Buying the right 3.5-inch drive for your NAS is crucial since you’re going to rely on it to safely store all your data. You can’t simply use any old drive off the shelf, which is why we’ve compiled a list of only the best NAS hard drives for use inside enclosures.
- Best overall: Seagate IronWolf Pro — ~20TB, 24 bays, 285MB/s, 5-year warranty
- Runner-up: Western Digital Red Pro — ~12TB, 24 bays, ~265MB/s, 5-year warranty
- Best budget: Seagate IronWolf — ~18TB, ~240MB/s, 3-year warranty
- Best value: Western Digital Red Plus — ~14TB, ~210MB/s, 3-year warranty
- Best enterprise: Seagate Exos — ~20TB, ~285MB/s, 5-year warranty
- Best surveillance: Seagate SkyHawk — ~20TB, 260MB/s, 5-year warranty
What is the best NAS hard drive?
We’d always recommend against using normal hard drives inside a NAS because they’re not designed for continuous use and don’t come with some of the features specially designed for servers. Seagate, Western Digital, Toshiba, and other brands have a collection of NAS-focused hard drives.
Important metrics to consider when shopping around include price per GB to maximize your spending, transfer speed, motor speed, maximum bay support, cache, and workload. But really, for a home NAS, you’ll be absolutely fine with the cheapest NAS hard drive.
We’ve written up comprehensive guides on Western Digital Red, Red Plus, and Red Pro as well as Seagate IronWolf vs. IronWolf Pro. These should aid you in better understanding the differences between the family of drives.
1. Seagate Ironwolf Pro: Best overall NAS hard drive
Our thoughts: We’re recommending the Seagate IronWolf Pro, not because it’s outright better than the Western Digital Red Pro, but because the drive with the least capacity has better specs. This makes it great to get into the pro range of drives without spending too much.
| Seagate IronWolf Pro | |
|---|---|
| Capacity | 4 – 20 TB |
| Max drive bays | 24 |
| Motor speed | 7,200 RPM |
| Transfer rate | 214 – 285 MB/s |
| Workload | 300 TB/yr |
| Cache | 256 MB |
| $ per GB | $0.03 |
| Warranty | 5 years |
- Wide away of capacities
- High workloads
- Good warranties
- Good value
- Loud and power-hungry
- Bay limits
| Drive | Bays | Speed | Workload | Warranty | Price | $ per GB |
| Seagate IronWolf Pro 4TB | 24 | 214MB/s | 300 TB/yr | 5 years | $130 | $0.03 |
| Seagate IronWolf Pro 6TB | 24 | 214MB/s | 300 TB/yr | 5 years | $180 | $0.03 |
| Seagate IronWolf Pro 8TB | 24 | 214MB/s | 300 TB/yr | 5 years | $260 | $0.03 |
| Seagate IronWolf Pro 10TB | 24 | 250MB/s | 300 TB/yr | 5 years | $270 | $0.03 |
| Seagate IronWolf Pro 12TB | 24 | 250MB/s | 300 TB/yr | 5 years | $320 | $0.03 |
| Seagate IronWolf Pro 14TB | 24 | 250MB/s | 300 TB/yr | 5 years | $360 | $0.03 |
| Seagate IronWolf Pro 16TB | 24 | 260MB/s | 300 TB/yr | 5 years | $368 | $0.03 |
| Seagate IronWolf Pro 18TB | 24 | 285MB/s | 300 TB/yr | 5 years | $420 | $0.03 |
| Seagate IronWolf Pro 20TB | 24 | 285MB/s | 300 TB/yr | 5 years | $430 | $0.03 |
The Seagate IronWolf Pro range of NAS hard drives offers capacities between 4TB and 20TB. They are capable of being installed in a configuration of up to 24 bays. With a workload rate of 300TB per year and a warranty of five years, you’ll be able to rely on them for long-term storage of data.
While we’re talking about mechanical drives here, these things aren’t necessarily slow (aside from when compared to an SSD). The 4TB Seagate IronWolf Pro is capable of hitting up to 214MB/s, which is enough to saturate the two 1Gb network connections frequently found on prebuilt NAS enclosures.
The 20TB variant takes this up to 285MB/s, so you can have a lot running on the drive before you encounter a bottleneck not found elsewhere. Prices vary between capacities, but we’ve found the entire range to offer up to $0.03 per GB, which is a small price to pay when you compare the price to cloud subscriptions over a number of years.
Seagate IronWolf Pro
Seagate’s best NAS drive is the IronWolf Pro. It supports up to 24 bays, has better endurance, and is fast enough for most use cases. The entire range also offers great value at $0.03 per GB.
