The best affordable NAS (Network Attached Storage) enclosure gives you all the features you’re looking for in an online storage drive for less. Ideally, it should be able to back up data and photos on all devices on your home network, play your media collection across devices, and provide enough storage for all your data needs. There are a lot of great options that do just that, but my favorite is still the Synology DiskStation DS220j, which is a great starting model if you’re looking to upgrade your home network.
If you’re looking to create a NAS to back up data from all the phones and Windows and macOS devices in your home or to store your audio and media library, Synology is the perfect place to start. The brand makes the best home NAS enclosures and sells dozens of enclosures across all price points. If you’re looking for a budget model to get started, the DiskStation DS220j is a great choice.
The DS220j has two drive bays, and each slot can hold hard drives up to 16TB. NAS comes at a reasonable price, but that’s only for the diskless enclosure—you’ll have to buy NAS hard drives, like the Seagate 4TB IronWolf hard drive, separately. Designed to run in NAS enclosures, IronWolf drives come with vibration protection and 24/7 reliability.
You can get the DS220j and a 4TB hard drive for the low price, and with that you’ll get a powerful NAS enclosure with excellent software features. DiskStation Manager software from Synology is the gold standard in the industry. It comes with a comprehensive list of options that make it easy to back up data on all devices across your home network, and seamlessly stream audio and video. There is even a tool that automatically sorts photos uploaded to the NAS into albums. You have the option to set up user accounts and have family members set up their own space for photos and other data on the NAS.
I’ve been using Synology’s NAS servers for nearly a decade, and I keep coming back to them frequently for the software’s powerful features. There’s exciting news here, with the release of Synology DSM 7.1 – the biggest update to its software yet, with a new interface and feature additions. The DS220j has a lot going for it on the hardware front: you get a Realtek RTD1296 chipset, 512MB of RAM, Gigabit Ethernet connectivity, and two USB 3.0 ports. It works well as a Plex server, and you get great value for what you pay here.
(Image credit: Western Digital)
Western Digital My Cloud Home 4TB
A great all-in-one option
Reasons to buy
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easy to use
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Built-in hard disk
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Great value
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gigabit ethernet
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One USB 3.0 port
Reasons to avoid
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Limited software features
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Not upgradeable
The My Cloud Home from Western Digital is a solid choice if you’re looking for a compact NAS enclosure with a built-in hard drive. Aimed at first-time NAS buyers, the enclosure lets you easily back up photos from your phone and data from your home’s Windows and macOS devices. There’s also a USB 3.0 port on the back for slotting in an external drive and transferring its contents to a NAS.
You can also stream content stored locally to devices in your home network. With individual user accounts, your family members will be able to save content from their devices directly to the NAS. WD also has a My Cloud Home app that lets you access your NAS on the go.
The program’s features are limited here, but if you’re just looking for a NAS to back up data and stream media locally on your home network, My Cloud Home is a decent option. Considering you get the caddy and a 3TB drive for the low price, it’s a great value.
(Image credit: Synology)
Synology DiskStation DS120j
Everything you need – for less
Reasons to buy
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The easiest way to access Synology’s premium software
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Great value
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gigabit ethernet
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Holds up to 16TB of storage
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Works quietly
Reasons to avoid
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One hard disk slot
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Not ideal for Plex streaming
If you’re looking for a more affordable option that will get you started with Synology’s excellent DiskStation Manager software, the DiskStation DS120j is a great choice. A NAS is available for less than any other pick on this list, and you can pick up an IronWolf 4TB hard drive and start with a 4TB media server for not a lot of money. The cost of the hard drive makes the DS120j marginally more expensive than the WD My Cloud series, but you do get more powerful software.
The standout feature of DiskStation Manager is that you get Android and iOS clients that let you stream audio and video and access photos stored on the DS120j. You can also access your NAS from outside your home network, making your NAS your music and video streaming service.
The DS120j is a single-slot model, which means you can slot it into a single hard drive. A 4TB drive would be the ideal choice here, but if you think you’ll need more storage, you can always get an 8TB IronWolf drive, which gives you the option to double the storage capacity. The expandability combined with powerful software gives Synology an edge over the likes of Western Digital and Buffalo in this segment.
Hardware-wise, the DS120j comes with a Marvell Armada 3700 chipset, 512MB of RAM, Gigabit Ethernet connectivity, two USB 2.0 ports, and a 60mm fan on the back. Overall, the DS120j is a great option to get started with what Synology has to offer without spending a lot of money.
(Image credit: Harish Jonnalagadda/Android Central)
Synology DiskStation DS220+
Best dual bay NAS for Plex
Reasons to buy
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Powerful device
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Works great with Plex and more than DLNA
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Super fast 4K transcoding
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Holds up to 32TB of storage
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Two Gigabit Ethernet ports
Reasons to avoid
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There are no M.2 SSD slots for caching
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beloved
Need more power than the DS220j or DS120j? You’ll want to take a look at the DiskStation DS220+. The NAS features the powerful Intel Celeron J4025 chipset and comes with 2GB of DDR4 RAM, making it a great choice as a NAS for Plex. You get two drive bays that can hold 32TB of storage and two Gigabit Ethernet ports that can be linked together.
One notable feature of the DS220+ is that it can easily handle 4K transcoding. You’ll often come across this term in the NAS world, and what it means is that the DS220+ can basically convert a video file from one format to another on the go, allowing it to be played on any device. So if you have a video with the .MKV file extension, and it’s not playing on your TV, the NAS converts the file into a playable format, giving you the option to stream it on your TV. It’s all done automatically, so you don’t have to worry about selecting file formats manually.
I’ve been using the DS220+ for several months now, and one of the features I like best is Synology’s Android and iOS apps. I can monitor the status of the NAS or access files, photos, and videos right from my OnePlus 9. The DS220+ is exciting as a media server thanks to its powerful hardware, and you get the same great set of software features in DiskStation Manager as other Synology products. You’ll need to choose at least one hard drive, so if you’re getting a 4TB IronWolf drive, you’ll be spending a lot. However, that’s still decent, given that the devices featured here will last for several years.
What are the best cheap NAS devices you can buy right now?
(Image credit: Harish Jonnalagadda/Android Central)
If you want to set up a media server, you may think that you have to spend a lot of money. However, while you should be spending triple figures—and a little extra for the hard drive along with the caddy—you won’t have to spend on the high end of your budget.
The point I’m trying to make is that you don’t have to invest a lot of money to get a reliable NAS that excels at the basics. This is evident with the DiskStation DS220j – it offers everything you’d look for in a NAS, and the software on offer makes it a superior choice.
For example, you can use it to play 4K videos on all devices on your home network, set up your own audio and video streaming servers, and automatically back up data across your network.
If you need more power to build a Plex 4K server, you should take a look at the DiskStation DS220+.
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