Synology DS224+ vs DS423+ NAS – Which Should You Buy?
The sheer scope of how much Network Attached Storage (NAS) has evolved in recent years is genuinely incredible! I remember a decade ago when the range of choices that a home user had when purchasing their own private cloud solution was actually pretty limited. Not only was the scope of hardware available to you only marginally better than leaving your PC on for days at a time, but also what you could get for your money wasn’t particularly impressive either. Fast forward to 2023, and things are so, so much different. With big brands like Synology out there, with a portfolio of solutions that allow you to spend your budget appropriately towards power, value, scalability, or all of the above, there is tremendous flexibility in their portfolio. Which brings us to the two NAS solutions of today’s comparison, the DS423+ and the DS224+, two incredibly similar Synology systems that nevertheless arrive at around $100 to $150 difference in price. With clear advantages and disadvantages in each system, the big question is, is it worth spending more on the Synology DS423+, or saving that money (perhaps adding a couple of terabytes to your storage plans) and opting for the DS224+ NAS? There is more to the differences than one being bigger than the other! Before we go any further, though, it is worth highlighting that these two systems, although differently priced and differently scaled, do have a considerable amount in common, so let’s please highlight (regardless of which one you opt for) what you are guaranteed to get when purchasing either the DS224+ or DS423+.
- Both units feature x86 processors, which allow a wide degree of app/services to run well and are a good price vs hardware balance
- Both the DS224+ and DS423+ are constructed of plastic desktop compact chassis, thereby reducing power consumption, noise and heat generated
- Both can Stream 1080p HD or 4K media, with superior performance natively and mid-range performance in Plex
- Both the Synology DS224+ and DS423+ NAS support AI-supported photo and ‘thing’ recognition supported to a very high degree from the free branded software included
- For Business users who currently enjoy the use of Google Workspace or Office 365, both of these NAS provide excellent means to backup your mass cloud accounts (as well as natively sync, dupe and configure rules on the fly)
- Both the DS224+ NAS and DS923+ NAS support snapshots, for more incremental and version-protecting failsafe in efforts to protect you from Malware and Ransomware attacks, by allowing multi-versioning storage history to browse through and restore
- Both units are DLNA certified so can be accessed, browsed and played from by popular DLNA devices, such as Amazon Firestick, Alexa, Google Home Chromecast, Apple TV, Bose, Sonos, iPads, etc, as well as connectivity between these platforms with IFTTT
- Both are multi-bay, RAID enabled devices NAS devices that support JBOD, RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 6 and RAID 10 (as well as Synology Hybrid RAID too – but the DS423+ allows you to use this to great effect immediately, whilst the DS224+ will only see the benefits of SHR/RAID5/RAID6/RAID10 later down the line when migrating towards a new larger system)
- Both devices run on their own proprietary operating system that can be accessed remotely or locally. These include regular updates to the firmware, security patches, applications and more. Ranging from multimedia, home and multi-tiered backup applications, to more business-end tools such as Surveillance software, Virtual Machine deployment and business-class backup and synchronization tools.
- Both the DS423+ and DS224+ use and can be accessed equally by a multitude of mobile applications such as DS File, DS Video, DS Photo, DSCam and DS Music that are created by and constantly improved by Synology.
- Both NAS are completely compatible with Windows, Android and Mac systems, as well as acting as a bring between software platforms to share and distribute files for migration and file sync]
- Both units can be used as a mail and/or business servers, providing excellent 3rd party CRM and first-party CMS systems, as well as the fantastic Synology collaboration Suite of applications Chat, Drive, Mail, Calendar, Office and Active Backup Suite
- Both systems will support DSM 7.1 or DSM 7.2 out the box, as well as support software updates (security and feature) for many years moving forward
- Both systems support the Synology Surveillance Station applications, support numerous cameras and arrive with 2 camera licenses with your purchase
But of course, you did not come here to find out what they have in common! You want to know what sets them apart and ultimately what will help you decide which one best deserves your money and your data!