2. Western Digital Red Pro: Runner-up best NAS hard drive
Our thoughts: Whilst you may not be able to match the specs of lesser capacity drives from Seagate, Western Digital does have the upper hand in terms of value and capacity. You can even buy a 22TB Red Pro drive for the ultimate storage machine.
| Western Digital Red Pro | |
|---|---|
| Capacity | 2 – 22 TB |
| Max drive bays | 24 |
| Motor speed | 7,200 RPM |
| Transfer rate | 164 – 272 MB/s |
| Workload | 300 TB/yr |
| Cache | 64 – 512 MB |
| $ per GB | $0.02 – $0.04 |
| Warranty | 5 years |
- Wide away of capacities
- High workloads
- Good warranties
- Good value
- Loud and power-hungry
- Bay limits
| Drive | Bays | Speed | Workload | Warranty | Price | $ per GB |
| Western Digital Red Pro 2TB | 24 | 164MB/s | 300 TB/yr | 5 years | $84 | $0.04 |
| Western Digital Red Pro 4TB | 24 | 217MB/s | 300 TB/yr | 5 years | $130 | $0.04 |
| Western Digital Red Pro 6TB | 24 | 238MB/s | 300 TB/yr | 5 years | $200 | $0.03 |
| Western Digital Red Pro 8TB | 24 | 235MB/s | 300 TB/yr | 5 years | $248 | $0.03 |
| Western Digital Red Pro 10TB | 24 | 265MB/s | 300 TB/yr | 5 years | $282 | $0.03 |
| Western Digital Red Pro 12TB | 24 | 240MB/s | 300 TB/yr | 5 years | $320 | $0.03 |
| Western Digital Red Pro 14TB | 24 | 255MB/s | 300 TB/yr | 5 years | $304 | $0.03 |
| Western Digital Red Pro 16TB | 24 | 259MB/s | 300 TB/yr | 5 years | $300 | $0.02 |
| Western Digital Red Pro 18TB | 24 | 272MB/s | 300 TB/yr | 5 years | $410 | $0.02 |
| Western Digital Red Pro 20TB | 24 | 268MB/s | 300 TB/yr | 5 years | $500 | $0.02 |
| Western Digital Red Pro 22TB | 24 | 265MB/s | 300 TB/yr | 5 years | $600 | $0.02 |
Western Digital’s Red Pro series of NAS hard drives are designed for more serious storage requirements. They offer the same 300TB per year workload rating as Seagate IronWolf Pro drives, can work with up to 24 bays, and also come with a long-lasting five-year warranty.
Where things differ slightly are speed, price, and capacities. Starting things off with the 2TB Western Digital Red Pro that can hit speeds up to 164MB/s. It offers among the worst value here with this family of drives. Then there’s the mighty 22TB variant.
This monstrosity of a drive is capable of hitting speeds of 265MB/s, which isn’t as fast as Seagate, but you’re only paying $0.02 per GB of storage space, which is amazing value when you’re ditching a cloud subscription service and have a lot of data.
Western Digital Red Pro
Western Digital has a similar offering to Seagate in the form of the Red Pro range of hard drives. These NAS drives are perfect for those seeking to store lots of data.
3. Seagate IronWolf: Best budget NAS hard drive
Our thoughts: We’re big fans of Seagate storage and the IronWolf series offers impressive drives for use inside servers and NAS enclosures. Ranging between 1TB and 18TB, you can create everything from a small backup server to a media streaming platform.
| Seagate IronWolf | |
|---|---|
| Capacity | 1 – 18 TB |
| Max drive bays | 8 |
| Motor speed | 5,900 – 7,200 RPM |
| Transfer rate | 180 – 240 MB/s |
| Workload | 180 TB/yr |
| Cache | 64 – 256 MB |
| $ per GB | $0.03 – $0.06 |
| Warranty | 3 years |
- Wide away of capacities
- Great value
- Affordable
- Lower workloads
- Bay limits
- Slower speeds
| Drive | Bays | Speed | Workload | Warranty | Price | $ per GB |
| Seagate IronWolf 1TB | 8 | 180 MB/s | 180 TB/yr | 3 years | $60 | $0.06 |
| Seagate IronWolf 2TB | 8 | 180 MB/s | 180 TB/yr | 3 years | $70 | $0.04 |
| Seagate IronWolf 3TB | 8 | 180 MB/s | 180 TB/yr | 3 years | $95 | $0.03 |
| Seagate IronWolf 4TB | 8 | 180 MB/s | 180 TB/yr | 3 years | $75 | $0.03 |
| Seagate IronWolf 6TB | 8 | 210 MB/s | 180 TB/yr | 3 years | $130 | $0.03 |
| Seagate IronWolf 8TB | 8 | 210 MB/s | 180 TB/yr | 3 years | $170 | $0.03 |
| Seagate IronWolf 10TB | 8 | 210 MB/s | 180 TB/yr | 3 years | $200 | $0.03 |
| Seagate IronWolf 12TB | 8 | 210 MB/s | 180 TB/yr | 3 years | $230 | $0.03 |
| Seagate IronWolf 14TB | 8 | 240 MB/s | 180 TB/yr | 3 years | $246 | $0.02 |
| Seagate IronWolf 16TB | 8 | 240 MB/s | 180 TB/yr | 3 years | $320 | $0.03 |
| Seagate IronWolf 18TB | 8 | 240 MB/s | 180 TB/yr | 3 years | $390 | $0.02 |
The base Seagate IronWolf series of hard drives are available with capacities ranging between 1TB and 18TB. These are the hard drives you should buy over traditional consumer desktop drivers you’d typically use inside a PC.
