NAS devices used to be the domain of obsessive home tinkerers and IT admins armed with arcane knowledge about jumper pins, network subnets, and the correct way to stack a drive bay without summoning the wrath of the hardware gods. But by 2025, Network-Attached Storage systems have swaggered onto center stage, strutting RAID arrays and whispering the promise of local, reliable, and—dare we say—beautifully organized data. Forget cloud-only dreams; even the most devout Dropboxers are peeking over the firewall, tempted by the speed, control, and (let’s face it) sheer nerd cred of a well-oiled NAS.
It’s the age-old IT fable: Someone’s 60GB of Aunt Mildred’s wedding footage sits on a single spinning disk, humming along for years—until, with all the drama of a telenovela, it fails. The lesson is simple: hard drives will let you down at the worst possible moment. Enter the NAS, with RAID technology slicing, dicing, and distributing your precious bytes across multiple drives so that when technology inevitably backstabs you, you’re ready.
But the protection doesn’t stop at RAID redundancy. Modern NAS boxes blend the best of local and cloud, managing not just your files, but backups for Windows, macOS, and virtual machines, plus integration with SaaS platforms like Microsoft 365. Whether you’re a video editor wrangling terabytes or a home user just looking for an insurance policy on family photos, a NAS isn't just a black box on your network—it’s your digital Fort Knox.
And for the IT pros? Knowing your storage solution isn’t one bad drive away from total meltdown? That’s the kind of peace of mind that pairs perfectly with a late-night sysadmin coffee.
Picture this: enterprise-grade backup tools, hyper-simple virtual machine management, even certified compatibility with VMware, Hyper-V, and Citrix. You want to back up your Windows laptops, your 365 tenancy, and a ragtag collection of virtual machines onto something robust, then send those backups marching to the cloud for a 3-2-1 scheme? DSM handles it—and looks good doing it.
But let’s not ignore the awkward truth: the DS1522+ isn’t perfect. There’s no built-in 2.5GbE, and if you dreamed of connecting your NAS directly to a TV via HDMI for a pop-up family movie night, you’ll need to shop elsewhere. Oh, and SSD-only models? Move along, flash enthusiast.
Yet, for most use cases—especially for small businesses, creative teams, or multi-device home power users—it’s hard to go wrong. If only everything in IT were this painless.
You get peace of mind with robust software, excellent support for backup and recovery, and a graceful upgrade path if you ever need 15 drive bays because, let’s be honest, your photo collection has gotten slightly out of hand.
IT pros should note: While the price per bay is justified by software and support, be prepared for sticker shock. And don’t forget – running out of bays mid-project is a dangerous game.
A compact unit sporting an N95 quad-core processor and DDR5 RAM, it offers up to 64TB of SSD power and operates at a noise level lower than your passive-aggressive Slack notifications. While purists still champion spinning drives for their cost and bulk capacity, the F8 SSD Plus serves up over 1GB/s in read/write speed, whispering sweet nothings to bandwidth-hungry workflows.
The catch (and there’s always a catch): SSDs can wreak havoc on budgets once you go beyond a few terabytes—especially for small businesses or creators with a Netflix-worthy video archive. But if your IT closet is also your home office, the drop to 19dB under full load is music to your ears.
Running Asustor’s ADM OS, the Lockerstor offers more than 200 vetted apps, from business utilities to media streaming, and comes with dual 2.5GbE ports—rare at this midrange. For small businesses and tech-forward families, this is the rare breed that covers both backup duties and home entertainment.
However, Asustor isn’t without its quirks: Some users find tech support glacial, and while setup is relatively painless compared to a Samba share nightmare, the interface can be “a breath of fresh air” only if you’re not expecting Synology-level polish.
IT teams should remember the age-old wisdom: versatility is powerful, but complexity is the tax. Test redundancy plans thoroughly, lest the home theater doubles as an accidental disaster recovery drill.
It handles two major jobs with grace: automatic backups for Windows and Mac, and acting as a centralized home media server, complete with QNAP’s NetBak Replicator and Time Machine support. Plug in a couple of drives (either 3.5" or 2.5"), and you’ve got a private cloud for less than an office chair.
The main hurdle: the QNAP OS, though powerful, can feel a bit rough around the edges for users spoiled by DSM. And remember—“diskless” really does mean diskless, so prepare for the inevitable “I thought it would come with storage” moment in the Amazon reviews.
This model is for users who want a steady performer without dipping into high-end Synology pricing. Reviewers rave about its snappy performance and minimalist aesthetic—though, like all non-Synology contenders, app support lags a bit.