Synology DS224+ vs DS423+ NAS – Price and Value
As I’ve already touched upon, the DS224+ is the cheaper of the two. Arriving in summer 2023, the Synology DS224+ is the refresh of the three-year-old DS220+. Nevertheless, it manages to maintain a remarkably similar price point and arrives in the market at (pending on your region, currency, tax, and shipping!) For around $330 to $360. For an Intel-powered NAS, this is mostly reasonable, though I will touch on later that more of this budget goes towards the software than it does the hardware. The Synology DS423+, released in spring 2023, arrives at around the $450 to $500 mark. Now, aside from the fact that these newer generation devices arrived at a lower price point (because of its storage scale), it is also worth highlighting that the Synology DS423+ has been in the market a wee bit longer than the newer DS224+, and this means that not only is it more available to buy reasonably but also occasionally benefits from promotions and special offers more readily than you might find in the newly launched (at least at the time of writing) DS224+. The DS423+ has only been around in the market for the better part of three to four months, yet nevertheless has already appeared in several prominent promotion events, including Amazon Prime Day. As both of these systems are mostly targeted at home users and small business users, this is a trend that we will likely see continue at most big seasonal sales events and likely the DS224+ will also follow suit. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that although the Synology DS224+ is the better-priced device, The DS423+ opens the door towards being better value, bugs in terms of the price that you can pick this device up for currently and also what’s included with the device for your money. It is fairly common when a new device arrives (not just in the world of NAS) that its predecessor sees sudden and attractive price drops in order for retailers to get rid of older generation technology. This has been exceedingly true of the newer DS224+, as right now, we are already starting to see the previous generation DS220+ arrive on special offer at numerous outlets and with a price tag as low as $250 in some places. The similarities between the DS220+ and DS224+ are pretty glaring, and both systems run the Synology DSM software remarkably well, so therefore, if you really, REALLY for looking for a good deal, keep an eye open for the DS220+ or DS920+ on offer when they appear.
Synology DS224+ vs DS423+ NAS – Hardware and Connections
Despite these two systems being remarkably similar, there is something worthy of discussing here when comparing their hardware, as Synology has clearly made decisions in their respective system architecture to reflect their position in the larger portfolio from the brand. Synology provides a wide range of solutions, and the solutions tend to be designed not to overlap one another, often positioned them 100 to $150 apart and providing extra hardware advantages in each further tier of the portfolio as you scale up. This is definitely true when comparing the Synology DS224+ and DS423+, as although the internal architecture of both of these systems is remarkably similar, the more expensive DS423 does gain two rather useful advantages that you pay more for now but result in a longer long-term storage capability down the line. So first up, let’s look at the internal hardware side by side:
| Synology DS423+ vs DS923+ NAS Hardware Comparison | ||
| Synology NAS |  |
 |
| Amazon Price: | $479 (Amazon 21/07/23)
|
$349 (est – Check Amazon)
|
| Processor model | Intel Celeron J4125 (2019 Gen) | Intel Celeron J4125 (2019 Gen) |
| processor architecture | 64-bit | 64-bit |
| processor clock | 4-core 2.0 (base frequency) / 2.7 (burst frequency) GHz | 4-core 2.0 (base frequency) / 2.7 (burst frequency) GHz |
| Integrated Graphics | Yes (250-750Mhz) | Yes (250-750Mhz) |
| Hardware encryption engine (AES-NI) | Yes | Yes |
| system memory | 2 GB DDR4 non-ECC | 2 GB DDR4 non-ECC |
| Pre-installed memory modules | Yes | Yes |
| Total number of memory slots | 1 | 1 |
| Maximum memory capacity | 6 GB (2 GB + 4 GB) | 6 GB (2 GB + 4 GB) |
| The maximum number of disk slots for an expansion unit | N/A | N/A |
| M.2 drive bay | Yes x2 | N/A |
| Compatible Disk Type |
|
|
| Disk hot-plug support* | Yes | Yes |
The first big area of note is, of course, those extra two bays of storage afforded to the Synology DS423+. Now, there are not just advantages in total storage capacity when comparing a 4-bay NAS device against a 2-bay NAS device. Yes, you can have more hard drives and more space to play with, but there are a few certain overlooked advantages that a 4-bay NAS brings to the table. Such as:
Scalability – any Synology NAS system can be operated with as little as a single hard drive or SSD inside. However (depending on the RAID configuration you choose), you can also add drives gradually to a RAID and increase storage gradually over time. A 4-bay device allows you to install just one or two hard drives inside the available bays, and then as the years go on and your storage use increases, you can add further hard drives to allow you to spread the cost of your storage over the years, rather than a single day one spend. Thanks to innovations in hybrid RAID systems like SHR (supported on both the DS224+ and DS423+), you can even mix and match drives to take advantage of larger hard drives that get released later or to buy larger hard drives years from now that decrease in price.
