Best Home Cloud Storage Devices: NAS Drives Compared

A home cloud storage device is a small box of hard drives that plugs into your router. The trade calls it a NAS, for network-attached storage. Phones and computers save to it over the home network, and the maker runs a relay service so that you can reach it from outside the house.

That relay is the thing to think about before buying, because the maker can switch it off. Seagate ended remote access for its Personal Cloud drives in 2021. Western Digital did the same for older My Cloud models in 2022, and its own support table plans the end of support for every My Cloud it still lists at the end of 2027. Two of the five entries on the 2021 version of this page were those drives.

Everything below is from the makers’ own pages, stores and support notices. We have not handled any of these devices.

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The devices compared

Prices are US prices, rounded, from the maker’s own store where it has one.

What it costs with drives

Most NAS boxes are sold empty, and the drives can cost more than the box. QNAP’s own US store sells the TS-233 at $239 and offers a 4TB Seagate IronWolf drive to go in it at $219, or an 8TB one at $349. Two 4TB drives bring the total to $677. Set up as a mirror, where each drive is a copy of the other, that pair holds 4TB.

So read the prices in the table as the smaller half of the bill. A $230 empty box with the same two drives comes to about $670.

The simplest: Synology BeeStation

The BeeStation is the nearest thing now sold to the old “personal cloud” drive: one box with a 4TB hard drive already inside. Synology gives the setup as three steps. Connect power and an Ethernet cable to the router, scan a QR code with your phone, and follow the instructions. It has no Wi-Fi of its own. Up to eight people can be invited to share it, and Synology says access from anywhere comes without a subscription.

Two things to know. There is one drive, so nothing inside the box duplicates your files. Synology’s answer is to back it up, to a USB drive or to its BeeProtect cloud service, which comes with a three-month trial. And the apps depend on the internet. Synology says that during an outage you can still reach the BeeStation from a browser or as a network drive at home, if you have switched on local access, but that signing in to the desktop and mobile apps is not supported without a connection.

A BeeStation Plus, which Synology describes as faster, comes in 4TB and 8TB sizes. We could not confirm a price for either model, because Synology’s own store was closed for an update when we looked. The range is set out on Synology’s BeeStation page. Synology BeeStation on Amazon

Two-bay NAS boxes

A two-bay box takes two drives that you buy and fit. It costs more to get going than a BeeStation. In return the second drive can mirror the first, and a failed drive can be replaced.

Synology DiskStation DS223j, about $210

Synology’s entry two-bay model, sold without drives. Synology’s support status page lists it with full software updates and full technical support. It is reached from outside through QuickConnect, which Synology says works from any device and browser without setting up port forwarding or firewall rules. Synology publishes a list of compatible drives for each model, so check it before buying drives.

The reason to choose Synology is how long it keeps old boxes going. Its status page shows the DS216play and DS416play from our old list, both phased out, still listed for full software updates. On price we have to go to dealers, because Synology’s product page prints none and its store was closed. A price tracker showed B&H and Adorama listing the DS223j at about $210 to $215. Synology DS223j on Amazon

UGREEN NASync DH2300, about $230

The cheapest of the boxes whose makers sell direct: $229.99 on UGREEN’s US store, against a list price of $269.99. It has two bays, and UGREEN states that drives are not included. Remote access is through UGREENlink, which UGREEN says needs no port forwarding and no public IP address, only a UGREEN account. UGREEN also notes that this model has no official Docker support, which matters only if you plan to run other software on it. UGREEN NASync DH2300 on Amazon

QNAP TS-233, about $240

$239 on QNAP’s US store, where it showed as in stock. This is the box to buy if you want the maker to supply the drives too: QNAP’s store adds them as options and will set them up as a mirror for about $30 more. QNAP says its myQNAPcloud Link service gives the box its own web address and picks the connection method for you, with no network settings to configure. It works through a QNAP account. QNAP TS-233 on Amazon

TerraMaster F2-425, about $255

TerraMaster lists an Intel quad-core processor, 4GB of memory and a 2.5-gigabit network port. QNAP lists an ARM processor and a 1-gigabit port for the TS-233, so this is the one to take if you plan to stream video from it or copy large files often. It is $254.99 on TerraMaster’s store against a list price of $299.99.