Documentation remains a TerraMaster sore spot; some say the only thing more mysterious than their config utility is the Da Vinci Code. But for the price, you’re getting a NAS capable of handling home and even some small business loads elegantly.
Encryption, advanced user management, and the reassuring presence of a 4K HDMI port (movies, anyone?) make this perfect for anyone who wants more granular control over account access and data privacy. If you’re juggling different user accounts—say, a multi-headed small business or a privacy-conscious family, this NAS brings the goods.
A recurring critique, though: Ugreen’s remote access interface has left a few users “confused and complicated”—a bit like tax season, but with fewer threats of fines. Still, for a NAS debut, Ugreen’s blend of flexibility and security is eye-catching.
It’s not quite “buy now or forever hold your peace,” but manufacturers are scrambling to reroute supply chains, which means temporary chaos, higher import duties, and a headache or two for anyone stocking up for the next big project. You may find some models temporarily escaping the tariff net, but as policies shift faster than a Luddite’s patience with tech, watch this space.
For IT departments, price volatility means planning purchases a bit like playing the stock market—timing is everything, and fortunes can be won or lost on a single White House Tweet.
Forward-thinking IT professionals weigh vendor ecosystems, support quality, and anticipatory performance, not just datasheets. For the rest of us—well, we’ll always have that first “RAID degraded” heart-stopper to remind us why redundancy matters.
Be sure to balance bells and whistles with your real needs. After all, a NAS is only as good as the data you actually back up and the plans you test before disaster strikes. And if you ever catch yourself bragging about RAID levels at a dinner party, fear not—these days, the coolest people in the room are probably running a 15-bay Synology and quietly judging your backup strategy.
Welcome to the golden era of storage—where everyone’s data is precious, every drive is eventually replaceable, and the NAS is the unsung hero keeping your bits safe for another year.
Source: ZDNET The best NAS devices of 2025: Expert tested
Why Network-Attached Storage Remains Essential in 2025
It’s the age-old IT fable: Someone’s 60GB of Aunt Mildred’s wedding footage sits on a single spinning disk, humming along for years—until, with all the drama of a telenovela, it fails. The lesson is simple: hard drives will let you down at the worst possible moment. Enter the NAS, with RAID technology slicing, dicing, and distributing your precious bytes across multiple drives so that when technology inevitably backstabs you, you’re ready.But the protection doesn’t stop at RAID redundancy. Modern NAS boxes blend the best of local and cloud, managing not just your files, but backups for Windows, macOS, and virtual machines, plus integration with SaaS platforms like Microsoft 365. Whether you’re a video editor wrangling terabytes or a home user just looking for an insurance policy on family photos, a NAS isn't just a black box on your network—it’s your digital Fort Knox.
And for the IT pros? Knowing your storage solution isn’t one bad drive away from total meltdown? That’s the kind of peace of mind that pairs perfectly with a late-night sysadmin coffee.
Synology DS1522+: The Diskstation Masterpiece
Wading through the current NAS market, Synology’s DS1522+ doesn’t just float—it sails ahead with confidence. Sure, the hardware is solid—a five-bay, easily expandable chassis, server-grade drives, up to 32GB RAM, and four gigabit Ethernet ports, with the option to add 10GbE if you really want to make your switch sweat. But the hardware is just the appetizer. The main course? Synology’s Diskstation Manager (DSM) software.Picture this: enterprise-grade backup tools, hyper-simple virtual machine management, even certified compatibility with VMware, Hyper-V, and Citrix. You want to back up your Windows laptops, your 365 tenancy, and a ragtag collection of virtual machines onto something robust, then send those backups marching to the cloud for a 3-2-1 scheme? DSM handles it—and looks good doing it.
But let’s not ignore the awkward truth: the DS1522+ isn’t perfect. There’s no built-in 2.5GbE, and if you dreamed of connecting your NAS directly to a TV via HDMI for a pop-up family movie night, you’ll need to shop elsewhere. Oh, and SSD-only models? Move along, flash enthusiast.
Yet, for most use cases—especially for small businesses, creative teams, or multi-device home power users—it’s hard to go wrong. If only everything in IT were this painless.
Synology DS1522+: What Really Shines
It’s that magic DSM user interface. Others try (hello QNAP, good morning Asustor), but Synology’s app ecosystem and sheer polish are tough to top. Need to restore a botched VM? Want seamless integration with cloud tiers? Synology turns what could be a grueling weekend into a coffee-break click-fest.You get peace of mind with robust software, excellent support for backup and recovery, and a graceful upgrade path if you ever need 15 drive bays because, let’s be honest, your photo collection has gotten slightly out of hand.