Performance – this is often overlooked, but when NAS systems take advantage of RAID in order to provide a safety net in the event of a disc failing, it also opens the door to multiple drives being read and written to simultaneously. Ultimately, in the right RAID, the more drives you have, the higher performance you will get in terms of write activity (more disks being written across multiple discs at once, rather than one at a time) and read activity (pulling the data from multiple drives at once). The more bays you have, the largest performance potential you have.
Potential for lower price per terabyte depending on your RAID – this is massively overlooked, mostly because it’s not really a bulletproof rule, but having more bays in your NAS can also result in having the same amount of capacity as you find in a 2-bay NAS at a lower cost. A 2-bay NAS, if you want to have at least one disc of drive failure protection, will result in you having to effectively halve your storage. By that, I mean that if you buy 2x 10 TB drives inside a 2-bay in RAID 1, you will only have 10 TB total storage. However, in the 4-bay NAS, you can buy 4x 4TB hard drives (which are regularly on special offer and are also considerably lower in price than a 10TB), and in a RAID 5 / SHR, you will still have one drive of data failure protection but also a total 12 TB storage to play with. More storage, lower price, same protection.
So as you can see, you are definitely paying more for the DS423+ with 4 bays, versus that of the DS224+ with two bays. However, the advantages that it brings in terms of gradual scalability, performance, and savings on your price per terabyte are fantastic and for some users will single-handedly justify this price difference.
| Model ID | Synology DS423+ | Synology DS224+ |
| Synology NAS |  |
 |
| RJ-45 1GbE LAN port* | 2 (Supports Link Aggregation / Failover) | 2 (Supports Link Aggregation / Failover) |
| USB 3.2 Gen 1 port* | 2 | 2 |
| eSATA port | 0 | 0 |
| USB Copy | Yes (inc. Physical Button) | Yes (inc. Physical Button) |
| PCIe expansion | N/A | N/A |
| system fan | 92 mm x 92 mm x 2 pcs | 92 mm x 92 mm x 1 pcs |
| fan mode |
|
|
| Front panel LED indicators with adjustable brightness | Yes | Yes |
| Noise value* | 19.8dB(A) | 22dB(A) |
| wake on lan | Yes | Yes |
| Power Supply / Transformer | 90W | 60W |
| AC input voltage | 100V to 240V AC | 100V to 240V AC |
| current frequency | 50/60 Hz, single frequency | 50/60 Hz, single frequency |
| Power consumption | 28.3 W (access) 8.45 W (disk hibernation) |
14.69 W (access) 4.41 W (disk hibernation) |
Next, we need to discuss the CPU and memory inside the DS423+ and DS224+. Now. This will not be hard, as it is absolutely 100% identical! Both systems arrive with the 2019 generation Intel J4125, a quad-core integrated graphics processor with a 2.0 GHz clock speed that can be burst to 2.7 gigahertz when needed. Synology has extensive experience with this CPU, as they have been using it in a number of their devices in the last few years, and this has allowed them to keep their software fantastically efficient and allow you to get as much done as possible with as lower resource utilization needed as possible. The same goes for the memory in both of these devices, with both systems arriving with 2GB of DDR4 memory. This initial 2GB is soldered to the main internal controller board for reasons of cost and efficiency. Doubt, but there is also an additional SODIMM upgrade slot that allows you to install an additional 4GB of memory and scale up the total storage on both devices to 6GB. Moving aside from the fact that it’s a bit weird that the system is capped at 6 GB when the CPU inside can achieve 8GB (because of the way Synology has approached the initial memory being soldered), this is still a reasonably decent amount of memory to be getting on with and identical across both of these systems.
