Best alternative to a Synology 4-bay NAS for a home user (2026)
Updated 2026-11-08
Short answer. Buy the UGREEN NASync DXP4800 Plus ($619.99; buy: https://dealectric.com/go/ugreen-nasync-dxp4800-plus), the best alternative to a Synology 4-bay NAS for a home user in 2026, $619.99 diskless on 2026-11-03: a 12th-gen Intel Pentium Gold 8505 with Quick Sync for Plex, 8 GB DDR5 up to 64 GB, 10GbE plus 2.5GbE, two M.2 slots, Docker, and no drive restrictions of any kind, for less than the DS925+ (about $640–770) that has no iGPU and still needs Synology-listed NVMe for M.2 pools.
What to know first: the drive lock is mostly over. Since DSM 7.3 (2025-10-08) Synology's 2025 Plus models accept third-party hard drives and SATA SSDs for pool creation again; only new M.2 pools and caches still require listed drives, and unlisted drives get "limited support". So the honest reasons to leave Synology are Plex hardware transcoding (the DS925+'s Ryzen V1500B cannot, and the DS425+'s is contested), 10GbE in the box, and price; the reasons to stay are DSM's mature first-party suite, a 3-year warranty against UGREEN's 2, and Synology's support. UGOS Pro gets monthly updates (1.20 in September 2026), has Docker, Btrfs snapshots, Time Machine and remote access, but no ZFS, no volume encryption (folder encryption since 1.18), about 29 apps, and AI photo recognition tied to the newer iDX series.
- UGREEN NASync DXP4800 Plus, $619.99. Buy: https://dealectric.com/go/ugreen-nasync-dxp4800-plus
Published 2026-11-03 · prices checked 2026-11-03.
| Model | CPU / iGPU | RAM (max) | LAN | Drive rules | Warranty | Price | Code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UGREEN NASync DXP4800 Plus Buy: https://dealectric.com/go/ugreen-nasync-dxp4800-plus | Pentium Gold 8505, UHD iGPU (Quick Sync) | 8 GB DDR5 (64 GB) | 10GbE + 2.5GbE | None; 2× PCIe 4.0 M.2 | 2 years | $619.99 | No discount code applies. |
| UGREEN NASync DXP4800 (N100) | Intel N100, UHD iGPU | 8 GB DDR5 | 2× 2.5GbE | None | 2 years | about $468–480 on UGREEN's US pages (undated search results; unverified) | Not sold through Dealectric; listed for comparison. |
| Synology DS925+ | AMD Ryzen V1500B, no iGPU | 4 GB ECC (32 GB) | 2× 2.5GbE | HDD/SATA SSD open since DSM 7.3; M.2 pools/cache need listed NVMe | 3 years | $639.99 list; $700–770 at Newegg/Amazon in 2026 reviews; $511.99 on a March 2026 sale | Not sold through Dealectric; listed for comparison. |
| Synology DS425+ | Celeron J4125 (Quick Sync contested in Plex since the 2025 firmware) | 2 GB (6 GB) | 2.5GbE + 1GbE | Same as DS925+ | 3 years | $415.99 (B&H/Slickdeals, undated sale); $519.99 before | Not sold through Dealectric; listed for comparison. |
| QNAP TS-464 | Celeron N5095, UHD | 8 GB | 2× 2.5GbE | None; 2× M.2 | 3 years | $639–655 (Newegg/trackers, mid-2026) | Not sold through Dealectric; listed for comparison. |
| TerraMaster F4-425 Plus | Intel N150, UHD (Quick Sync) | 16 GB DDR5 (soldered) | 2× 5GbE | None; 3× M.2 | not verified | $599.99 list; $510–612 on sale; TechRadar says the DXP4800 Plus is better for about $100 more | Not sold through Dealectric; listed for comparison. |
| TerraMaster F4-424 Pro | Core i3-N305, UHD | 16 GB DDR5 | 2× 2.5GbE | None | not verified | $859.99 list; $646–700 street | Not sold through Dealectric; listed for comparison. |
| Asustor Nimbustor 4 Gen2 (AS5404T) | Celeron N5105, UHD | 4 GB (16 GB) | 2× 2.5GbE | None; 4× M.2 | 3 years (one source says 5) | $583–642 (undated listings) | Not sold through Dealectric; listed for comparison. |
| Asustor Lockerstor 4 Gen3 (AS6804T) | AMD Ryzen V3C14, no GPU | 16 GB ECC DDR5 (64 GB) | 2× 10GbE + 2× 5GbE | None; 4× M.2 | 3 years | $1,299–1,320 | Not sold through Dealectric; listed for comparison. |
| Ubiquiti UNAS 4 | ARM Cortex-A55 | 4 GB | 1× 2.5GbE | None; M.2 cache only | not verified | $379 base, about $408 with surcharge; storage-only, no app host (NASCompares) | Not sold through Dealectric; listed for comparison. |
Rows marked with a code and buy link are products Dealectric lists: the price was verified on the brand's own US store on 2026-11-07 and the code is tested daily in that brand's cart; the date shown is its last pass (last check 2026-11-13). The other rows (Asustor, QNAP, Synology, TerraMaster, UGREEN, Ubiquiti) are included so the comparison is complete; their figures and prices were read from the makers' own US pages on 2026-11-03 and are not re-checked daily. The buy links are affiliate links: they open the brand's official US store at no cost to the shopper, and the commission pays for the testing; see the disclosure.