Setup can be done from the TNAS Mobile app without a computer, and remote access runs through TerraMaster’s TNAS.online service. The listing describes fitting your own drives and names none as included, so treat the price as being for the empty box. TerraMaster F2-425 on Amazon

Asustor Drivestor 2 Lite

Asustor’s two-bay entry model, the AS1102TL, reaches phones outside the home through its EZ Connect service. Asustor’s site has no store and shows no price, so we cannot place it against the others. Consider it where Asustor is easier to find than UGREEN or TerraMaster.

If two bays will not be enough, the four-bay equivalents on their makers’ stores are the UGREEN NASync DH4300 Plus at about $374 and the TerraMaster F4-425 at about $365.

Personal cloud drives to avoid

WD My Cloud. Western Digital still has product pages for the My Cloud Home and the My Cloud EX2 Ultra. Its software support table gives both a planned end of support at the end of 2027, along with the EX4100, PR2100 and PR4100. The policy says that after that point WD may stop all updates, security fixes included, and may end the cloud services that features depend on. A My Cloud bought now has little more than a year of planned support left.

It has happened before. WD ended support for My Cloud OS 3 devices in 2022. Its notice says those devices no longer get remote access, security updates or technical support, and can be reached only on the local network. WD told owners to back up, disable remote access and disconnect the device from the internet.

Seagate Personal Cloud. Seagate’s support page says the Seagate Access and MyNAS services stopped in 2021, taking remote access, the Sdrive app and the mobile app links with them. The software the drive runs reached end of life in 2022 and gets no more security updates. Seagate says the data on the drive was not affected.

If you own one of these, copy what is on it somewhere else, and do not buy another.

A NAS is not a backup

A NAS is one copy of your files in one place. Synology says as much on the BeeStation’s own questions page: “Data safety comes from backups, not RAID.” It explains that RAID keeps a multi-drive box running when one drive fails, and does not protect against accidental deletion, ransomware, theft, fire, flood or several drives failing together.

Asustor’s guidance is the 3-2-1 rule: at least three copies of the data, on two kinds of storage, with at least one copy kept somewhere else. Its reason is that backups kept at home share the home’s risks, and it lists fire, flood, hardware damage, theft, human error and malware.

In practice, if the NAS holds the only copy of your photos, plug in a USB drive for the NAS to back up to, and keep another copy outside the house.

What happened to the old list

• QNAP TS-451 and TS-251: older models. QNAP’s home range now leads with the TS-233, TS-216G and TS-433.
• Seagate Personal Cloud: remote access ended in 2021, as above.
• WD My Cloud: planned end of support at the end of 2027, as above.
• Synology DS416play and DS216play: Synology’s status page marks both as phased out, with limited technical support. The DS223j is the current entry model.
• Icedrive: an online storage service, not a device, so it does not belong on this page.

Which to pick

• The least setup, and 4TB is enough: the Synology BeeStation, with a USB drive plugged in for backup.
• A first NAS with a clear price: the UGREEN NASync DH2300.
• The longest software support: the Synology DS223j.
• Box and drives from one seller: the QNAP TS-233.
• The faster processor and network port: the TerraMaster F2-425.

Outside the US, check where the maker sells. Synology’s store ships only to the US and Canada, and elsewhere Synology and QNAP sell through local dealers.

Quick answers

What is the best home cloud storage device?

For the least effort, the Synology BeeStation, which has its drive built in. For a box you can put two drives in, the UGREEN NASync DH2300 is about $230 before drives.

Do NAS drives come with hard drives?

Mostly not. Of the devices here only the BeeStation includes one. UGREEN states that drives are not included, and QNAP sells them as extras.

Can I reach a home NAS from outside the house?

Yes, through the maker’s relay service: QuickConnect on Synology, UGREENlink, myQNAPcloud Link, TNAS.online or EZ Connect. UGREEN and QNAP both require an account with them.

Does WD My Cloud still work?

Models that could not move to My Cloud OS 5 lost remote access in 2022 and work only on the home network. The My Cloud Home and the OS 5 models are still supported, with a planned end at the end of 2027.

Is a NAS a backup?

Not on its own. Synology and Asustor both tell owners to keep further copies, at least one of them away from the house.

Prices move, so confirm on the maker’s store before you pay.