Best Hard Drives for NAS in 2026
Quick Recommendation
Buy Seagate IronWolf or WD Red Plus in 8-16 TB capacities. Both are CMR (not SMR), designed for NAS use, and carry 3-year warranties. The best price per TB is usually at 8 TB ($15-18/TB) or 12 TB ($14-17/TB). Check prices on both brands the day you buy — whichever is cheaper that week wins.
Avoid: WD Red (non-Plus) under 6 TB — these use SMR, which performs poorly in RAID arrays. Avoid desktop drives (WD Blue, Seagate Barracuda) in a NAS — they lack vibration tolerance and aren’t designed for 24/7 operation.
CMR vs SMR: The Only Spec That Matters
Before comparing brands, understand this critical distinction:
CMR (Conventional Magnetic Recording): Tracks don’t overlap. Writes are fast and consistent. Required for RAID and NAS use. All drives recommended in this guide are CMR.
SMR (Shingled Magnetic Recording): Tracks overlap like roof shingles. Higher density but significantly slower sustained writes. SMR drives slow to a crawl during RAID rebuilds, ZFS scrubs, or large file operations. Some SMR drives can take 10x longer to rebuild in a RAID array than CMR equivalents.
Rule: Never use SMR drives in a NAS. The initial price savings aren’t worth the write performance penalty and rebuild risk.
How to Identify SMR vs CMR
| Brand | CMR Lines | SMR Lines (avoid) |
|---|---|---|
| WD | Red Plus, Red Pro, Ultrastar, Gold | Red (non-Plus) under 6 TB |
| Seagate | IronWolf, IronWolf Pro, Exos | Barracuda (most models) |
| Toshiba | N300, MG series | L200, P300 (some models) |
Top Picks
1. Seagate IronWolf — Best All-Around
The IronWolf is Seagate’s NAS-specific line. CMR recording, 5400/7200 RPM (varies by capacity), vibration sensors for multi-bay use, and 3-year warranty.
| Capacity | Speed | Cache | Interface | Workload Rating | Price (approx.) | Price/TB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 TB | 5400 RPM | 256 MB | SATA III | 180 TB/yr | ~$85 | $21/TB |
| 8 TB | 7200 RPM | 256 MB | SATA III | 180 TB/yr | ~$150 | $19/TB |
| 12 TB | 7200 RPM | 256 MB | SATA III | 180 TB/yr | ~$190 | $16/TB |
| 16 TB | 7200 RPM | 256 MB | SATA III | 180 TB/yr | ~$280 | $18/TB |
| 20 TB | 7200 RPM | 256 MB | SATA III | 180 TB/yr | ~$370 | $19/TB |
Pros:
- AgileArray technology — vibration sensors, balancing for multi-bay NAS
- IronWolf Health Management (IHM) integration with Synology/QNAP
- Consistent performance under RAID workloads
- 7200 RPM on 8+ TB models (faster than WD Red Plus)
Cons:
- 3-year warranty (vs 5 years for IronWolf Pro)
- 180 TB/year workload rating may be tight for heavy use
- 7200 RPM models run warmer and louder than 5400 RPM
Best for: Most home NAS users. The 8 TB and 12 TB models offer the best balance of price per TB and per-drive capacity.
2. WD Red Plus — Best for Quiet Setups
WD’s CMR NAS line. 5400 RPM across all capacities (quieter and cooler than IronWolf’s 7200 RPM models), CMR recording, and 3-year warranty.
| Capacity | Speed | Cache | Interface | Workload Rating | Price (approx.) | Price/TB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 TB | 5400 RPM | 256 MB | SATA III | 180 TB/yr | ~$80 | $20/TB |
| 8 TB | 5400 RPM | 256 MB | SATA III | 180 TB/yr | ~$140 | $18/TB |
| 12 TB | 5400 RPM | 256 MB | SATA III | 180 TB/yr | ~$185 | $15/TB |
| 14 TB | 5400 RPM | 512 MB | SATA III | 180 TB/yr | ~$230 | $16/TB |
Pros:
- All capacities are 5400 RPM — quieter and cooler than 7200 RPM IronWolf
- CMR across the entire lineup (after WD corrected the SMR controversy)
- NASware 3.0 firmware optimized for RAID
- Lower power consumption than 7200 RPM alternatives
Cons:
- 5400 RPM means slower sequential read/write than 7200 RPM IronWolf
- No vibration sensors on smaller models
- 3-year warranty (vs 5 years for Red Pro)
Best for: NAS builds in living spaces where noise matters. 2-bay setups where vibration isn’t a concern. Budget builds where the $5-10 savings per drive adds up.
