Verdict
The Best 5Reviewed by Mike Hun·May 18, 2026

Best 4-Bay NAS Drives

Top 5 four-bay network-attached storage devices reviewed and ranked.

Quick answer

Synology DS923+ is our top pick for 4-bay nas drives — an averaged 4.6/5 across 2 published reviews at about $599. Runner-up: QNAP TS-464 (~$566).

At a glance

Tap any product for the full review
1Synology DS923+Top Score
(2 sources)
$599Best for: households and prosumers who want the least-friction NAS experience and value mature software over raw hardware spec
$599 · Check Price on Amazon
(2 sources)
$566Best for: Plex/Jellyfin households running multiple 4K HEVC streams who want hardware transcoding built in
$566 · Check Price on Amazon
(1 source)
$700Best for: buyers who want stock 10 GbE and modern hardware without paying the Asustor Lockerstor Gen3 premium
$700 · Check Price on Amazon
(1 source)
$700Best for: self-host enthusiasts who plan to run TrueNAS Scale or Unraid and want the most raw spec per dollar
$700 · Check Price on Amazon
(1 source)
$1,299Best for: prosumers, content creators, and small business buyers who need 10 GbE networking, ECC RAM, and four NVMe slots in one box
$1,299 · Check Price on Amazon
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The full ranking

How we rank →
Synology DS923+
#1 · Top Score
Best for: households and prosumers who want the least-friction NAS experience and value mature software over raw hardware spec
Synology DS923+
from 2 sources$599

The DS923+ is the default 4-bay NAS recommendation for most users, and has been since launch — DSM is the most polished OS in this space, ECC RAM support is unusual at this price, and the platform handles continuous backups, media serving, and a few virtual machines without breaking a sweat. The two main limitations — gigabit-only stock networking and no native hardware transcoding — push power users to the QNAP TS-464. Everyone else gets the easier path with the Synology.

Strengths
  • AMD Ryzen R1600 dual-core CPU with ECC memory support — rare protection against silent data corruption
  • DSM (DiskStation Manager) is the most polished NAS operating system available
Watch-outs
  • Ships with only 2x 1 GbE ports — 2.5 GbE is becoming standard at this price tier
  • Synology's drive-compatibility list pushes you toward their branded HAT3300 drives
QNAP TS-464
#2
Best for: Plex/Jellyfin households running multiple 4K HEVC streams who want hardware transcoding built in
QNAP TS-464
from 2 sources$566

The TS-464 is the right answer if Plex transcoding is the primary use case. The Celeron N5095's iGPU handles four simultaneous 4K HEVC transcodes without choking, and the dual 2.5 GbE ports plus a PCIe slot for 10 GbE expansion give you more network headroom than the Synology DS923+. The trade-off is QTS — functional but less refined than DSM. Power users learn to live with it; casual users may not.

Strengths
  • Intel Celeron N5095 with iGPU — sustained 4K HEVC hardware transcoding for Plex/Jellyfin
  • Dual 2.5 GbE ports stock, port trunking gets close to 10 GbE speeds (~589 MB/s)
Watch-outs
  • QTS is less polished than Synology's DSM — more menus, less consistent UI
  • QNAP has shipped security vulnerabilities that received late patches in the past
UGREEN NASync DXP4800 Plus
#3
Best for: buyers who want stock 10 GbE and modern hardware without paying the Asustor Lockerstor Gen3 premium
UGREEN NASync DXP4800 Plus
from 1 source$700

The DXP4800 Plus is UGREEN's challenger to Synology and QNAP — 10 GbE stock, modern Pentium Gold 5-core CPU, built-in OS SSD, and 8 GB DDR5 RAM are unusual at this price tier. The hardware is genuinely competitive. The trade-off is UGOS Pro, UGREEN's NAS operating system, which is the youngest in this round-up and still catching up to DSM/QTS on app ecosystem and feature depth. Solid pick if hardware spec matters more than software maturity.

