Best NAS with the lowest running costs (2026)
A NAS runs all day, every day, so idle power matters. These draw the least at idle, cheapest to run first. Running costs assume 24/7 at idle, at 26.32p/kWh. Where we don't have today's price, we use the typical UK price we found when researching it.
Researched, not hands-on tested.How we review ›
- #1
Synology DiskStation DS124
5.0/10verdict: skipThe DS124 is for people who want a very simple, single-drive NAS running full Synology DSM. It suits a home or small office that needs network file storage, Btrfs snapshots or Surveillance Station. It does not suit anyone who needs RAID, redundancy or heavy workloads.
1 x 3.5" SATA HDD or 2.5" SATA SSD (2.5" needs an optional holder sold separately)Realtek RTD1619B, 4 cores, 4 threads, 64-bit, 1.7 GHz, with hardware encryption engine1 GB DDR4 non-ECC1 x RJ-45 1GbE LAN port3.44W idle · £7.93/year to run · £163.79 over three years, all in
Read the full review ݣ140typical UK price when researchedCheck price at Amazon UK (opens in a new tab, affiliate link)
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- #2
DiskStation DS223j
5.0/10verdict: skipThe DS223j is for people who want a simple two-bay NAS for file storage and backup. It suits anyone who values easy DSM setup, quiet running and low power draw over raw performance. It is a poor fit for memory-hungry workloads or anyone who needs more than a single 1GbE connection.
2 x 3.5" SATA HDD or 2.5" SATA SSD (2.5" drives need optional Type C drive holder)Realtek RTD1619B, 1 CPU, 4 cores, 4 threads, 64-bit, 1.7 GHz, with hardware encryption engine1 GB DDR4 non-ECC1 x 1GbE RJ-45 LAN port, 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports4W idle · £9.22/year to run · £194.67 over three years, all in
Read the full review ݣ167typical UK price when researchedCheck price at Amazon UK (opens in a new tab, affiliate link)
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- #3
UGREEN NASync DXP2800
5.9/10verdict: skipThe DXP2800 is for home users and small setups that want a quiet two-bay NAS with 2.5GbE and two NVMe slots. It suits people happy to put up with a young operating system and thin documentation. It is a weaker fit for anyone who wants a mature app ecosystem or plans to run several virtual machines.
2 x SATA (3.5-inch HDD, 2.5-inch HDD, 2.5-inch SSD supported)Intel N100, 12th Gen N Series, 4 cores / 4 threads8 GB DDR5, expandable to 16 GB1 x 2.5GbE7W idle · £16.14/year to run · £373.27 over three years, all in
Read the full review ݣ324.85typical UK price when researchedCheck price at Amazon UK (opens in a new tab, affiliate link)
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- #4
UGREEN NASync DH2300
4.4/10verdict: skipThe UGREEN NASync DH2300 is for people who want a simple, low-power two-bay box for backups, photos and file storage. It suits a first NAS buyer who will use UGREEN's own UGOS Pro apps and doesn't need containers or virtual machines. Homelabbers who want Docker, more memory or faster than 1GbE networking should look at something else.
2 SATA bays (3.5"/2.5"), up to 64TB (2× 32TB)Rockchip RK3576, 8 cores 2.2GHz (4× Cortex-A72 2.2GHz + 4× Cortex-A53 1.8GHz)4GB LPDDR4X (fixed, not upgradeable)1× 1GbE10W idle · £23.06/year to run · £244.12 over three years, all in
Read the full review ݣ174.95typical UK price when researchedCheck price at Amazon UK (opens in a new tab, affiliate link)
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- #5
TERRAMASTER F2-425
5.6/10verdict: skipThe TerraMaster F2-425 is for people who want a two-bay NAS with 2.5GbE for file storage, backups and light media serving. It suits buyers who will add their own SATA drives and run a few containers or a Plex server. It is less suited to anyone who needs more than two bays, M.2 cache or a lot of memory headroom.
2Intel Celeron N5095, quad-core, x86 64-bit, 2.0 GHz base, up to 2.9 GHz burst4 GB DDR4 non-ECC SODIMM pre-installed, 1 SODIMM slot, 16 GB maximum1 x RJ-45 2.5GbE port11.5W idle · £26.51/year to run · £331.54 over three years, all in
Read the full review ݣ252typical UK price when researchedCheck price at Amazon UK (opens in a new tab, affiliate link)
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- #6
Beelink ME Pro 2-Bay Hybrid NAS Mini PC, Intel N95/N150
6.2/10verdict: wait for dealThe Beelink ME Pro suits homelabbers who want a small, quiet Windows-based NAS with fast networking and plenty of M.2 slots. It fits people who plan to run containers or a few services on 16GB of fixed memory. It is a poor fit for anyone who needs upgradeable RAM or a dedicated NAS operating system.