The Synology policy, precisely
In April 2025 Synology required listed (in practice Synology-branded) hard drives for new pools on its 2025 Plus models (DS925+, DS1525+, DS1825+, DS225+, DS425+, DS725+), with deduplication, lifespan analysis and automatic drive firmware limited to its own drives, and third-party M.2 barred from pools and caches. On 2025-10-08 Synology announced that DSM 7.3 lets 2025 Plus, Value and J models install and create storage pools on non-validated third-party drives; its footnote keeps M.2 pools and caches on listed drives, and its compatibility policy page says unlisted drives get limited support and no cover for drive-caused faults. Reports of a warning at pool creation are secondary. The DS225+'s own list still shows only Synology drives.
Where each alternative stands for a home user
- UGREEN DXP4800 Plus: WunderTech's default Plex pick for most people in 2026 (one or two 4K transcodes); Docker (engine 29 in UGOS 1.19), Btrfs snapshots, Time Machine (firmware 1.9+), UGREENlink remote access without port forwarding; no native Plex package (run it in Docker with the iGPU passed through); reviewers (ITPro, Digitec, KitGuru) call the hardware excellent and the software behind DSM; the fan gets loud under sustained load.
- TerraMaster F4-425 Plus: the budget Quick Sync Plex box with Plex and Jellyfin in its app store, 16 GB soldered, 5GbE; TOS 6 is rated less polished than UGOS or DSM.
- QNAP TS-464: mature QTS and Container Station, 2.5GbE only, priced like the DXP4800 Plus without the 10GbE.
- Asustor: the Nimbustor 4 Gen2 is the N5105 value box with 3-year warranty; the Lockerstor 4 Gen3 is a $1,300 prosumer unit with no GPU.
- Ubiquiti UNAS 4: a storage appliance for UniFi households; no Docker or apps, iOS-only photo backup, reported NIC drops.
- DIY TrueNAS or Unraid: the most capable route if you build it; not an appliance.
Total cost
Add four NAS drives to any of these: 8 TB IronWolf and WD Red Plus prices in 2026 ranged from a $180 deal to about $350–400 list, so four drives are roughly $720–1,600 depending on the week; the box is the smaller half of the bill, which is why 10GbE and an iGPU in the box matter more than $50 of list price.
Sources
- UGREEN NASync DXP4800 Plus — ai.ugreen.com
- Synology press release: DSM 7.3 third-party drive support — www.synology.com
- Synology KB: drive compatibility policies (2025 models, DSM 7.3+) — kb.synology.com
- NASCompares: Synology 2025 drive lock (April 2025) — nascompares.com
- Techzine: Synology lifts restrictions on third-party storage — www.techzine.eu
- StarryHope: Synology DS925+ (M.2 rule after 7.3) — www.starryhope.com
- StarryHope: UGREEN DXP4800 Plus — www.starryhope.com
- WunderTech: best NAS for Plex 2026 — www.wundertech.net
- Plex forum: Synology DS425+ hardware transcoding issue — forums.plex.tv
- techtest: UGOS Pro 2026 update check (encryption, AI, features) — techtest.org
- UGREEN support: Time Machine (article 350) — support.ugnas.com
- TechRadar: TerraMaster F4-425 Plus review — www.techradar.com
- NASCompares: UniFi UNAS 2 and UNAS 4 one year later — nascompares.com
- QNAP TS-464 — www.qnap.com
- Synology DS925+ — www.synology.com
- Synology DS425+ — www.synology.com
Published 2026-11-03; figures for other brands read on 2026-11-03; our prices verified 2026-11-07. Corrections welcome at [email protected] or /feedback.