Once again, when we talk about the ports and connections on these devices on the rear of the chassis, things are pretty much identical. Both systems arrive with two network ports on the rear, and both systems use 1Gb/Gigabit Ethernet architecture. These ports can be combined via the use of port trunking/link aggregation/SMB multi-channel (depending on your own network hardware setup requirements and OS), but it’s still a shame that Synology has not opted to scale up towards 2.5Gb on the system in the same way their competitors have at a similar price point to both of these systems. Both systems also arrive with USB 5G Type-A connectivity and although they support external storage devices, UPS devices, and can be assigned to a virtual machine if needed, that is really it. Neither system supports network upgrades via USB network adapters, and therefore it does result in this system having a much lower glass ceiling in terms of network connectivity long-term. You will only partially feel this in the DS224+, but in the case of the DS423+, that is a substantial loss of external bandwidth potential long-term.
However, things are still different in one rather important area – M.2 NVMe SSD Support. Despite the incredible similarities in their hardware internally, Synology has provided 2x M.2 NVMe SSD bays on the base of the (already 4x SATA bay) DS423+, but NOT on the DS224+ NAS. Alongside these M.2 bays being usable as caching to benefit the larger (but slower) SATA HDD pool, there is also the recently implemented support of NVMe drives as storage pools! Because this is a supported feature of the DS423+, that means that not only have you now got a large arrangement of hard drives for a big storage area, but now you can also create a smaller and faster area of storage comprising NVMe SSDs. This additional storage feature is not perfect, though, as the DS423+ is a Gen 2 PCI architecture system, AND the system has also limited the bandwidth speed afforded to these bays for reasons of system temperature and available system PCI lanes. This results in a noticeable bottleneck on the performance potential of these NVMe SSD pools. Additionally, Synology has seen fit to limit the range of SSDs that can be used for this feature in the DS423+ to only be possible with their own SSD drives (currently, the SNV-3400 range), and if you try to create M.2 storage pools with non-Synology SSDs, the system will not allow you to do so as these are non-verified drives. You can still use third-party SSDs for creating areas of SSD caching, but not the M.2 storage pools. Nevertheless, despite these limitations imposed by the brand, the inclusion of the M.2 NVMe pools on the DS423+ is an absolute game-changer, especially when you factor in the additional two hard drive SATA bays that it also has compared with the DS224+. These two factors alone will likely justify the additional costs for many. However, we should highlight that this extra hardware scalability does arrive at a different kind of cost.
This is a minor point for many, and also admittedly the margins we are discussing are quite small, but we do need to at least highlight that the power consumption of the Synology DS224+ is going to be lower than that of the DS423+. Factors such as powering two additional hard drive bays, additional NVMe drives drawing a small amount of power, and the system requiring additional cooling to maintain an optimum 24×7 operation temperature are all going to add up to small increases in power consumption. This is made clearer when you see that the external PSU that both systems arrive with is slightly different, with the four-bay device arriving with a larger PSU. These are all hypothetical maximums, of course, and if you don’t use the M.2 bays or scale up your storage too much over time, power consumption will be largely identical on both systems – a larger PSU does not automatically mean more power use, simply the potential and capability to draw more power if it is needed. Nevertheless, there are going to be some users that might want to keep a special eye on the electric bills over time, given the increased cost of energy in most of the world right now.
