As the world moves towards more and more digital content, it’s important to have a NAS hard drive that can handle the load. Here are the best NAS hard drives of 2022.
- WD My Passport 4TB This WD My Passport 4TB is one of the most popular NAS hard drives on the market today. It’s small enough to fit in any small office or home, but big enough to store a lot of your digital content. Plus, it comes with a free 1TB storage space for added convenience.
- HGST Black Friday 2018 3TB PortableNAS Hard Drive If you’re looking for an affordable and reliable NAS hard drive, look no further than HGST Black Friday 2018 3TB PortableNAS Hard Drive. This drive is perfect for anyone who wants an easy way to store their digital content and access it from anywhere in the world. Plus, it comes with free 1TB storage space for added convenience!
- Samsung 850 EVO 500GB PortableNAS Hard Drive If you’re looking for a high-quality NAS hard drive that can handle large files, look no further than Samsung 850 EVO 500GB PortableNAS Hard Drive. This drive is perfect for anyone who wants an easy way to store their digital content and access it from anywhere in the world. Plus, it comes with free 2TB storage space for added convenience!
Instead of having files and data stored locally on your computer, they’re stored in a hard drive connected to a network—which is made accessible to any permitted user within that network. It’s an elegant solution for folks who need access to files on multiple devices or if several people in the same building want to store data in a centralized location.
After selecting a NAS station that will house all your NAS hard drives, you’ll be faced with your next big decision—which hard drives are right for you?
RELATED: How to Select Hard Drives for Your Home NAS
Capacity
The first thing you’ll need to determine is how much capacity you need. This refers to the amount of storage available on the hard drive. Most homes should be perfectly served by 1TB or 2TB hard drives, but if you’re a power user, you might want to invest in something larger.
If you’re regularly working with sizable projects or in a creative capacity requiring hefty image and video files, consider springing for a larger hard drive.
Workload Rate
Capacity isn’t the only thing to worry about. You’ll also need to consider something known as workload rate. This is the amount of data you can transfer to and from the hard drive without impacting its reliability. In other words, some hard drives are designed to withstand a lot of data transfer, while others aren’t quite up to the task.
The exact definition of workload rate tends to vary by manufacturer. But if you and your fellow network users are constantly uploading and downloading data from your NAS, then the workload rate is something to keep a close eye on.
When it comes to the best NAS hard drives, it’s hard to beat Western Digital and Seagate. The two companies are undoubtedly the best in the business, and we recommend sticking with their catalogs.
RELATED: What Is a “Surveillance” or “NAS” Hard Drive?
Best NAS Hard Drive Overall: Seagate IronWolf Pro 8TB NAS
The Seagate IronWolf Pro stands out from the pack of similar NAS storage solutions thanks to its reasonable price, reliable management system to monitor the health of your drive, and impressive read/write speeds.
✓ Reasonable price✓ Compatible with most NAS systems✓ IronWolf Health Management System
✗ 300TB/year workload rate
Although the IronWolf Pro drive provides speeds up to 214MB/s, the drive remains surprisingly quiet while in use. It’s also designed specifically for intense users that need their files accessible 365 days a year at all hours. It also includes three years of Rescue Data Recovery Services if anything happens to go awry.
The biggest downside to the IronWolf Pro is its 300TB/year workload rate. It’s not necessarily bad (300TB/year is a middle-of-the-pack stat), but if you’re a power user who must transfer buckets of data annually, you might press against those limitations.
It’s a minor gripe on an otherwise stellar product, and most NAS systems will be served well by adding the IronWolf Pro to its bays.
Speaking of bays, the IronWolf Pro supports up to 24-bay NAS systems, making this a great option for enterprise-level systems and personal users who need incredible performance.
Best Value NAS Hard Drive: Western Digital Red Plus 4TB NAS
If you’re looking for a great NAS hard drive that won’t break the bank (but won’t fail when you need it most), you’ll want to look closely at the Western Digital Red Plus NAS hard drive. You’ll find it offered in various capacities, but the 4TB model should be more than enough for personal use. Better yet, it comes in at around $80.
