Synology vs TrueNAS: Which NAS Platform?

Quick Verdict

Synology if you value your time. TrueNAS if you value your control.

Synology DSM is polished, easy to manage, and just works. The mobile apps, backup tools, and web UI are excellent. You pay a premium for Synology hardware, but you save hours of configuration.

TrueNAS SCALE is free, runs on any hardware, uses ZFS (the most reliable filesystem available), and gives you full Linux-based Docker and Kubernetes support. You’ll spend more time setting it up, but you get a more powerful and flexible platform.

For most self-hosters: Buy a Synology DS423+ or DS224+. The convenience premium is worth it.

For experienced users who want ZFS, custom hardware, or maximum storage per dollar: Build a DIY NAS and run TrueNAS SCALE.

Overview

Synology DSM

Synology is a Taiwanese company that makes pre-built NAS devices running their proprietary DiskStation Manager (DSM) operating system. DSM is based on Linux but heavily customized with a polished web UI, mobile apps, and a curated package ecosystem.

• Current version: DSM 7.2+
• Business model: Hardware sales (the OS is free but only runs on Synology hardware)
• Docker support: Yes, via Container Manager (formerly Docker package)
• File system: Btrfs or ext4 (no ZFS)
• Target audience: Home users, small businesses, anyone who wants it to work out of the box

TrueNAS SCALE

TrueNAS SCALE is a free, open-source NAS operating system from iXsystems. It’s based on Debian Linux and uses OpenZFS. SCALE replaced the older FreeBSD-based TrueNAS CORE for users who want Docker/container support.

• Current version: TrueNAS SCALE 24.10 (Electric Eel)
• Business model: Open source; revenue from enterprise TrueNAS appliances
• Docker support: Yes, native Docker Compose and community app catalog
• File system: ZFS (the only option — and the best option)
• Target audience: Enthusiasts, homelab users, anyone who wants ZFS and maximum control

Feature Comparison

Feature	Synology DSM	TrueNAS SCALE
Price (software)	Free (bundled with hardware)	Free (open source)
Hardware	Synology devices only ($300-1,500+)	Any x86 hardware
File system	Btrfs, ext4	ZFS
Data integrity	Btrfs checksums (good)	ZFS checksums + scrubs (best)
RAID	SHR, SHR-2, RAID 0/1/5/6/10	RAID-Z1/Z2/Z3, Mirror, Stripe
Drive mixing	SHR allows mixed sizes	All drives in a vdev must match
Docker	Container Manager (GUI-based)	Native Docker Compose + Apps
Kubernetes	No	Experimental (removed in Electric Eel)
VM support	Virtual Machine Manager (basic)	KVM/QEMU (full)
Web UI	Excellent (desktop-like)	Good (improved significantly)
Mobile apps	DS File, DS Photo, DS Video, DS Audio, DS Cam	None (use web or third-party)
Backup	Hyper Backup (excellent)	Replication, cloud sync, rsync
Surveillance	Surveillance Station (2 free cameras)	No built-in solution
Active Directory	Built-in	Built-in
iSCSI	Yes	Yes
NFS/SMB	Yes	Yes
2.5 GbE / 10 GbE	Some models built-in, others via adapter	Depends on your hardware
ECC RAM	Select models (DS923+)	Your choice (recommended for ZFS)
Plugin ecosystem	Synology Package Center (curated)	TrueNAS Apps / TrueCharts (community)
Updates	Automatic, stable, infrequent	Manual, sometimes breaking
Community size	Large (r/synology: 150K+)	Large (r/truenas: 50K+, forums active)

Installation and Setup

Synology

1. Buy a Synology NAS
2. Insert drives
3. Connect to network, power on
4. Open find.synology.com in a browser
5. Follow the setup wizard (10 minutes)
6. Done

Synology’s setup is the gold standard. From unboxing to a working NAS with shared folders takes 15-20 minutes. The wizard handles drive configuration, user creation, and network setup.

TrueNAS SCALE

1. Build or repurpose hardware (or buy an iXsystems appliance)
2. Flash TrueNAS SCALE ISO to a USB drive
3. Boot from USB, install to a separate boot drive (USB or small SSD)
4. Access the web UI at the assigned IP
5. Create a ZFS pool (choose vdev layout, drives, compression settings)
6. Create datasets (equivalent to shared folders)
7. Configure SMB/NFS shares
8. Set up Docker apps

TrueNAS setup requires more decisions — pool layout, dataset properties, share permissions. Expect 30-60 minutes for a first-time setup if you’ve done it before, and several hours if you’re learning ZFS concepts.

Data Integrity: ZFS vs Btrfs

This is TrueNAS’s biggest advantage.