2 x SATA bays for 2.5 or 3.5 inch drivesIntel N150, quad-core 4 threads, up to 3.6 GHz turbo, 24 EU Intel UHD graphics16GB LPDDR5 at 4800 MHz, soldered and not upgradeable5GbE plus 2.5GbE dual ports, WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.414.5W idle · £33.43/year to run · £519.29 over three years, all in
Read the full review ݣ419typical UK price when researchedCheck price at Amazon UK (opens in a new tab, affiliate link)
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- #7
UGREEN NASync DXP2800 GT
7.3/10verdict: wait for dealThe UGREEN NASync DXP2800 GT is a two-bay NAS for people who want fast networking and spare processing power in a small box. It suits homelabbers who plan to run containers or virtual machines and want room to grow the memory. Buyers who care most about a mature app store or full volume encryption should look closely at the software first.
2 x SATA baysAMD Ryzen Embedded R2514, 4 cores / 8 threads, 3.7 GHz max boost8GB DDR4 installed, expandable up to 64GB1 x 10GbE port17.5W idle · £40.35/year to run · £511.04 over three years, all in
Read the full review ݣ389.99typical UK price when researchedCheck price at Amazon UK (opens in a new tab, affiliate link)
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- #8
UGREEN NASync DH4300 Plus
5.1/10verdict: skipThe UGREEN NASync DH4300 Plus is a four-bay SATA NAS for people who want a quiet, low-power file server with some Docker containers. It suits buyers who will be happy with 8GB of fixed memory and a single 2.5GbE port. It is a poor fit for anyone who needs virtual machines, M.2 cache or Intel Quick Sync.
4-Bay (SATA)Rockchip RK3588 (8 cores, Cortex-A76 + A55)8GB LPDDR4X, fixed (not expandable)1x 2.5GbE RJ45 LAN18.8W idle · £43.35/year to run · £463.03 over three years, all in
Read the full review ݣ332.99typical UK price when researchedCheck price at Amazon UK (opens in a new tab, affiliate link)
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- #9
UGREEN NASync DXP4800 Plus
7.3/10verdict: wait for dealThe UGREEN NASync DXP4800 Plus is for homelabbers and technical users who want four bays, two NVMe slots and 10GbE in one box. It suits people comfortable with a young operating system and some setup fiddling. It is a weaker fit for anyone who wants a NAS that works with no tinkering.
4 x SATA, 3.5" or 2.5"Intel Pentium Gold 8505 (Alder Lake), 5 cores / 6 threads, 1 P-core at 4.4 GHz + 4 E-cores at 3.3 GHz, 8MB cache8GB DDR5-4800 SO-DIMM installed; upgrade ceiling 64GB per TechPowerUp, smarthomecompared and Android Central (Adorama states 32GB)1 x 10GbE (10GBASE-T, RJ45) + 1 x 2.5GbE24.25W idle · £55.91/year to run · £697.71 over three years, all in
Read the full review ݣ529.98typical UK price when researchedCheck price at Amazon UK (opens in a new tab, affiliate link)
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- #10
NASync DXP4800GT
7.5/10verdict: buyThe DXP4800GT is a four-bay NAS for people who want 10GbE without adding a card. It suits homelabbers and small offices who plan to run Docker or virtual machines and want room to grow memory up to 64GB. Buyers who need PCIe expansion or a very open software platform should look at the limits first.
4 × SATA 3.5"/2.5" bays (bays 1–2 also support U.2 NVMe)AMD Ryzen Embedded R2514, 4 cores / 8 threads, 2.1–3.7GHz, Zen+ generation, configurable TDP 12–25W8GB DDR4 4800MHz installed, expandable to 64GB, ECC (ODECC) supported2 × 10GbE RJ45; no Wi-Fi25W idle · £57.64/year to run · £702.91 over three years, all in
Read the full review ݣ529.99typical UK price when researchedCheck price at Amazon UK (opens in a new tab, affiliate link)
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- #11
UGREEN NASync DXP4800 Pro
7.3/10verdict: wait for dealThe UGREEN NASync DXP4800 Pro suits homelabbers and small teams who want four SATA bays, two M.2 slots and fast networking. It fits people who may replace UGOS Pro with TrueNAS, UnRAID or OMV, or who are happy to use it for files and containers. It is a weaker fit for anyone who wants a mature app store or built-in volume encryption.
4-Bay (SATA)Intel Core i3-1315U, 6 cores and 8 threads (2 performance and 4 efficiency cores)8GB DDR5, expandable to 96GB1x 10GbE and 1x 2.5GbE26W idle · £59.95/year to run · £799.83 over three years, all in
Read the full review ݣ619.99typical UK price when researchedCheck price at Amazon UK (opens in a new tab, affiliate link)
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