business and media applications. It's powered by an Intel Xeon 2.2GHz Quad-core processor (the latest in 64-bit technology) and 8GB of RAM so the 626X00 can handle 4K streaming with ease and create virtualization desktops for secure office environments.
Safeguarded by five levels of data protection, business owners should feel secure against the loss of company files, databases or virtual images. The backup and recovery system is rock solid, allowing users to quickly restore from the latest backup and get back to work. With 10GbE Ethernet ports on the back of the hardware, there's support for a multitude of users all at once without any impact to data speeds.
Tested by
How We Tested
Our reviewers spent 10 hours testing one of the most popular NAS devices on the market. To really get the full experience, they set it up in their home offices, connected various devices, and analyzed its performance. We asked them to consider the most important features when using this NAS server, from its design to special features like encryption and additional drive bays. We've outlined the key points here so that you, too, know what to look for when shopping.
What to Look for in Network Attached Storage
Additional drive bays - Basic NAS devices come with a single built-in hard drive. If you want your NAS to last a long time — and to be as flexible and redundant as possible — look for one that has multiple drive bays. This allows you to store more data, add an additional backup, and even hot-swap out defective drives in some models.
Media streaming capabilities - Most NAS devices can be used to stream media, but some are better at it than others. Some NAS devices even include an HDMI port and a remote, so you can plug right into a television without using a media center PC or streaming device as a middleman.
Encryption - NAS devices that include hardware-level encryption are much faster than devices that rely on software. Encryption is mostly important if you use your NAS to back up sensitive data that you don’t want anyone to access. Even if you only access your NAS through your home network, encryption will protect you if the device is stolen.
Test Results: Western Digital My Cloud EX2 (Best Streaming)
5
What We Like
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Simple setup
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Lots of configuration options
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Great performance
What We Don't Like
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Instructions could be more detailed for different use cases
One of our testers was quick to sum up the benefits of this NAS server: “It's nice to have a network device that's easily accessible, simple to set up, and works as backup/extra HD space,” he noted. “I have a couple external hard drives for backup, and it's very nice to have something that I don't have to plug in, works across all my devices, and has a substantial amount of storage — and backup for that storage!” Although our testers loved that this device had many configuration options, they wished it had more detailed instructions for different use cases: “Basically, I wish that it came with ‘NAS for Dummies,’” one reviewer said.
Network Attached Storage is also known as NAS, is a networking solution for centralized file management. Let’s assume that you’re tired of paying for your cloud storage service or you require plenty of storage space, to begin with. This is exactly where NAS devices kick in. Consider Network Attached Storage (NAS) to be a storage device that’s connected to your home or office network which provides enough space for authorized network clients to store and retrieve all sorts of data wirelessly from a centralized location.
Before we jump into the device lists, let’s see what’s NAS. It’s like having a private cloud for your home or office network, where multiple clients on the network have the ability to access the same files. For example, in a home network, NAS devices can be put to good use for storing and accessing multimedia files or for performing automated backups.
NAS devices have advanced quite significantly in the last few years and today, there are plenty of options to choose from. Well, if you’re looking forward to starting the new year with an all-new Network Attached Storage device, here are the best options that are currently available on the market right now:
WD My Cloud 2 TB Personal NAS
Western Digital is a brand that has quite a reputation in the storage segment, especially hard drives, but the company’s My Cloud personal NAS lives up to the company’s name as well with its sophisticated set of features. With My Cloud, users will be able to store and access all their media content which includes videos, music, photos and other files from a centralized location.
Everything’s completely under your control, and as long as you have an internet connection, you’re just a click away. Users will be able to directly connect to their personal cloud by using the My Cloud app available for smartphones or simply by signing in to MyCloud.com.
The My Cloud NAS has a feature called WD Sync that automatically synchronizes content across all your computers and your NAS to make sure all your files are updated and easily accessible whenever you want, wherever you want. If you feel like the 2 TB storage space won’t make the cut for your requirements, the company also sells a 6 TB variant for all the space that you’ll ever need for your home network.
