TrueNAS vs UnRAID vs OMV (in 2025)

Last updated on 29 May 2025 📧 Subscribe
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1 📊 OpenMediaVault vs TrueNAS vs UnRAID – Updated Feature Comparison (2025)
2 🔧 1. Filesystem and Storage Engine Support
3 🧩 2. Flexibility in Drive Usage and Expansion
4 📦 3. Plugin and App Ecosystem
5 🖥️ 4. Virtualization and Containers
6 🔐 5. Data Protection & Integrity
7 📊 6. User Interface and Ease of Use
8 📱 7. Remote Access and Mobile Support
9 ⚙️ 8. Backup and Sync
10 🧱 9. Lightweight System Requirements
11 🔄 10. Simplicity for Basic File Serving and Backup
12 💰 11. Pricing and Licensing
13 Need Advice on Data Storage from an Expert?

📊 OpenMediaVault vs TrueNAS vs UnRAID – Updated Feature Comparison (2025)

Choosing the right operating system for a NAS (Network-Attached Storage) setup is a critical decision that can impact performance, flexibility, and long-term reliability. In this article, we compare three of the most widely used NAS software platforms available in 2025: OpenMediaVault, TrueNAS, and UnRAID. Each offers a distinct approach to storage management, system architecture, and extensibility, catering to different user needs ranging from home media servers to enterprise-grade data environments. This comparison focuses on core features such as file system support, RAID configuration, virtualization, containerization, backup options, user interface, and development status. All information has been updated to reflect the most current capabilities and limitations of each platform as of May 2025.

 

Feature OpenMediaVault (OMV)

TrueNAS

UnRAID

Base OS Debian Linux Debian Linux (TrueNAS SCALE) Slackware Linux
License Open Source (GPLv3) Open Source (BSD) Proprietary (Paid License)
Cost Free Free (Community Edition), Paid (Enterprise Edition) Paid (One-time license fee)
Target Audience Home users, DIY enthusiasts, small offices SMBs, professionals, enterprise users Home users, media enthusiasts, prosumers
Filesystems Supported ext4, XFS, Btrfs, ZFS (via plugin) ZFS (native), ext4 (SCALE) XFS (default), Btrfs, ZFS (via plugin)
RAID Support Software RAID (mdadm): 0/1/5/6/10, JBOD; SnapRAID (plugin) ZFS RAID: RAIDZ1/2/3, Mirror, Stripe Custom parity-based RAID (unRAID), allowing mix-and-match drives
Drive Expandability Limited; manual intervention required for RAID expansion Limited; replacing drives within vdevs Highly flexible; add any drive at any time without rebuilding array
Hot Spare Support Yes (with mdadm) Yes (ZFS pools) No (manual failover procedures)
SSD Caching Supported via plugins (e.g., LVM, ZFS plugin) ZFS ARC, L2ARC, special vdevs Cache drives (read/write split); multiple cache levels supported
ZFS Support Available via plugin (OMV-Extras); recent updates include RAIDZ expansion support as of January 2025 Native support; full integration in TrueNAS SCALE Available via plugin; recent versions (7.0.1 and later) include ZFS support
Encryption LUKS, eCryptfs (manual setup) Native ZFS encryption File-level encryption via plugins; ZFS encryption if using ZFS plugin
Snapshots Supported on Btrfs and ZFS (via plugin) Native ZFS snapshots and replication Limited; available with Btrfs (experimental) or ZFS plugin
Bitrot Detection No native support Yes (ZFS provides checksumming and data integrity verification) No native support; available with ZFS plugin
Deduplication Not supported Supported in ZFS (with performance considerations) Not supported; available with ZFS plugin
Compression Filesystem-level compression (manual setup) Native ZFS compression Available with ZFS plugin
Backup Tools Rsync, Clonezilla, USB backup tools (via plugins) Rsync, native replication, cloud sync options Plugin-based solutions (e.g., Rsync, cloud backup tools)
Docker Support Supported via plugins (e.g., OMV-Extras) Native support in TrueNAS SCALE Native Docker support
VM Support Available via plugins (e.g., KVM plugin) Native support in TrueNAS SCALE; recent versions (25.04) have transitioned to Incus for VM deployment Native support; utilizes KVM/QEMU for virtualization
Kubernetes Support No Yes (available in TrueNAS SCALE) No
File Sharing Protocols SMB/CIFS, FTP, NFS (v3/v4), Rsync, SSH SMB, NFS, Rsync, AFP, iSCSI SMB, NFS, AFP, FTP, iSCSI
iSCSI Support Available via plugin Native support Native support
Active Directory/LDAP Yes Yes Yes
VPN Support Available via plugins (e.g., OpenVPN) OpenVPN, WireGuard (in TrueNAS SCALE) Available via plugins (e.g., OpenVPN)
Web Interface Simple, functional web-based GUI Advanced GUI; recent versions have introduced enhancements in the web interface Modern, plugin-rich GUI
Mobile App No official mobile application Official mobile app available No official mobile app; some third-party options exist
UPS Support Yes Yes Yes
Email Notifications Yes Yes Yes
SMART Monitoring Yes Yes Yes
Plugin System OMV-Extras repository; community-developed plugins Plugin system available; Docker support in TrueNAS SCALE Community Apps, Docker, and plugin manager
CLI/Scripting Access Full Debian-based CLI access Full CLI access (BSD/Linux) Full CLI access
Development Status Actively maintained by community and volunteers Actively developed by iXsystems; recent focus on TrueNAS SCALE Actively developed by Lime Technology; recent releases include significant improvements across subsystem

Differences between OpenMediaVault, TrueNAS, and UnRAID, highlighting where each platform is superior in specific areas and where others are less capable or limited in comparison.

