Best NAS for the Home in 2020

Best NAS for the Home Windows Central 2020

• Best Overall: Synology DS218+
• Runner-up: ASUSTOR AS5304T
• Mass Storage: Synology DS1618+
• Budget-friendly: Synology DS120j
• Value Pick: TerraMaster F2-221
• Premium NAS: QNAP TVS-882BRT3-i5-16G

Best Overall: Synology DS218+

Powered by a competent dual-core Intel Celeron J3355 (2.0GHz) and 2GB DDR3L (6GB max) RAM, the DS218+ by Synology is not only a well-designed black box, but it is also a capable streaming machine for the home. The system supports H.264 (AVC), H.265 (HEVC), MPEG-2, and VC-1 at a maximum resolution of 4K (4096x2160, 30 frames per second). This device will certainly put that shiny new 50-inch 4K TV to good use, so long as you don#t need to transcode.

A great balance between value and performance.

Its hot-swappable drive tray design allows for easy installation and maintenance, destroying the requirement for a screwdriver to remove or install a hard drive. Simply pull out, swap, re-insert, and you're good to go. Two hard drive bays are joined by USB 3.0 and eSATA ports. Like other NAS, this product does not come with any hard drives, but there are some great NAS drives available. Throw two of these into the NAS to enjoy massive amounts of storage using RAID for redundancy.

Overall, this is a great, well-rounded package. You should purchase the Synology DS218+ if you're looking for an affordable NAS that can scale to cope with a large family or small office. Not only will you be able to keep backups and important documents safe, but also enjoy some media thanks to Plex support. It can handle movie and music streaming, surveillance recording, and much more.

Runner-up: ASUSTOR AS5304T

The ASUSTOR AS5304T is a very capable NAS. It's inspired by the latest trends in gaming design, rocks a beefy Intel CPU, and upgradable DDR4 RAM for optimal performance at this price point. This configuration even allows for some stable 4K movie transcoding. It's not all about looks.

There are loads of apps supported by ASUSTOR's user-friendly OS, and the dual-2.5Gb LAN setup lets you eliminate any network bottlenecks, so long as your LAN infrastructure can keep up. This is especially important if you're a streamer and are looking for something that can handle the bandwidth that comes with offloading recorded media.

The only drawback is the price, which puts it above other four-bay NAS models, but this does come with a few advantages, including the faster CPU and LAN ports. If your budget can stretch to cover the AS5304T, it'll perform admirably in your gaming, streaming, or home media server setup.

Mass Storage: Synology DS1618+

You could think of the Synology DS1618+ being the DS218+ but with an additional four bays. That's a total of six drive bays for up to 96TB worth of storage, making it perfect for households with extensive offline media collections and plenty of connected devices.

Powered by a capable quad-core Intel Atom C3538 CPU, it's possible to stream a movie. At the same time, other members of the household do other tasks on the NAS — just don't expect this server to be able to transcode 4K content if your receiving device doesn't support the same format.

If you need a NAS with plenty of storage, this is a great option, should your budget be able to cover the price. The only downside could be the rather flimsy drive bays themselves, which could break if you're not too careful.

Budget-friendly: Synology DS120j

Instead of including a more expensive Intel processor, Synology opted for the Marvell Armada 3700 88F3720 CPU, which is perfectly fine for efficient NAS operation, but may struggle when you want to do more demanding tasks. In fact, as of right now, Plex isn't supported, but what the DS120j does well is offering exceptional value.

If you simply need to store a few files and don't need to do anything with your NAS like run a media server, a surveillance system, or other demanding tasks, the DS120j will be enough. In essence, it's especially good for those new to the world of NAS, wanting an affordable device to test out.

Value Pick: TerraMaster F2-221

The TerraMaster F2-221 comes rocking excellent specifications, comprised of an Intel Apollo J3355 dual-core CPU, two Gigabit LAN ports, 2GB DDR3 RAM (expandable up to 4GB), and two USB 3.0 ports. It's not the most potent NAS available, but at this price, you're getting a lot for your money.

Unfortunately, this TerraMaster NAS is let down by the OS, which, while good, simply doesn't match QNAP or Synology. The initial setup process is also a little less polished. Like other diskless NAS listed in this collection, you'll need to factor in the price of hard drives you plan to install inside the two bays.

Premium NAS: QNAP TVS-882BRT3-i5-16G

If you're ready to jump into the deep end with network-attached storage, it's time to go with a QNAP NAS equipped with a powerful Intel Core i5 processor. This unlocks additional performance headroom, allowing yet more family members to get online and enjoy stored content on the NAS, not to mention better transcoding support.

This NAS doesn't only have a more powerful CPU than most other servers available, but also four Gigabit ports for rock-solid connectivity, 16GB RAM (upgradable to 64GB), eight drive bays, and even a remote control. The VS-882BRT3-i5-16G would also work as a video file storage box for video editing workstations.

If you can somehow afford this NAS, it's well worth it for busy and tech-savvy households.

Choosing the right NAS for your home

The Synology DS218+ is an excellent piece of kit, allowing you to effortlessly set up a home NAS, regardless as to which model you choose. You've got an Intel processor that can handle even some HD transcoding, as well as anything else you need to throw at your home server.

But it's not the best option for everyone, which is where our other options come in. Whether you need ample storage space, the most affordable NAS available, or something that isn't made by Synology, we got you covered with this collection of the best NAS for your home.

Ready to get serious with NAS? Go with the incredibly powerful QNAP TVS-882BRT3-i5-16G when you're good to move up to the next level.

Credits — The team that worked on this guide