Buy from Amazon
Buffalo LinkStation 210 4TB Private Cloud Storage NAS
Buffalo’s LinkStation is a single-drive NAS device perfect for protecting your data including media files. YOu can use this personal storgae devcie to backup multiple PCs and Macs simultaneously. The terabytes of storage would be more than enough to store your personal and family pictures and videos.
The Buffalo NAS has local hard drive (4TB capacity with one drive bay) and also offer the personal cloud. With the cloud access, you can access and share the content from anywhere with an internet conncetion. With LinkStation, you can stream videos and photos to your DLNA/UPnP connected devices, download and manage files with Bit-Torrent clinets.
Buy from Amazon
Netgear ReadyNAS RN422 High-Performance Storage
When it comes to wireless networking peripherals, there’s no doubt that Netgear is one of the market leaders out there. The company’s ReadyNAS RN422 is a NAS solution for consumers who want the very best in terms of performance. However, the performance will also slightly depend on the hard drive that you’re going to install on to the device.
Regardless, the ReadyNAS RN422 is powered by an Intel dual-core processor clocked at 1.5 GHz coupled with 2 GB of RAM for exceptional performance in the long run. There are two drive bays, so you can swap in and swap out your NAS hard drives anytime without any hassle. This NAS device from Netgear can handle up to 40 concurrent users, so if you have a small workspace, the RN422 should be able to easily handle it.
The RN422 has a compelling feature known as disaster recovery, which lets you restore all the data from the latest cloud backup (Amazon, Google Drive, Dropbox) in a worst-case scenario. Lastly, media consumption is not a problem at all, as the RN422 should be able to do an impressive job when it comes to streaming all your movies and other video files in HD quality.
Buy from Amazon
TerraMaster F2-210 2-Bay NAS Quad Core
The 2-bay TerraMaster NAS optimized for home users and built with the latest TOS 4.0 OS. The ARM v8 quad-core 1.4GHz CPU offer fast read/write speed upto 124 MB/s. The hardware encryption fetuure makes sure your data is secure in the cloud. For media streamers, TerraMaster NAS offers 4K H.264/H.265 (max 30fps) live transcoding and supports the Plex and Emby media servers.
This 2-Bay NAS built for file storage, data backup and also supports cloud synchronization. You can assess your files from anywhere with remote access. Your data is protected with AES-256 Hardware Encryption. With TerraMaster you can backup data to cloud and also shcedule backup to run automatically.
Buy from Amazon
Mac As Nas
Seagate 3 TB Personal Cloud Media Storage Device
Seagate is yet another immensely popular brand when it comes to storage devices, and they usually go toe-to-toe against Western Digital to grab a chunk of the market share. The company’s 3 TB Personal Cloud Media Storage Device is probably the NAS that you’re looking to get your hands on, for your home network, due to its compelling set of features.
Similar to the WD My Cloud NAS that we just discussed, the Seagate counterpart also offers a Sync feature to keep your content up to date with your favorite public cloud services, and also have a copy of all the files. This NAS also ensures Easy setup and configuration as this was one of the company’s top priorities during its development. The Personal Cloud uses just two cables for connection to make things simple, one goes to your home Wi-Fi router and the other goes into your wall socket for power.
If media consumption is what you’re expecting from this NAS, you will certainly be impressed with the Seagate Personal Cloud, as streaming 4K movies and other videos, music, and photos is an absolute breeze with support for multiple devices like Google Chromecast, Roku, Apple TV, Xbox One and certain smart TVs. Moreover, it supports Plex Media Server out of the box, that lets you organize all your media without any hassle, and stream it to any Plex-supported device at your leisure.
Buy from Amazon
WD My Cloud 4 TB EX2 Ultra NAS
We’ve got another Western Digital NAS featured in this list, but believe me, this one targets a completely different category of consumers. That’s right, this WD EX2 Ultra NAS is for advanced users and professionals who want nothing but top-tier performance for a significantly higher price tag.
At $349, Western Digital promises some prosumer-grade features that you’d typically expect from a NAS at this price point. For starters, it’s packed with WD Red NAS drive that’s built from the ground-up to thrive in 24×7 NAS environments. It’s powered by a high-performance 1.3 GHz dual-core process to make streaming as seamless as possible and it’s also equipped with 1 GB of DDR3 memory to make multitasking effortless.