they’re not quite as fast as Seagate IronWolf Pro drives, nor will you be able to use them in a configuration of more than eight drives, but they’ll be perfect for home and office use. A three-year warranty and 180TB per year workload rating shows just how capable these drives are.
The best part is the value with many of the capacity drives costing just $0.02 per GB.
Seagate IronWolf
The base NAS drive collection from Seagate. These may be the slowest and don’t offer the highest capacities, but you’re getting good value and decent specs for the price.
4. Western Digital Red Plus: Best value NAS hard drive
Our thoughts: Western Digital’s more affordable Red Plus family of NAS drives are great for those seeking more affordable storage mediums. They max out at 14TB, 210MB/s, and get as low as $0.02 per GB.
| Western Digital Red Plus | |
|---|---|
| Capacity | 1 – 14 TB |
| Max drive bays | 8 |
| Motor speed | 5,400 – 7,200 RPM |
| Transfer rate | 150 – 210 MB/s |
| Workload | 180 TB/yr |
| Cache | 64 – 512 MB |
| $ per GB | $0.02 – $0.05 |
| Warranty | 3 years |
- Wide away of capacities
- Affordable
- Great value
- Slower speeds
- Bay limits
- Lower workloads
| Drive | Bays | Speed | Workload | Warranty | Price | $ per GB |
| Western Digital Red Plus 1TB | 8 | 150MB/s | 180 TB/yr | 3 years | $50 | $0.05 |
| Western Digital Red Plus 2TB | 8 | 175MB/s | 180 TB/yr | 3 years | $65 | $0.03 |
| Western Digital Red Plus 3TB | 8 | 175MB/s | 180 TB/yr | 3 years | $70 | $0.03 |
| Western Digital Red Plus 4TB | 8 | 175MB/s | 180 TB/yr | 3 years | $83 | $0.02 |
| Western Digital Red Plus 6TB | 8 | 185MB/s | 180 TB/yr | 3 years | $120 | $0.02 |
| Western Digital Red Plus 8TB | 8 | 210MB/s | 180 TB/yr | 3 years | $170 | $0.03 |
| Western Digital Red Plus 10TB | 8 | 215MB/s | 180 TB/yr | 3 years | $210 | $0.02 |
| Western Digital Red Plus 12TB | 8 | 196MB/s | 180 TB/yr | 3 years | $269 | $0.02 |
| Western Digital Red Plus 14TB | 8 | 210MB/s | 180 TB/yr | 3 years | $283 | $0.02 |
The Western Digital Red Plus series of NAS drives are specially designed for server use. They’re better than the base Red range by using a better and more reliable way of storing data. This does mean they won’t be the absolute cheapest NAS drives from WD.
Speeds range between 150MB/s and 210MB/s. Capacities go up to 14TB. These are some decent specs, especially considering you can use up to eight of them inside a NAS. A warranty is available that will cover you for up to three years.
Western Digital Red Plus
Western Digital actually has three NAS drive families and our value favorite is the Red Plus, ranging between 1TB and 14TB. Good prices and speeds make these drives ideal for NAS servers.
5. Seagate Exos: Best enterprise NAS hard drive
Our thoughts: When you’re ready to take your storage to the next level, we’d recommend checking out Seagate’s Exos hard drives. You have the choice of up to 20TB in terms of capacity and what makes them better than the IronWolf series is the use of helium throughout the range.