3. Seagate IronWolf Pro — Best for ZFS / Heavy Use
The Pro version adds a 5-year warranty, higher workload rating (300 TB/year), and consistent 7200 RPM across all capacities. Worth the premium for TrueNAS/ZFS setups where drives run 24/7 with frequent scrubs.
| Capacity | Speed | Cache | Workload Rating | Price (approx.) | Price/TB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 TB | 7200 RPM | 256 MB | 300 TB/yr | ~$190 | $24/TB |
| 12 TB | 7200 RPM | 256 MB | 300 TB/yr | ~$240 | $20/TB |
| 16 TB | 7200 RPM | 256 MB | 300 TB/yr | ~$330 | $21/TB |
| 20 TB | 7200 RPM | 256 MB | 300 TB/yr | ~$420 | $21/TB |
Pros:
- 5-year warranty — best in the NAS consumer class
- 300 TB/year workload rating — handles ZFS scrubs and heavy RAID rebuilds
- 3-year Rescue Data Recovery service included
- Rotational vibration sensors on all models
Cons:
- $30-50 more per drive than standard IronWolf
- Overkill for a 2-bay NAS used primarily for media storage
Best for: TrueNAS builds with 4+ bays running ZFS. Multi-user environments. Any setup where data integrity and drive longevity justify the extra cost.
4. WD Red Pro — Alternative for Heavy Use
WD’s equivalent to the IronWolf Pro. 7200 RPM, 5-year warranty, 300 TB/year workload rating.
| Capacity | Speed | Cache | Workload Rating | Price (approx.) | Price/TB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 TB | 7200 RPM | 256 MB | 300 TB/yr | ~$195 | $24/TB |
| 12 TB | 7200 RPM | 256 MB | 300 TB/yr | ~$250 | $21/TB |
| 16 TB | 7200 RPM | 512 MB | 300 TB/yr | ~$340 | $21/TB |
Pros:
- 5-year warranty
- 7200 RPM across all capacities
- NASware 3.0 firmware
- 300 TB/year workload rating
Cons:
- Priced similarly to IronWolf Pro with no significant advantage
- No data recovery service included (IronWolf Pro includes Rescue)
Best for: A solid alternative if IronWolf Pro is out of stock or more expensive at time of purchase.
5. Seagate Exos / WD Ultrastar — Enterprise (Best Refurbished Value)
Enterprise drives are overbuilt — 2.5M hours MTBF, 550 TB/year workload, 5-year warranty. New, they’re expensive. Refurbished or “recertified” from reputable sellers, they’re the best price-per-TB you can find.
| Source | Capacity | Price (refurb) | Price/TB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seagate Exos X16 (refurb) | 16 TB | ~$130-150 | $8-9/TB |
| WD Ultrastar HC530 (refurb) | 14 TB | ~$110-130 | $8-9/TB |
| Seagate Exos X18 (refurb) | 18 TB | ~$160-180 | $9-10/TB |
Pros:
- Half the price per TB of consumer NAS drives
- Enterprise-grade reliability (designed for 24/7 datacenter use)
- Extremely high workload ratings
Cons:
- No warranty from the manufacturer (seller warranty only, typically 1-2 years)
- Unknown usage history — SMART data may show high power-on hours
- 7200 RPM enterprise drives are loud (35-40 dB)
- Not suitable for noise-sensitive environments
Best for: Large TrueNAS/Unraid arrays where you need 40+ TB at minimum cost. Pair with a ZFS setup so that a single drive failure doesn’t cause data loss.
How Many Drives Do You Need?