🔧 1. Filesystem and Storage Engine Support

  • Superior: TrueNAS

    • Native support for ZFS, including RAIDZ, snapshots, compression, encryption, deduplication, and self-healing capabilities.

    • Fully integrated into both CORE (FreeBSD) and SCALE (Linux).

  • Weaker:

    • OpenMediaVault: ZFS only via plugin; relies on mdadm for traditional RAID which lacks ZFS features.

    • UnRAID: Uses a custom parity-based system with no built-in support for ZFS (plugin only); lacks data integrity features like checksumming and self-healing.

🧩 2. Flexibility in Drive Usage and Expansion

  • Superior: UnRAID

    • Supports mixing drive sizes, adding drives at any time without reconfiguring or rebuilding arrays.

  • Weaker:

    • TrueNAS: Requires matched drives within vdevs; limited expandability unless replacing entire vdevs.

    • OpenMediaVault: Expansion typically requires manual intervention; standard RAID rebuilds needed.

📦 3. Plugin and App Ecosystem

  • Superior: UnRAID

    • Extensive community-driven plugin ecosystem; native Docker and VM support; simplified app store via Community Applications plugin.

  • Weaker:

    • TrueNAS CORE: More controlled plugin system; SCALE has Docker but fewer community apps.

    • OpenMediaVault: Smaller plugin ecosystem; relies on OMV-Extras and third-party development.

🖥️ 4. Virtualization and Containers

  • Superior: TrueNAS SCALE

    • Native support for Docker, Kubernetes (K3s), and virtual machines with GUI integration.

  • Weaker:

    • UnRAID: VM and Docker support is good but lacks Kubernetes or container orchestration.

    • OpenMediaVault: VM support via KVM plugin is basic; no Kubernetes.

🔐 5. Data Protection & Integrity

  • Superior: TrueNAS

    • Built-in snapshots, checksumming, encryption, bitrot protection, and replication (ZFS-native).

  • Weaker:

    • UnRAID: No bitrot protection or native snapshotting unless ZFS plugin is used.

    • OpenMediaVault: Only supports snapshots with Btrfs or ZFS plugin; no built-in bitrot detection.

📊 6. User Interface and Ease of Use

  • Superior: UnRAID

    • Clean, intuitive GUI; excellent for beginners and home media server users.

  • Weaker:

    • OpenMediaVault: Functional but minimal; may require CLI or plugin configuration.

    • TrueNAS: More complex; powerful but steeper learning curve, especially in CORE.

📱 7. Remote Access and Mobile Support

  • Superior: TrueNAS

    • Offers an official mobile app, MyNAS cloud access, and browser-based management tools.

  • Weaker:

    • UnRAID: No official app, third-party tools required.

    • OpenMediaVault: No native mobile access tools.

⚙️ 8. Backup and Sync

 

  • Superior: TrueNAS

    • Native tools for cloud sync, snapshot replication, and Rsync with versioning.

  • Weaker:

    • UnRAID: Mostly handled via plugins like Duplicati, Rclone.

    • OpenMediaVault: Relies on third-party plugins for cloud sync; basic Rsync support.

🧱 9. Lightweight System Requirements

  • Superior: OpenMediaVault

    • OMV is extremely lightweight and can run efficiently on older or low-power hardware (e.g., Raspberry Pi, Atom-based systems, low-end x86 machines).

    • Minimal background services, modular architecture, and reliance on Debian core make it suitable for headless or low-resource environments.

  • Weaker:

    • TrueNAS: Requires more powerful hardware, especially with ZFS (minimum 8GB RAM recommended, ideally 16GB+).

    • UnRAID: Lightweight relative to TrueNAS but still requires moderate resources due to Docker and VM overhead.

🔄 10. Simplicity for Basic File Serving and Backup

  • Superior: OpenMediaVault

    • Ideal for users who need a straightforward, reliable platform for SMB/NFS file sharing, USB backup, and local network services without additional complexity.

    • Excellent for beginners setting up basic NAS tasks with minimal configuration or advanced technical knowledge.

  • Weaker:

    • TrueNAS: Powerful but may be overkill for simple setups; configuration is more complex due to ZFS and enterprise options.

    • UnRAID: Prioritizes flexibility and apps over simplicity; not as streamlined for pure file sharing or traditional NAS roles.

💰 11. Pricing and Licensing

  • Superior: OpenMediaVault

    • Completely free and open-source with no paid tiers, license restrictions, or feature limitations. Users can deploy OMV on any hardware without additional cost, making it ideal for budget-conscious users and DIY builders.

  • Weaker:

    • TrueNAS: Free for community editions (CORE and SCALE), but enterprise features and support come with a paid licensing model.

    • UnRAID: Requires a paid license, with pricing based on the number of storage devices. While a trial is available, continued use mandates payment.

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