Best NAS Devices for Backups: 5 Picks by Bays and Budget

The best NAS for most people is a four-bay Synology DS925+ if you want polished software and low maintenance, or a UGREEN DXP4800 Plus if you want more raw hardware, including 10GbE, for similar money. For simple backups of one household, a two-bay box such as the Synology DS224+ or UGREEN DXP2800 is plenty. Whichever you choose, a NAS is a convenient second copy of your files, not a replacement for an offsite backup.

Quick comparison of the picks

Specifications above follow each manufacturer’s published spec sheet; RAM options vary by sales configuration, so confirm the exact kit before buying.

Best overall: Synology DS925+

Synology’s DiskStation Manager remains the most mature NAS operating system for a non-technical owner. Snapshots, Hyper Backup to cloud storage, Active Backup for PCs and servers, and a polished photo app all work without command-line steps. The DS925+ adds two 2.5GbE ports with link aggregation and can grow with expansion units.

Trade-off: the AMD V1500B processor is an older design, and Synology charges a premium over rivals with faster chips. Check the current drive compatibility list too, because Synology’s newer models have been stricter about which drives it officially supports.

Best hardware value: UGREEN DXP4800 Plus

For similar money the DXP4800 Plus gives you a newer Intel CPU, DDR5 memory, a 10GbE port and two M.2 slots on top of four 3.5-inch bays. It is a strong fit for Plex or Jellyfin, Docker containers and fast editing over the network.

Trade-off: the UGREEN operating system is younger and less polished than Synology’s, and the ecosystem of first-party backup tools is smaller. Expect to read a few forum threads when something unusual comes up.

Best budget two-bay: Synology DS224+ and UGREEN DXP2800

If you only need a mirrored pair of drives for family photos and laptop backups, two bays is enough. The DS224+ gives you Synology’s software and very low power draw. The DXP2800 offers faster hardware and a 10GbE port at a lower cost, with the same software caveat as the larger UGREEN.

Trade-off: two bays means mirroring only, so capacity equals one drive. If you may need more than 20 TB, buy a four-bay model now rather than migrating later.

Best for power users: QNAP TS-464

QNAP’s TS-464 offers a PCIe slot, two M.2 slots, HDMI output and virtualization tools, making it closer to a small server than an appliance. Its 2.5GbE port covers most home needs.

Trade-off: QNAP’s interface has more options than most home users need, and keeping firmware current matters because NAS devices exposed to the internet are a common ransomware target.

How much capacity do you actually get?

Usable space depends on the RAID level. With four 12 TB drives:

Real usable space is a little lower because drive makers count in decimal terabytes while the operating system reports binary units; a 12 TB drive shows roughly 10.9 TiB. Plan on about 8 percent less than the marketing figure.

How to choose

• Under 10 TB of data, one household: two bays, mirrored, with a 4 to 8 TB drive pair.
• Photo and video library, several users: four bays, RAID 5 or SHR, and plan for 50 percent growth over three years.
• Media server with transcoding: prefer an Intel CPU with hardware video decoding, which favors the UGREEN and QNAP models.
• Small office: prioritise software support lifespan and snapshot tools, which favors Synology.

Use drives sold for NAS duty rather than desktop drives. NAS-rated models are built for continuous operation, vibration in multi-bay chassis and longer warranties.

Ownership realities

• RAID is not backup. It protects against a drive failure, not deletion, ransomware, fire or theft. Follow the 3-2-1 rule: three copies, two media types, one offsite.
• Buy drives from different batches so a manufacturing flaw does not hit every drive in the array at once.
• Rebuilds are stressful. Large drives can take a day or more to rebuild, and a second failure during that window is the usual cause of total array loss.
• Keep a spare drive of the same size, and enable email alerts for SMART warnings.
• If an array does fail, power it down and avoid reinitialising or rebuilding with failed members; a recovery professional can often image the drives first.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a NAS better than an external hard drive for backups?

A NAS runs automatically over the network, keeps versions through snapshots and can mirror drives. An external drive is cheaper and simpler but needs to be plugged in and offers no redundancy. Many people use both.

How many bays do I need?

Two bays suit light home use, while four bays give a better balance of capacity and protection through RAID 5 or 6. Choosing one more bay than you need today saves a painful migration later.

Can I use SSDs in a NAS?

Yes. M.2 slots are typically used for caching or, on some models, as a fast storage pool. A full SSD array is rarely worth the cost for backup workloads, but it helps for editing or databases.

Do I need 10GbE?

Only if your computer also has 10GbE and you move large files regularly. A 1GbE link tops out near 110 MB per second, while 2.5GbE reaches roughly 280 MB per second, which is enough for most homes.

Which is safer, Synology or UGREEN?

Both can be run safely if you keep firmware updated, avoid exposing the admin page to the internet and use strong, unique passwords with two-factor sign-in. Synology has the longer track record of software updates.