ZFS (TrueNAS)

ZFS is a copy-on-write filesystem with integrated volume management. Key features:

• End-to-end checksums: Detects and corrects silent data corruption (bit rot)
• Scrubs: Scheduled verification of every block on disk
• Snapshots: Instant, space-efficient point-in-time copies
• Self-healing: With redundancy, ZFS automatically repairs corrupted blocks using the good copy
• Compression: Transparent LZ4 compression (often 1.5-2x space savings for compressible data)
• Send/receive: Efficient incremental replication to remote systems

ZFS is the industry standard for data integrity. No other freely available filesystem matches it.

The trade-off: ZFS wants ECC RAM (recommended, not required), uses more memory (1 GB base + ~1 GB per TB of storage for ARC cache), and doesn’t support adding single drives to an existing vdev (you can add new vdevs, but can’t expand a RAID-Z vdev by one drive).

Btrfs (Synology)

Synology uses Btrfs on most modern models. Btrfs also has copy-on-write semantics and checksums, but:

• Checksums: Yes, but only metadata checksums on RAID 5/6 (data checksums on RAID 1/10/SHR-1). Synology’s SHR implementation handles this well for consumer use.
• Snapshots: Supported, and Synology’s Snapshot Replication package makes them easy
• Scrubs: Synology runs scheduled data scrubs on Btrfs
• Self-healing: Limited compared to ZFS
• RAID 5/6 on Btrfs: Synology has its own implementation (SHR) that works around Btrfs’s known RAID 5/6 issues. It’s reliable in practice, but purists prefer ZFS for this.

Bottom line: ZFS is objectively better for data integrity. Btrfs on Synology is good enough for home use, and Synology’s implementation is battle-tested.

Docker and Self-Hosting

Synology Container Manager

Synology’s Docker implementation works through a GUI called Container Manager (renamed from the old “Docker” package):

• GUI-based: Deploy containers through a web UI with forms
• Docker Compose: Supported as “Projects” — paste a docker-compose.yml and it runs
• Registry access: Docker Hub and custom registries
• Limitations: No native CLI access without SSH (power users can SSH in). Some Docker features (host networking, privileged mode) require workarounds. Limited to the CPU/RAM of your Synology model.

Pain points:

• Synology’s ARM-based budget models (DS120j, DS220j) can’t run Docker at all
• Container Manager’s GUI is simpler than Portainer but less flexible
• Some Docker images require --privileged or specific kernel modules not available in DSM

TrueNAS SCALE Apps / Docker

TrueNAS SCALE runs Docker natively on Linux:

• Docker Compose: Full native support via CLI
• TrueNAS Apps: A curated catalog of one-click apps (backed by Docker)
• TrueCharts: Community-maintained catalog with 500+ apps (note: TrueCharts has had stability issues and project governance drama)
• Full Docker CLI: SSH in and use Docker exactly as you would on any Linux server
• No artificial limitations: Host networking, privileged containers, GPU passthrough — everything works

Pain points:

• TrueNAS Apps UI has improved but is still less polished than Portainer
• TrueCharts catalog has had availability issues — many users prefer plain Docker Compose
• Storage paths for Docker volumes can be confusing (datasets vs host paths)
• Breaking changes between TrueNAS SCALE versions have caused app migrations

Winner for Docker: TrueNAS SCALE. It’s a full Linux system with native Docker. Synology’s Container Manager works, but you’ll hit more friction with advanced configurations.

Performance

Storage Performance

On equivalent hardware (same drives, same RAID level):

Metric	Synology (Btrfs/SHR)	TrueNAS (ZFS)
Sequential read	~110 MB/s per HDD	~110 MB/s per HDD
Sequential write	~100 MB/s per HDD	~100 MB/s per HDD
Random IOPS	Moderate	Better (ZFS ARC cache)
With NVMe cache	Significant improvement	Significant improvement (SLOG/L2ARC)
Compression enabled	N/A (Btrfs compression limited in Synology)	1.5-2x effective capacity with LZ4

ZFS’s ARC (Adaptive Replacement Cache) aggressively caches frequently-accessed data in RAM. With 32 GB of RAM, TrueNAS can cache a significant portion of your working set, making repeated reads near-instant. Synology’s lower RAM limits (2-8 GB on most models) mean less cache.

Network Performance

Both saturate 1 GbE (~110 MB/s) without issues. For 2.5 GbE or 10 GbE:

• Synology: DS923+ has a PCIe slot for a 10 GbE NIC. Newer models (DS925+) have built-in 2.5 GbE.
• TrueNAS: Whatever your hardware supports. DIY builds commonly include 2.5 GbE or 10 GbE.