RAID Overhead
| RAID Level | Drives Needed | Usable Space | Drive Failures Tolerated |
|---|---|---|---|
| RAID 1 / Mirror | 2 | 50% (1 drive) | 1 |
| RAID 5 / RAID-Z1 / SHR | 3+ | (N-1) drives | 1 |
| RAID 6 / RAID-Z2 / SHR-2 | 4+ | (N-2) drives | 2 |
| RAID 10 | 4+ | 50% | 1 per mirror pair |
Recommended Configurations
| Use Case | Drives | RAID | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Getting started | 2x 8 TB | RAID 1 / SHR | 8 TB usable, 1 drive redundancy |
| Growing homelab | 4x 8 TB | RAID 5 / SHR | 24 TB usable, 1 drive redundancy |
| Serious storage | 4x 16 TB | RAID 6 / SHR-2 | 32 TB usable, 2 drive redundancy |
| Maximum capacity | 8x 16 TB | RAID-Z2 | 96 TB usable, 2 drive redundancy |
Capacity Planning
How Much Storage Do You Need?
| Content Type | Typical Size | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Document backups | 50-200 GB | Personal files, work documents |
| Photo library | 500 GB - 2 TB | 50,000-200,000 photos (RAW + JPEG) |
| Music library | 50-500 GB | 10,000-100,000 FLAC tracks |
| Movie collection (1080p) | 5-30 TB | 200-1,000 movies at 5-30 GB each |
| Movie collection (4K) | 20-100+ TB | 200-500 movies at 40-80 GB each |
| Security cameras | 1-10 TB/month | Depends on camera count and retention |
| Nextcloud file sync | 100 GB - 1 TB | Per-user working files |
| Docker volumes | 10-50 GB | App data, databases |
Rule of thumb: Buy 2x what you think you need. Storage fills up faster than you expect.
Power Consumption per Drive
| Drive Type | Idle (W) | Read/Write (W) | Spindown (W) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5” 5400 RPM | 3-5W | 5-7W | 0.5-1W |
| 3.5” 7200 RPM | 5-8W | 7-10W | 0.5-1W |
| 2.5” 5400 RPM | 1-2W | 2-3W | 0.3-0.5W |
| 2.5” SSD (SATA) | 0.5-1W | 2-3W | N/A |
Annual cost per drive at $0.12/kWh (24/7 operation):
| Drive | Idle Cost/Year | Active Cost/Year |
|---|---|---|
| 3.5” 5400 RPM (4W idle) | $4.20 | $6.31 |
| 3.5” 7200 RPM (6W idle) | $6.31 | $8.41 |
A 4-bay NAS with 7200 RPM drives adds ~$25-34/year in electricity for the drives alone, on top of the NAS’s base system power draw.
FAQ
Should I buy 4 TB or 8 TB drives?
8 TB. The price per TB is significantly better at 8 TB ($15-19/TB vs $20-22/TB for 4 TB), and you’ll fill 4 TB faster than you think. The sweet spot is 8-12 TB for most home users.
How long do NAS drives last?
3-5 years on average, though many last much longer. Backblaze’s drive stats show annualized failure rates of 1-3% for consumer NAS drives. Plan for at least one drive failure per 5-year period in a 4-bay NAS. This is why RAID/redundancy exists.
Can I mix different capacity drives?
In Synology SHR: yes, SHR (Synology Hybrid RAID) is designed for mixed-size drives. In TrueNAS/ZFS: not within the same vdev. All drives in a RAID-Z vdev should be the same size (the array uses the capacity of the smallest drive). In Unraid: yes, with the parity drive being the largest.
Should I buy all drives at once or stagger purchases?
Stagger if possible. Drives from the same manufacturing batch are more likely to fail at the same time (they’ve experienced the same stresses). Buy from different retailers or at different times to reduce this risk.
WD Red Plus vs Seagate IronWolf — which is better?
Both are excellent. IronWolf 8+ TB models are 7200 RPM (faster, louder). WD Red Plus is 5400 RPM across all capacities (slower, quieter). Buy whichever is cheaper on the day you order. Reliability is comparable.
Are refurbished enterprise drives safe?
For RAID/ZFS arrays with redundancy, yes. The risk of a single drive failure is higher (unknown history), but that’s exactly what RAID protects against. Don’t use refurbished drives without redundancy. Always check SMART data after receiving the drives — look for reallocated sectors and power-on hours.
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