IT pros should note: While the price per bay is justified by software and support, be prepared for sticker shock. And don’t forget – running out of bays mid-project is a dangerous game.
The SSD Revolution: TerraMaster F8 SSD Plus
If you’re still equating NAS with whirring mechanical drives, the TerraMaster F8 SSD Plus will make you question your storage worldview. This 8-bay NAS is unapologetically SSD-first—no platters, no vibrations, just pure NVMe velocity.A compact unit sporting an N95 quad-core processor and DDR5 RAM, it offers up to 64TB of SSD power and operates at a noise level lower than your passive-aggressive Slack notifications. While purists still champion spinning drives for their cost and bulk capacity, the F8 SSD Plus serves up over 1GB/s in read/write speed, whispering sweet nothings to bandwidth-hungry workflows.
The catch (and there’s always a catch): SSDs can wreak havoc on budgets once you go beyond a few terabytes—especially for small businesses or creators with a Netflix-worthy video archive. But if your IT closet is also your home office, the drop to 19dB under full load is music to your ears.
SSD NAS: A Glimpse at the Future
Let’s be honest: SSDs are still the race cars of the storage world—fast, beautiful, and expensive. For video teams, devs, or anyone needing rapid-fire access, the TerraMaster F8 is a launchpad for productivity. But check your capacity needs and your bank account before you fall for that NVMe charm.Asustor Lockerstor 6 Gen 2: Swiss Army Knife of NAS
Now for the NAS that insists on doing it all. Six hard drive bays, four M.2 NVMe slots—performance tiering suddenly becomes accessible to anyone, not just the sysadmin with a penchant for hand-built ZFS configs. Most notably, the Lockerstor 6’s HDMI 2.0b output means it can double as a surprisingly potent living-room entertainment center.Running Asustor’s ADM OS, the Lockerstor offers more than 200 vetted apps, from business utilities to media streaming, and comes with dual 2.5GbE ports—rare at this midrange. For small businesses and tech-forward families, this is the rare breed that covers both backup duties and home entertainment.
However, Asustor isn’t without its quirks: Some users find tech support glacial, and while setup is relatively painless compared to a Samba share nightmare, the interface can be “a breath of fresh air” only if you’re not expecting Synology-level polish.
Lockerstor: Versatility and Value
This model is for users who want to play in both the performance and convenience leagues. Hybrid storage, hot media streaming, and affordable expansion make it a darling for those who want more than just a digital filing cabinet.IT teams should remember the age-old wisdom: versatility is powerful, but complexity is the tax. Test redundancy plans thoroughly, lest the home theater doubles as an accidental disaster recovery drill.
QNAP TS-233-US: Low-Cost Cloud for the Masses
Sometimes you just want a safe backup spot for photos, docs, and the odd family video without remortgaging the house. At around $200 (without drives), the QNAP TS-233-US is perfect for the NAS curious. Forget monstrous 8-bay arrays or SSD rackmount prowess—this two-bay, ARM-powered cutie wins for value.It handles two major jobs with grace: automatic backups for Windows and Mac, and acting as a centralized home media server, complete with QNAP’s NetBak Replicator and Time Machine support. Plug in a couple of drives (either 3.5" or 2.5"), and you’ve got a private cloud for less than an office chair.
The main hurdle: the QNAP OS, though powerful, can feel a bit rough around the edges for users spoiled by DSM. And remember—“diskless” really does mean diskless, so prepare for the inevitable “I thought it would come with storage” moment in the Amazon reviews.
Budget NAS: Penny Wise, Pound Foolish?
For the frugal, the TS-233-US is a revelation. Quick to set up, flexible, and reportedly “punching above its class.” But if you have ambitions beyond basic backups and media sharing, beware: limited RAM, single gigabit port, and basic feature-set mean you’ll hit the ceiling fast. It’s terrific as a starter NAS—but not a forever home for your data empire.TerraMaster F4-423: Premium Punch, Mid-Tier Price
Once known for budget boxes, TerraMaster has entered their glow-up era. The F4-423 brings 4 drive bays, a clean interface, hot-swappable bays, and a pair of 2.5G Ethernet ports. Plus, there’s HDMI if you fancy yourself the unofficial IT guy for the house movie nights.This model is for users who want a steady performer without dipping into high-end Synology pricing. Reviewers rave about its snappy performance and minimalist aesthetic—though, like all non-Synology contenders, app support lags a bit.