✓ Affordable✓ Multiple available capacities✓ Works with up to eight-bay NAS systems
✗ 180TB/year workload rate✗ Slower than other options on this list
Considering that low price point, you’re getting some great functionality. This includes support for up to eight bays, hardware designed to run 24/7, and a three-year limited warranty to put your mind at ease. You can also find a 14TB version if you need heaps of storage.
Unfortunately, that $80 price tag for the 4TB model has some limitations. For one, it only offers a 180TB/year workload rate. This should be enough for personal setups with only a few connected users. But if you’re purchasing a hard drive for your small businesses or need to move large piles of data, you should maybe look elsewhere.
It’s also a bit slower than the competition, with data transfer rates around 175MB/s.
Shortcomings aside, few NAS options in this price range match this hard drive’s performance. If you’re on a budget (or don’t necessarily want to spring for the “best of the best”), this is a perfectly serviceable option.
Best High-Capacity NAS Hard Drive for Home: Seagate IronWolf 18TB NAS
If you’re looking for a high-capacity NAS hard drive, the Seagate IronWolf 18TB is an excellent choice. Not only is it reasonably priced for a drive this size, but it comes with many of the same features as the high-end IronWolf Pro series mentioned above.
✓ Three-year warranty✓ IronWolf Health Management System✓ 180MB/s transfer speeds
✗ Compatible with up to eight-bay NAS systems
Designed to withstand extended use without creating undue vibrations or rattling, the IronWolf is a great addition to any NAS system. It also comes with the usual IronWolf Health Management System, giving you an easy way to monitor the drive and ensure all your data is secure.
The 180MB/s transfer speeds aren’t the fastest in the business, but they’re impressive considering the overall price of the package. Seagate also touts a one million-hour mean time between failures (MTBF), meaning you can expect this high-capacity drive to last a very long time before running into any issues.
This IronWolf series is only compatible with up to eight bays, but few personal systems should exceed that capacity.
Best High-Capacity NAS Hard Drive for Business: Seagate Exos X20 20TB Enterprise
This is about as high-end as it gets. With a 2.5 million-hour MTBF rating, 20TB capacity, and 550TB/year workload rate, any business would be well-served with the Seagate Exos X20.
✓ 20TB capacity✓ 550TB/year workload rate✓ 285MB/s transfer rate
✗ Can become noisy
The 550TB/year workload rate is a standout, as it’s more than double the value of the IronWolf Pro—our choice for the best NAS hard drive overall. If you require the transfer of gigantic chunks of data, you will have zero problems with the Seagate Exos X20.
Then there’s the 285MB/s transfer rate, which makes moving all that data surprisingly speedy. It can get a bit noisy when running at full capacity. Still, as most businesses will tuck their NAS system in a dedicated room, the occasional whirring shouldn’t be an issue.
As long as the price doesn’t scare you off, the Exos X20 is a stellar option.
Best NAS Solid State Drive: Western Digital Red SA500
If you need fast transfer speeds, you’ll want to consider adding a solid state drive (SSD) to your NAS setup. The Western Digital Red SA500 is one of the best in the business, offering the usual Western Digital reliability and speeds that clock in at a blistering 560MB/s.
✓ Multiple capacities✓ Fast read and write speeds✓ Designed for 24/7 use
✗ Capacity maxes out at 2TB
Specifically, you can expect a read performance of up to 560MB/s and a write performance of up to 530MB/s. Those speeds are leagues above anything offered by a standard NAS hard drive and are well-suited for handling large formats such as 4K or 8K video files.
Unfortunately, this specific model maxes out at a 2TB capacity. But if you’re looking for fast file transfers and a drive designed with longevity in mind (the Red SA500 comes with a five-year limited warranty), this is one of the best options available today.
