Homelab

NAS Enclosure Price Tracker

Q: Should I buy a bare NAS enclosure or one bundled with drives?

Buying bare and sourcing your own drives -- often from a dedicated drive tracker rather than the NAS vendor -- is usually cheaper and lets you pick exactly the capacity and drive model you want. A bundled unit can be a reasonable convenience if you'd rather not manually test and burn in drives yourself, but you'll typically pay a premium for that.

Q: Can I run TrueNAS or Unraid on one of these instead of the stock OS?

Many x86-based NAS enclosures -- most QNAP, TerraMaster, and ASUSTOR units, and some Synology Plus-series models -- can run TrueNAS SCALE or Unraid instead of, or alongside, the stock firmware. Compatibility varies model to model though, especially for vendor-specific hardware like front-panel LED and LCD control, so check community reports for your exact model before committing.

Synology, QNAP, TerraMaster & ASUSTOR — Bare, Drive-Less Enclosures

The enclosure and the drives are two separate purchases, and buying them separately is almost always the better value — you pick exactly the capacity you want instead of paying a premium for a pre-populated bundle. This tracks current $/bay pricing on bare, drive-less enclosures across the four brands homelabbers and data hoarders actually buy, from 2-bay desktop units up through 8-bay rackmount chassis. Pair it with my disk price tracker to source the drives.

Disclaimer: This is a personal tracking tool I built for my own use, not a professional pricing or comparison service. Listings, prices, and outbound links are pulled from third-party sources and can be stale, inaccurate, or broken — I'm not responsible for their accuracy or where a link leads. Always verify details directly with the retailer or source before you rely on them.

Sizing: How Many Bays Do You Actually Need

Bay count is the number that matters most when comparing NAS enclosures across brands, which is why this page sorts by $/bay rather than raw price — it's the closest thing to an apples-to-apples unit of expansion headroom. A cheap 2-bay unit and a pricier 8-bay unit can have wildly different value depending on what you actually need to store.

2 bays covers basic mirrored redundancy (RAID1) with no room to grow. 4 bays is the sweet spot for most homelabbers — enough for single-parity redundancy (RAID5/SHR) with real usable capacity and a spare slot for expansion. 5-8 bays starts to matter once you're seriously data hoarding, where dual-parity redundancy (RAID6/SHR-2) protects against a second drive failing mid-rebuild, which becomes a real risk once you're running larger, older drives.

The Four Brands on This Page

Synology

The most polished, locked-down software ecosystem (DSM) with the broadest app support — at a real price premium, and growing pickier about non-Synology drives on newer models.

QNAP

More raw hardware and features per dollar than Synology, but has had more publicized security vulnerabilities — stay current on firmware updates.

TerraMaster

Budget-friendly hardware with a smaller software ecosystem, which appeals most to people planning to run TrueNAS or Unraid instead of the stock firmware.

ASUSTOR

Similar positioning to TerraMaster — competitive hardware specs at a lower price than Synology/QNAP, with a smaller but still active app ecosystem.

Brand

Form Factor

Condition

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NAS	Brand	Form Factor	Condition	Bays	Price	$/Bay	Deal
TerraMaster F4-423 4-Bay NAS - Refurbished, Diskless F4-423 · eBay	TerraMaster	Desktop	Refurbished	4-Bay	$229.00	$57.25/bay	View Deal
TerraMaster F4-423 4-Bay NAS Enclosure - New, Diskless F4-423 · eBay	TerraMaster	Desktop	New	4-Bay	$279.00	$69.75/bay	View Deal
QNAP TS-873A 8-Bay NAS Enclosure - Diskless TS-873A · eBay	QNAP	Desktop	Used	8-Bay	$599.00	$74.88/bay	View Deal
QNAP TS-253D 2-Bay NAS Enclosure - Diskless, Tested Working TS-253D · eBay	QNAP	Desktop	Used	2-Bay	$159.00	$79.50/bay	View Deal
ASUSTOR AS6704T 4-Bay NAS Enclosure - Diskless, Tested AS6704T · eBay	ASUSTOR	Desktop	Used	4-Bay	$319.00	$79.75/bay	View Deal
QNAP TS-464 4-Bay NAS Diskless Enclosure TS-464 · eBay	QNAP	Desktop	Used	4-Bay	$329.00	$82.25/bay	View Deal
Synology DS224+ 2-Bay NAS Enclosure - Diskless DS224+ · eBay	Synology	Desktop	Used	2-Bay	$179.00	$89.50/bay	View Deal
Synology RS1221+ 8-Bay Rackmount NAS - Diskless RS1221+ · eBay	Synology	Rackmount	Used	8-Bay	$749.00	$93.63/bay	View Deal
ASUSTOR AS6704T 4-Bay NAS - New Sealed, Diskless AS6704T · eBay	ASUSTOR	Desktop	New	4-Bay	$389.00	$97.25/bay	View Deal
QNAP TS-464 4-Bay NAS - New Open Box, Diskless TS-464 · eBay	QNAP	Desktop	New	4-Bay	$399.00	$99.75/bay	View Deal
Synology DS923+ 4-Bay NAS Enclosure - Diskless, Tested DS923+ · eBay	Synology	Desktop	Used	4-Bay	$429.00	$107.25/bay	View Deal
Synology DS224+ 2-Bay Diskless NAS - New Open Box DS224+ · eBay	Synology	Desktop	New	2-Bay	$219.00	$109.50/bay	View Deal
Synology DS1522+ 5-Bay NAS Diskless Enclosure DS1522+ · eBay	Synology	Desktop	Used	5-Bay	$579.00	$115.80/bay	View Deal

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I buy a bare NAS enclosure or one bundled with drives?

Buying bare and sourcing your own drives — often from a dedicated drive tracker rather than the NAS vendor — is usually cheaper and lets you pick exactly the capacity and drive model you want. A bundled unit can be a reasonable convenience if you'd rather not manually test and burn in drives yourself, but you'll typically pay a premium for that.

How many drive bays do I actually need?

2 bays gets you basic mirrored redundancy with no room to grow. 4 bays is the sweet spot for most homelabbers — enough for RAID5/SHR with real capacity and a spare slot. 5-8 bays starts to matter for serious data hoarding, where dual-parity redundancy (RAID6/SHR-2) protects against a second drive failing during a rebuild.

Synology vs QNAP vs TerraMaster vs ASUSTOR — what's the real difference?

Synology has the most polished, locked-down software ecosystem (DSM) with broad app support, but costs more and has grown more restrictive about non-Synology-branded drives on newer models. QNAP offers more raw hardware per dollar and a deeper feature set, but has had more publicized security vulnerabilities, so timely firmware updates matter. TerraMaster and ASUSTOR are the budget-friendlier options with smaller software ecosystems, which appeals most to people planning to run their own OS instead of the stock firmware.

Can I run TrueNAS or Unraid on one of these instead of the stock OS?

Many x86-based NAS enclosures — most QNAP, TerraMaster, and ASUSTOR units, and some Synology Plus-series models — can run TrueNAS SCALE or Unraid instead of, or alongside, the stock firmware. Compatibility varies model to model though, especially for vendor-specific hardware like front-panel LED and LCD control, so check community reports for your exact model before committing.

Should I worry about buying a used NAS enclosure?

It's a relatively low-risk used purchase. The parts that actually wear out in a NAS — fans and the power supply — are common and usually inexpensive to replace, and the drive bay backplane rarely fails since it sees far less stress than the drives themselves. The one thing worth checking closely is that all the drive trays are present, since those are often proprietary to the model and the hardest part to replace if missing.