Apart from these advanced features, the EX2 Ultra also offers everything that you’ve seen on any regular NAS with Sync capabilities, enhanced data protection, centralized file organization and more. It also supports the Plex Media Server, if media consumption is one of your top priorities with this NAS.
Buy from Amazon
ZyXEL NAS326 2-Bay Personal Cloud Storage
Next, on the list, we’ve got a NAS solution from ZyXEL, but there’s a catch here. It doesn’t come with built-in storage. However, there are two drive bays to begin with, which can be completely utilized depending on your storage requirements. Install a couple of 4 TB NAS hard drives, and you’ll have all the storage space that you’ll ever need for keeping your media content intact.
With the ZyXEL Drive mobile app, you’ll have complete freedom to access and share files from your NAS no matter where you are. The files are securely shared through private peer-to-peer connections to only those with your permission. The company promises a read/write performance of approximately 105 MB/s as long as the hard drives are configured in RAID 1.
Additionally, with ZyXEL zCloud app, users will be able to access and play their favorite videos, music, and photos on the big screen with streaming devices such as Google Chromecast, Apple TV, Roku 3, Fire TV and compatible Smart TVs for all-round entertainment. All in all, if you can get over the fact that you have to purchase the hard drives separately, you’ll be pleased with everything that ZyXEL brings to the table with the NAS326.
Buy from Amazon
Synology 2-Bay NAS Disk Station DS218+
Next up, we’ve got a NAS device that’s closely priced to the Netgear RN422 that we just discussed. To much relief, the hardware it packs is fairly similar as well. To start things off, the Synology DS218+ is powered by a dual-core CPU along with 2GB of DDR3 RAM to meet your performance demands.
Now, as you might have guessed from the name itself, this NAS device is primarily intended towards media consumption, with support for 4K Ultra HD video transcoding on the fly. It also has support for Smart TVs, Apple TV, Roku, and Google Chromecast dongles so that you can seamlessly stream all your digital content anytime. Synology provides various mobile applications as well to let you enjoy your media library even when you’re busy traveling.
Synology claims a maximum read speed of 113 MB/s and a write speed of 112 MB/s, but that might slightly vary depending on the hard drives that you’re going to use. The company has a fancy term called “Bulletproof Backup”, a feature that lets you control all your data and ensure all your files are safe and secured with Synology. Disk Station also has a QuickConnect feature that allows for fast direct connection via a simple customizable address so that you can instantly access all your files and media even while you’re on the move.
Iomega
Buy from Amazon
WD 8TB My Cloud EX2 Ultra Network Attached Storage (NAS)
Last on the list, we’ve got one more NAS device from Western Digital. It’s similarly priced and sports similar hardware to the My Cloud personal NAS that we discussed earlier, but if you’re all concerned about how your NAS actually looks, believe me, this one is gorgeous. It’s sleek, modern and certainly, the best looking NAS featured here on our list.
Well, looks aside, let’s talk about its capabilities. My Cloud sports a USB port on the back to import photos, videos and other documents from external hard drives. Users will be able to upload, access and share their content using the My Cloud smartphone app or simply by heading over to MyCloud.com.
Streaming Videos is certainly not a problem with My Cloud, but if you’re having a large media library, you might need to step up your storage space, but not to worry, Western Digital offers 4 TB, 8 TB, 16 TB and 20 TB variants of the My Cloud as well. If you’re looking for a centralized file management solution for your home network, without having to burn a hole in your wallet, then this one’s certainly your best bet.
Buy from Amazon
Well, we’re glad that we could list out some of the best NAS devices that are currently available on the market right now. If you’re looking to kickstart the new year with your own private cloud, then these are your best options. We know that everyone’s budget is not quite the same and that’s exactly why we’ve listed out NAS drives at multiple price points so that at least one of them falls within your budget. Believe me, your options aren’t limited. So, which one of these NAS devices are you planning to go for, and why? Do let us know your valuable thoughts in the comments section down below.