| Seagate Exos | |
|---|---|
| Capacity | 1 – 20 TB |
| Max drive bays | – |
| Motor speed | 7,200 RPM |
| Transfer rate | 194 – 285 MB/s |
| Workload | 550 TB/yr |
| Cache | 128 – 256 MB |
| $ per GB | $0.02 – $0.08 |
| Warranty | 5 years |
- Wide away of capacities
- High workloads
- Good warranties
- Helium-filled
- Loud and power-hungry
| Drive | Bays | Speed | Workload | Warranty | Price | $ per GB |
| Seagate Exos 7E2 1TB | – | 194MB/s | 550 TB/yr | 5 years | $80 | $0.08 |
| Seagate Exos 7E2 2TB | – | 194MB/s | 550 TB/yr | 5 years | $145 | $0.07 |
| Seagate Exos 7E8 4TB | – | 215MB/s | 550 TB/yr | 5 years | $160 | $0.04 |
| Seagate Exos 7E8 6TB | – | 226MB/s | 550 TB/yr | 5 years | $155 | $0.03 |
| Seagate Exos 7E8 8TB | – | 249MB/s | 550 TB/yr | 5 years | $249 | $0.03 |
| Seagate Exos X16 10TB | – | 249MB/s | 550 TB/yr | 5 years | $175 | $0.03 |
| Seagate Exos X16 12TB | – | 261MB/s | 550 TB/yr | 5 years | $260 | $0.02 |
| Seagate Exos X16 14TB | – | 261MB/s | 550 TB/yr | 5 years | $245 | $0.02 |
| Seagate Exos X16 16TB | – | 261MB/s | 550 TB/yr | 5 years | $278 | $0.02 |
| Seagate Exos X18 18TB | – | 270MB/s | 550 TB/yr | 5 years | $322 | $0.02 |
| Seagate Exos X20 20TB | – | 285MB/s | 550 TB/yr | 5 years | $460 | $0.02 |
For those who want to move up from Pro NAS drives, Seagate’s Exos range of storage will be just what you’re looking for. Some Pro drives will make use of helium, but all Seagate Exos drives are filled with the gas, which improves overall performance and reliability.
Then there’s the warranty of five years and an improved workload rate of 550TB per year. Capacities aren’t too bad too with sizes going up to 20TB with a maximum speed of 285MB/s. You’d think these drives would be far costlier, but the price per GB is still as low as $0.02.
Seagate Exos
Seagate Exos is the premium range of server drives designed for continuous use. They’re all filled with helium and can be used in NAS enclosures with more than 24 bays.
6. Seagate SkyHawk: Best surveillance NAS hard drive
Our thoughts: These drives are designed for use with surveillance systems. If you’re building your own security system or are using software on your NAS to record footage from cameras, Seagate SkyHawk drives will be the best choice.
| Seagate SkyHawk | |
|---|---|
| Capacity | 1 – 20 TB |
| Max drive bays | – |
| Motor speed | 7,200 RPM |
| Transfer rate | 180 – 260 MB/s |
| Workload | 180 – 550 TB/yr |
| Cache | 128 – 256 MB |
| $ per GB | $0.03 – $0.05 |
| Warranty | 5 years |
- Wide away of capacities
- Designed for heavy writes
- Good warranties
- Great value
- Not great for general use
| Drive | Bays | Speed | Workload | Warranty | Price | $ per GB |
| Seagate SkyHawk 1TB | – | 180MB/s | 180 TB/yr | 5 years | $53 | $0.05 |
| Seagate SkyHawk 2TB | – | 180MB/s | 180 TB/yr | 5 years | $70 | $0.04 |
| Seagate SkyHawk 4TB | – | 180MB/s | 180 TB/yr | 5 years | $98 | $0.02 |
| Seagate SkyHawk 6TB | – | 180MB/s | 180 TB/yr | 5 years | $150 | $0.02 |
| Seagate SkyHawk 8TB | – | 210MB/s | 180 TB/yr | 5 years | $170 | $0.02 |
| Seagate SkyHawk AI 8TB | – | 245MB/s | 550 TB/yr | 5 years | $218 | $0.02 |
| Seagate SkyHawk AI 10TB | – | 245MB/s | 550 TB/yr | 5 years | $274 | $0.03 |
| Seagate SkyHawk AI 12TB | – | 250MB/s | 550 TB/yr | 5 years | $300 | $0.03 |
| Seagate SkyHawk AI 16TB | – | 250MB/s | 550 TB/yr | 5 years | $410 | $0.03 |
| Seagate SkyHawk AI 18TB | – | 260MB/s | 550 TB/yr | 5 years | $480 | $0.03 |
| Seagate SkyHawk AI 20TB | – | 260MB/s | 550 TB/yr | 5 years | $529 | $0.03 |
You can use any drive for security footage recording but we’d recommend drives that are designed with such a use in mind like the Seagate SkyHawk. These drives are capable of handling heavier write workloads, such as taking footage from connected IP cameras.
They’re all backed by five-year warranties, have high workload ratings, and don’t cost as much as you may first assume. If you want to store more data, you’ll need to buy a SkyHawk AI drive and they go all the way up to 20TB.
Seagate SkyHawk
Seagate’s SkyHawk drives are specially designed for surveillance systems. They’re brilliant for heavy write workloads such as recording footage and are backed by lengthy warranties.