Overall, it is almost arguable that the Synology DS423+ is the better NAS choice overall in terms of hardware and connectivity. Even if you don’t intend to fully populate the additional SATA bays or M.2 bays on day one, they bring a level of storage and scalability down the line that is simply not available on the DS224+. Need more storage? Support the official DX517 expansion device from Synology, so at least on the 4-bay device, you have the means to scale up your storage over time and in a way that will be more limited on the 2-bay device. Then, of course, there are the performance benefits of larger RAID arrays and the potential for a lower price per terabyte by utilizing smaller hard drives in a bigger RAID configuration. Even if you wanted to play devil’s advocate and state the increased potential for power consumption in the DS423+, most of the increased consumption will only be used if you choose to scale up your device in the first place, and that is something that wasn’t even possible in the DS224+ NAS anyway.
Synology DS224+ vs DS423+ NAS – Software and Services
To say that these systems run DSM 7.2 to the same degree cannot really be understated! As both of these systems arrive with a near-identical hardware architecture in terms of CPU and memory, this results in both systems supporting the same scope of software and services provided in Synology’s premiere NAS software. Both the DS423+ and DS224+ support the entirety of the Synology DSM apps and tools. You name it, you can do it! Multimedia streaming, multi-site backups, surveillance, virtual machines, shared team drives, office applications, and collaboration tools, immutable backups, encryption, VPN support… seriously, they can do EVERYTHING.
| Synology NAS | Synology DS423+ | Synology DS224+ |
| Maximum single volume capacity* | 108TB | 108TB |
| Maximum number of storage spaces | 64 | 64 |
| M.2 SSD volume support* | Yes | Yes |
| SSD Read/Write Cache (White Paper) | Yes | Yes |
| SSD TRIM | Yes | Yes |
| Support RAID disk array type |
|
Synology Hybrid RAID Basic JBOD RAID 0 RAID 1 |
| file agreement | SMB/AFP/NFS/FTP/WebDAV | SMB/AFP/NFS/FTP/WebDAV |
| Maximum simultaneous SMB/AFP/FTP connections | 500 | 500 |
| Maximum number of simultaneous SMB/AFP/FTP connections (with extended memory) | 1500 | 1500 |
| Windows Access Control List (ACL) Integration | Yes | Yes |
| NFS Kerberos authentication | Yes | Yes |
| Maximum number of local user accounts | 2048 | 2048 |
| Maximum number of local groups | 256 | 256 |
| Maximum number of shared folders | 256 | 256 |
| Maximum Shared Folder Sync Tasks | 8 | 8 |
| VMware vSphere with VAAI | N/A | N/A |
| Windows Server 2022 | N/A | N/A |
| Citrix Ready | N/A | N/A |
| OpenStack | N/A | N/A |
| Media Server | Yes | Yes |
| DLNA compatible | Yes | Yes |
| Synology Photos | Yes | Yes |
| face recognition | Yes | Yes |
| Snapshot Replication | Yes | Yes |
| The maximum number of snapshots supported by a single shared folder | 1024 | 1024 |
| Maximum number of system snapshots | 65536 | 65536 |
| Surveillance Station | Yes | Yes |
| The maximum number of cameras supported (camera authorization is required) | 40 (including 2 sets of free licenses | 25 (including 2 sets of free licenses |
| Frames per second (FPS) (H.264) | 1200 FPS @ 720p (1280×720) 800 FPS @ 1080p (1920×1080) 350 FPS @ 3M (2048×1536) 280 FPS @ 5M (2591×1944) 170 FPS @ 4K (3840×2160) |
750 FPS @ 720p (1280×720) 750 FPS @ 1080p (1920×1080) 350 FPS @ 3M (2048×1536) 275 FPS @ 5M (2591×1944) 170 FPS @ 4K (3840×2160) |
| Frames per second (FPS) (H.265) | 1200 FPS @ 720p (1280×720) 1200 FPS @ 1080p (1920×1080) 600 FPS @ 3M (2048×1536) 480 FPS @ 5M (2591×1944) 200 FPS @ 4K (3840×2160) |
750 FPS @ 720p (1280×720) 750 FPS @ 1080p (1920×1080) 600 FPS @ 3M (2048×1536) 475 FPS @ 5M (2591×1944) 200 FPS @ 4K (3840×2160) |
| Synology Drive | Yes | Yes |
| Recommended number of clients that can sync simultaneously | 350 (the number of devices that can be connected at the same time when the recommended number of stored files is reached) | 350 (the number of devices that can be connected at the same time when the recommended number of stored files is reached) |