Pricing and Total Cost

Synology (pre-built)

Configuration	Cost
DS224+ (2-bay) + 2x 8 TB IronWolf	~$300 + $300 = $600
DS423+ (4-bay) + 4x 8 TB IronWolf	~$450 + $600 = $1,050
DS923+ (4-bay) + 4x 8 TB IronWolf	~$600 + $600 = $1,200

TrueNAS DIY

Configuration	Cost
Mini PC (N305) + external SATA (2 drives)	~$300 + $300 = $600
Jonsbo N3 build (8-bay) + 4x 8 TB	~$500 + $600 = $1,100
Jonsbo N3 build (8-bay) + 8x 8 TB	~$500 + $1,200 = $1,700

Price per TB of usable storage:

• Synology DS423+ with 4x 8 TB in SHR: ~$44/TB (24 TB usable)
• DIY TrueNAS with 4x 8 TB in RAID-Z1: ~$46/TB (24 TB usable)
• DIY TrueNAS with 8x 8 TB in RAID-Z2: ~$28/TB (48 TB usable)

At 4 bays, Synology and DIY are similarly priced. At 6+ bays, DIY becomes significantly cheaper per TB because you’re not paying for Synology’s hardware premium.

Community and Ecosystem

Synology

• r/synology: 150K+ members, active
• Synology Community forums: Official, well-maintained
• Package Center: Curated apps — Plex, Docker, Surveillance Station, Active Backup
• Mobile apps: DS File, DS Photo, DS Video, DS Audio, DS Cam — all polished and functional
• Hyper Backup: Best-in-class backup tool with encryption, versioning, and cloud targets

TrueNAS

• r/truenas: 50K+ members
• TrueNAS Forums: Active, helpful community
• TrueNAS Apps: Growing catalog, native Docker support
• Documentation: Comprehensive official docs
• No mobile apps: Use the web UI or third-party apps (Nextcloud, Jellyfin, etc. have their own apps)

Synology’s ecosystem is more integrated. TrueNAS’s ecosystem is more open and flexible.

Choose Synology If…

• You want a plug-and-play experience with minimal configuration
• You value Synology’s mobile apps (DS File, DS Photo, DS Video)
• You need Surveillance Station for security cameras
• You want Hyper Backup for simple, reliable backups
• You don’t want to build or maintain hardware
• You’re running a small Docker setup (5-10 containers)
• Your total storage needs are under 40 TB
• You want Intel Quick Sync for Plex transcoding on the NAS itself

Choose TrueNAS If…

• You want ZFS for maximum data integrity
• You want to choose your own hardware
• You need more than 4-6 drive bays without spending $1,000+
• You want full native Docker/Linux access
• You have 16+ GB of RAM available (ZFS benefits from RAM)
• You’re comfortable with Linux command line
• You want ECC RAM support
• Your storage needs exceed 40 TB
• You want to use compression to stretch your storage

Final Verdict

Synology is an appliance. TrueNAS is a platform.

If you want your NAS to be like a router — set it up, forget about it, trust it works — buy a Synology. The DS423+ at $450 (diskless) is the best value for most self-hosters. It runs Docker, transcodes video, and Synology’s software is genuinely excellent.

If you want your NAS to be like a Linux server — full control, ZFS data protection, no vendor lock-in, run anything you want — install TrueNAS SCALE on custom hardware. You’ll spend more time configuring, but you get a more powerful and flexible system.

There’s no wrong answer. Both are vastly better than leaving your data on a single USB drive plugged into a router.

FAQ

Can I run TrueNAS on Synology hardware?

Technically yes (it’s x86), but not recommended. Synology hardware is designed for DSM and may have driver compatibility issues with TrueNAS. You also lose Synology’s warranty.

Is ZFS worth the complexity?

If you’re storing irreplaceable data (photos, documents, backups), yes. ZFS detects and corrects data corruption that other filesystems silently ignore. If you’re just storing media that can be re-downloaded, Synology’s Btrfs is fine.

Can Synology run ZFS?

No. DSM only supports Btrfs and ext4. If you want ZFS, use TrueNAS or install ZFS on a generic Linux server.

Does TrueNAS need ECC RAM?

Recommended but not required. ECC RAM prevents memory bit-flips from corrupting your ZFS pool. For a home server, non-ECC RAM is fine in practice — the risk of a bit-flip causing data loss is very low.

Can I switch from Synology to TrueNAS later?

Yes, but you’ll need to move your data off the Synology first (SHR isn’t compatible with ZFS). Back up to an external drive, set up TrueNAS on new hardware, and restore.

Related

• Best NAS for Home Servers
• DIY NAS Build Guide
• Synology vs Unraid
• TrueNAS vs Unraid
• Best Hard Drives for NAS
• RAID Levels Explained
• HDD vs SSD for Home Servers
• Docker Compose Basics