Documentation remains a TerraMaster sore spot; some say the only thing more mysterious than their config utility is the Da Vinci Code. But for the price, you’re getting a NAS capable of handling home and even some small business loads elegantly.
TerraMaster: The Underappreciated Contender
For the seasoned IT admin, TerraMaster’s real charm is improved speed at a decent price and bay hot swaps for quick recovery. But rookie buyers beware: invest time in the manual, or risk the wrath of an accidental RAID-5 experiment.Ugreen NASync DXP2800: Impressive Debut from a New Contender
Nascent NAS player Ugreen has muscled in with the NASync DXP2800, and frankly, you’d be forgiven for mistaking it for one of the big kids. Dual bays, 8GB of rapid DDR5 RAM, Intel N100 quad-core, plus a pair of M.2 slots and full 2.5GbE networking represent serious hardware chops.Encryption, advanced user management, and the reassuring presence of a 4K HDMI port (movies, anyone?) make this perfect for anyone who wants more granular control over account access and data privacy. If you’re juggling different user accounts—say, a multi-headed small business or a privacy-conscious family, this NAS brings the goods.
A recurring critique, though: Ugreen’s remote access interface has left a few users “confused and complicated”—a bit like tax season, but with fewer threats of fines. Still, for a NAS debut, Ugreen’s blend of flexibility and security is eye-catching.
Newcomer NAS: Credentials and Cautions
If you adore granular controls, this is your moment. Just brace yourself (and your support staff) for a slightly bumpy ride as the software ecosystem matures. Over time, things will smooth out—hopefully faster than your average Windows update.Tariffs and the Storage Price Tag: The 2025 Reality
Just as tech buyers thought they could predict storage pricing, U.S. tariffs swooped in, hiking costs on all sorts of electronics, NAS units included. With major brands still assembling units in China, Vietnam, and India, NAS prices could see sticker surges of up to 35%.It’s not quite “buy now or forever hold your peace,” but manufacturers are scrambling to reroute supply chains, which means temporary chaos, higher import duties, and a headache or two for anyone stocking up for the next big project. You may find some models temporarily escaping the tariff net, but as policies shift faster than a Luddite’s patience with tech, watch this space.
For IT departments, price volatility means planning purchases a bit like playing the stock market—timing is everything, and fortunes can be won or lost on a single White House Tweet.
Choosing the Right NAS: A Practical Guide for 2025
The tide of options can be overwhelming, but picking your NAS in 2025 comes down to three simple questions:- How much data do you actually need to store?
Two-bay models are perfect for starters or homes, while data-hungry offices should consider expandable units. - What’s your performance requirement?
For video workflows or heavy users, NVMe SSD-based NAS (like TerraMaster F8) is king. For basic backup and storage, traditional HDD NAS will likely suffice (and cost a lot less). - What’s your budget (including drives, please)?
Drives are almost never included, and prices can skyrocket with SSD models or after tariffs hit. That bargain $200 NAS can easily become a $700 setup once you’ve loaded decent capacity.
NAS 2025: Future-Proofing Your Data
The NAS market today is a glorious blend of old and new, simplicity and power, discipline and—let’s be honest—a healthy amount of “let’s see what happens if I add another drive.” With software now as critical as hardware, the standard for what constitutes “the best” NAS has shifted: seamless UI, rich app ecosystems, multi-cloud backup, and even hybrid entertainment use all matter as much as drive count and network speeds.Forward-thinking IT professionals weigh vendor ecosystems, support quality, and anticipatory performance, not just datasheets. For the rest of us—well, we’ll always have that first “RAID degraded” heart-stopper to remind us why redundancy matters.
Final Thoughts: The NAS Club Is Open to All
Once upon a time, only neckbeards and sysadmins dared brave the world of build-your-own NAS. In 2025, whether you’re a small business owner, a creative lead, a cautious parent, or just someone with several terabytes of cat videos, there’s a NAS for you.Be sure to balance bells and whistles with your real needs. After all, a NAS is only as good as the data you actually back up and the plans you test before disaster strikes. And if you ever catch yourself bragging about RAID levels at a dinner party, fear not—these days, the coolest people in the room are probably running a 15-bay Synology and quietly judging your backup strategy.
Welcome to the golden era of storage—where everyone’s data is precious, every drive is eventually replaceable, and the NAS is the unsung hero keeping your bits safe for another year.
Source: ZDNET The best NAS devices of 2025: Expert tested