| Recommended number of files to store | 5,000,000 (Applicable to files indexed or belonging to Synology Drive , files accessed through other protocols, please refer to the file service in the above field) | 5,000,000 (Applicable to files indexed or belonging to Synology Drive , files accessed through other protocols, please refer to the file service in the above field) |
| Synology Office | Yes | Yes |
| Maximum number of users | 1200 | 1200 |
| Video Station | Yes | Yes |
| Virtual Machine Manager | Yes | Yes |
| Recommended number of virtual machines | 2 (see more) | 2 (see more) |
| Recommended number of Virtual DSMs (licensing required) | 2 (including 1 set of free licenses) | 2 (including 1 set of free licenses) |
| VPN Server | Yes | Yes |
| Maximum number of connections | 40 | 40 |
| Synology High Availability | Yes | Yes |
| log center | Yes | Yes |
| Number of logs received per second | 800 | 800 |
| Backup folders and packages | Yes | Yes |
| backup the whole system | Yes | Yes |
| Remark | Full system backup requires DSM 7.2 or later. | Full system backup requires DSM 7.2 or later. |
| Maximum number of Hybrid Share folders | 10 | 10 |
Things only start to be different between these two devices once you factor in the benefits of those additional storage drives. We already touched on that the larger DS423+ has the additional M.2 bays that allow pools and caching, as well as more SATA storage bays that provide better RAID options and the potential for larger performance overall. These things are reflected in DSM in small but noticeable ways, once you start scaling up the number of people and processes accessing your NAS at any given time. If you are a single user or even a small group of users, you will likely not really feel the benefit difference compared with the DS224+ and DS423+. But as soon as you start increasing the demands on the system, DSM or natively start to utilize the additional hardware resources and performance benefits that the DS423+ provides, in this area, the DS224+ will be left behind in terms of overall capabilities. Think of it in terms of the difference between acceleration and top speed. Both systems out of the box have nearly identical acceleration, but over time and gradually if you want to upgrade that way, the DS423+ will inevitably have a better top speed thanks to having greater storage resources to access throughout its lifespan.
You can find out more about the full range of applications, services, and features of Synology DSM, utilizing my video review below that goes into more detail and reviews the entirety of the Synology NAS software platform:
Ultimately, both systems are near enough identical in terms of what you can do in DSM 7.2, but the DS423+ just allows you to scale things up to a larger capacity of storage and services in its lifetime.
Synology DS224+ vs DS423+ NAS – Verdict and Conclusion
If you have read this comparison up to this point, then the conclusion is not going to be much of a surprise. When it comes to someone trying to choose whether to buy the new Synology DS224+ or the ever so slightly older DS423+, it is an absolute no-brainer to me – Go for the DS423+! The obvious benefits that it brings in terms of storage scalability over time, the opportunity to buy smaller hard drives in an improved RAID array for a better price per terabyte, the performance benefits that those larger RAID configurations provide, and of course, those two M.2 NVMe bays that are not available on the DS224+, swing things exceedingly heavily in favor of the DS423+. The DS224+, although a little safe/middling, given the relative closeness in their price and the fact that a lot of this extra cost can be recouped by shaving one or two TB off your total storage capacity, to me, it is unquestionable that if you are considering these two NAS devices, go for the DS423+.
| Synology NAS | |
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| Amazon Price: | Synology DS423+ NAS
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Synology DS224+ NAS
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