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In terms of these two brands, there is been a long-running theme all the way through that Synology has focused on FIRST-PARTY (i.e. Synology-brand) software and hardware priority, then supporting THIRD-PARTY services/hardware when they haven’t got a viable alternative in-house – to mixed degrees of popularity. Whereas QNAP has been a much more level playing field where they have released their own innovative hardware/software (occasionally a little too quickly) and singing its praises, but also tried to keep customization and flexibility for 3rd parties as open as possible and shouting loud-and-proud about that too – which can be a tad overwhelming for the less tech-savvy. Both brands have done an incredible job evolve their platforms as much as they have to date, especially when Microsoft, Google and Amazon are pouring BILLIONS into the SaaS (and PaaS and IaaS – Platform and Infrastructure as a Service) in order to create entirely streamable ecosystems for businesses, with NAS brands like Synology and QNAP not only integrating with them but also thriving alongside them as a local/bare-metal failsafe. These are all very lofty ideas and ones that most home or small business users will likely have little time for right now (aside from where NAS fits in with their Google/Office 365 office tools like documents, email and spreadsheets at a pinch) and for those users, who the NAS stands on its own two feet is what is going to matter most. Synology is earning its position in the market as the complete 1st party software and hardware package, with a genuinely groundbreaking range of available services, but still managing to make NAS accessible for all in DSM 6.2/7.0/7.1. That said, the trends we are seeing in those sub-enterprise services that are slowly receding in support of popular 3rd party hardware, software and services, making using a Synology NAS alongside your own existing setup in a frictionless way cannot be ignored and leading some to think Synology is shifting their industry position towards something higher.

QNAP NAS on the other hand, although maybe trying to cover too many bases at once, is still trying to cover as much as it can to appear to their audience. Their support of considerably more 3rd party platforms/software/services, even when they have their own software available, is certainly admirable and aside from rather aggressive pricing on their QVR Pro surveillance platform, are still the better choice for those who want a much more adaptable and customizable platform. Its a pretty understandable fact that most people who buy a NAS will be arriving with an existing collection of software in their daily workflow (Office 365 for docs, Gmail for their email, Plex for their media, Chromebook for their commute, Skype/Whatsapp for their communication, TB3 for their editing, etc) and it has to be said that QNAP keeps a more open platform to adapt a NAS into this mix than Synology – occasionally less intuitively and not without a little setup-friction, but certainly to more customizable results. Unsurprisingly, I am going to tell you that both Synology and QNAP NAS are good NAS brands and have earned their place at the top of the industry (whilst both making their own respective moves to integrate into the next tier – ie SaaS providers, Hyperscale environments and Boundless cloud storage), but there is no denying that no one brand has managed to do EVERYTHING to perfection. So, if in double, below is how I would recommend QNAP and Synology NAS to you, for each user case scenario and I hope this guide and my recommendations help you with your next big data storage purchase.

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DEAL WATCH - Is It On Offer Right Now? TERRAMASTER F8 SSD PLUS Amazon USA $499.99 ($100 off) [LINK] QNAP TS-462-4G NewEgg USA $366.75 (WAS 439) [LINK] QNAP TS-462-4G NewEgg USA $366.75 (WAS 439) [LINK] WD Red Plus Internal NAS HDD 3.5\" - 12TB WesternDigital USA 2 HDD for $399 [LINK] Synology DS423 NAS Amazon UK £332 (15% OFF) [LINK] Asustor AS5304T NAS Amazon UK £439 (21% off) [LINK] WD 4TB My Cloud Home NAS Amazon UK £165 (14% off) [LINK] Buffalo 2TB Linkstation 210 NAS Amazon USA $129 (13% off) [LINK] Terramaster U4-423 1U Rack NAS Amazon USA $499 (17% off) [LINK] QNAP TS-464 NAS $550 Amazon USA $550 (13% off) [LINK] Silverstone CS382 NAS Case $209 Amazon USA $209 (16% off) [LINK] UGREEN DXP4800 PLUS £629.99 B&H USA £629.99 ($70 off) [LINK] Seagate 24TB Ironwolf Pro $439 B&H USA $439.99 ($210 off) [LINK] WD 8TB WD RED PLUS HDD B&H USA £159.99 ($49 off) [LINK] EARLY DEAL - QNAP TS-464-8G-US Amazon USA $560 - 5% OFF [LINK] Synology DS224+ NAS Amazon UK £299 (4% Off) HERE [LINK] Synology DS223J NAS Amazon UK £179.48 (6% Off) [LINK] Synology DS124 NAS Amazon UK £134.97 (26% Off) [LINK] Asustor FS6706T Flashstor 6 $419 AAAwave USA $419 ($30 OFF with code) [LINK] Asustor Nimbustor 4 NAS AAAwave USA $365 ($94 OFF) [LINK] TERRAMASTER F4-424 Amazon USA $399.99 (-20%) [LINK] Synology RT2600ac – 4x4 dual-band Gigabit Wi-Fi router, MU-MIMO, powerful pare Amazon USA 16.89 OFF (WAS 167) [LINK] Synology RT2600AC IEEE 802.11ac Ethernet Wireless Router Amazon USA 8.38 OFF (WAS 184) [LINK] Synology 2-Bay DiskStation DS223j (Diskless) Amazon USA 19.01 OFF (WAS 209) [LINK] Synology DiskStation DS1522+ 5-Bay NAS Enclosure - 5 x 3.5 or 2.5" SATA HDD/SSD, Amazon USA 301 OFF (WAS 1800) [LINK] These Offers are Checked Daily