Home NAS compared in November 2026: Synology, QNAP, UGREEN and Asustor specs side by side
Five 2- and 4-bay NAS models compared using the manufacturers' own spec pages: processors, memory, NVMe slots and network speeds. UK prices are not confirmed, so check retailers.
By Andrew Ingleton · Published
Choosing a home NAS in late 2026 mostly comes down to three questions: how much processing power do you need, how fast is the network port, and how much freedom do you want over the software? This comparison lines up five current 2- and 4-bay models using the manufacturers' own product pages. Specifications were read on 6 November 2026; UK prices were not available from the manufacturers' pages through our fetcher, so we do not quote any and you should check retailers before buying.
The models at a glance
| Model | Bays | CPU | Memory | M.2 NVMe | Network | Software |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Synology DS225+ | 2 × SATA | Intel Celeron J4125, 4 cores, 2.0 GHz (2.7 GHz turbo) | 2 GB DDR4, 1 slot, max 6 GB | None listed | 1 × 1GbE, 1 × 2.5GbE | DSM |
| Synology DS925+ | 4 × SATA (9 with a DX525 expansion unit) | AMD Ryzen V1500B, 4 cores / 8 threads, 2.2 GHz | 4 GB DDR4 ECC, 2 slots, max 32 GB | 2 × 2280 | 2 × 2.5GbE | DSM |
| QNAP TS-433 | 4 × SATA | Arm Cortex-A55, 4 cores, 2.0 GHz | 4 GB, built in, not expandable | Not stated | 1 × 1GbE, 1 × 2.5GbE | QTS |
| UGREEN NASync DXP4800 Plus | 4 × SATA | Intel Pentium Gold 8505, 5 cores / 6 threads | 8 GB DDR5, up to 64 GB | 2 × NVMe | 1 × 10GbE, 1 × 2.5GbE | UGOS |
| Asustor Drivestor 4 Pro Gen2 (AS3304T v2) | Not confirmed on the page (the name suggests four) | Realtek RTD1619B, 4 cores, 1.7 GHz | 2 GB DDR4 | Not mentioned | 2.5GbE (port count not stated) | ADM |
What the numbers say
Synology: the polished, conservative pick
The DS925+ is the most capable Synology in this list. Its Ryzen V1500B and ECC memory suit a household that wants one box for backups, photos and a handful of containers, and two NVMe slots give you room for a fast cache or pool. Synology quotes 37.91 W under access and 12.33 W with the disks hibernating, which is useful if the box runs around the clock. Both Synology models carry a three-year hardware warranty, extendable to five. The DS225+ is the entry point: two bays and an older Celeron, but still a 2.5GbE port.
UGREEN: the most hardware for the money
On paper the DXP4800 Plus offers the most headroom here: DDR5 memory that can grow to 64 GB, two NVMe slots and a 10GbE port that the Synology models lack. UGREEN's own store listed it at US$619.99 (reduced from US$729.99); we could not confirm a UK price. The trade-off is software maturity: UGOS is younger than DSM, QTS or ADM, so check the current feature list for the apps you rely on.
QNAP and Asustor: Arm at the budget end
The TS-433 and the Drivestor 4 Pro Gen2 use Arm-class processors with small amounts of memory. That is plenty for file sharing, backups and light media streaming, but it is not the right foundation for many Docker containers or software transcoding. The TS-433's 4 GB is soldered, so it cannot be upgraded later. We could not confirm the Asustor's bay count or port count from its page, so treat those cells as open until you check the data sheet.
Which one should you pick?
- Family photos and backups, minimum fuss: Synology DS225+, or the DS925+ if you want four bays.
- Containers, virtual machines and 10GbE: UGREEN DXP4800 Plus, if you accept a younger operating system.
- A simple four-bay file server: QNAP TS-433, accepting the fixed memory (we have not compared prices).
Whatever you choose, a NAS is not a backup on its own. Keep a second copy off the box, and keep the operating system updated: Synology recently warned about ransomware targeting NAS devices running outdated DSM.
What we could not verify
UK prices for all five models, hardware transcoding support, the Asustor bay count, QNAP's M.2 and dimensions, and power figures for QNAP, UGREEN and Asustor. We will update this comparison when we have them.