Strengths
  • Intel Pentium Gold 8505 5-core CPU with integrated graphics
  • Built-in 128 GB SSD for the OS — no need to consume a drive bay
Watch-outs
  • UGOS Pro is the newest NAS OS in this lineup — feature parity with DSM/QTS not yet there
  • UGREEN's NAS warranty and long-term software support are unproven
TerraMaster F4-424 Pro
#4
Best for: self-host enthusiasts who plan to run TrueNAS Scale or Unraid and want the most raw spec per dollar
TerraMaster F4-424 Pro
from 1 source$700

The F4-424 Pro is the value-per-spec pick — 8-core CPU and 32 GB DDR5 RAM at $500 is unmatched. The catch is TOS, which most enthusiasts swap out for TrueNAS Scale or Unraid. If you were going to do that anyway, this is the platform; if you want a polished out-of-box experience, the Synology DS923+ or QNAP TS-464 are better matches.

Strengths
  • Core i3-N305 8-core/8-thread CPU is the highest core count in this round-up
  • 32 GB DDR5 RAM stock — far more than the DS923+ or TS-464 ship with
Watch-outs
  • TOS (TerraMaster Operating System) is the least polished NAS OS in this lineup
  • Build quality is plastic where Asustor and Synology use metal
Asustor Lockerstor 4 Gen3 (AS6804T)
#5
Best for: prosumers, content creators, and small business buyers who need 10 GbE networking, ECC RAM, and four NVMe slots in one box
Asustor Lockerstor 4 Gen3 (AS6804T)
from 1 source$1,299

The Lockerstor 4 Gen3 is the premium pick — Ryzen V3C14 CPU, ECC DDR5, dual 10 GbE + dual 5 GbE, and four M.2 NVMe slots. It's a different price tier than the rest of this lineup, but if you're building a small-business backup target or a prosumer Plex+everything box, the networking and CPU headroom matter. TechRadar's only real criticism is the price; the hardware is unambiguously top-tier in this segment.

Strengths
  • AMD Ryzen V3C14 quad-core with ECC DDR5 RAM — enterprise-grade memory protection
  • Dual 5 GbE + Dual 10 GbE ports stock — fastest networking in this round-up
Watch-outs
  • $1,299 puts it at 2x the Synology DS923+ price tier
  • ADM still trails DSM and QTS in polish and third-party app catalog

Spec comparison

5 products
SpecSynology DS923+QNAP TS-464UGREEN NASync DXP4800 PlusTerraMaster F4-424 ProAsustor Lockerstor 4 Gen3 (AS6804T)
Bays4 (3.5" / 2.5" SATA)4 (3.5" / 2.5" SATA)4 (3.5" / 2.5" SATA)4 (3.5" / 2.5" SATA)4 (3.5" / 2.5" SATA)
CPUAMD Ryzen R1600 (2-core, 2.6-3.1 GHz)Intel Celeron N5095 (4-core, 2.0-2.9 GHz) with iGPUIntel Pentium Gold 8505 (5-core)Intel Core i3-N305 (8-core, 3.8 GHz turbo)AMD Ryzen V3C14 (4-core, 3.8 GHz)
RAM4 GB DDR4 ECC (up to 32 GB)8 GB DDR4 (up to 16 GB)8 GB DDR532 GB DDR5 480016 GB DDR5 ECC
Networking2x 1 GbE (optional 10 GbE)2x 2.5 GbE1x 10 GbE, 1x 2.5 GbE2x 2.5 GbE2x 5 GbE + 2x 10 GbE
OSDSM (DiskStation Manager)QTS (QuTS hero optional)UGOS ProTOS (or TrueNAS/Unraid)ADM (Asustor Data Master)
Max Sequential Read625 MB/s~600 MB/s
M.2 NVMe Slots2x slots2x PCIe slots2x slots2x slots4x slots
ExpansionGen3 x2 network upgrade slot (eSATA)PCIe Gen 3 x2 slot
Video OutputHDMI 2.1 (4K 60)4K HDMIHDMI 2.0 (4K 60)HDMI 2.1

Frequently asked questions

What is the best 4-bay nas drive?
Synology DS923+ is our top pick for 4-bay nas drives, with an averaged rating of 4.6/5 from 2 published reviews. The DS923+ is the default 4-bay NAS recommendation for most users, and has been since launch — DSM is the most polished OS in this space, ECC RAM support is unusual at this price, and the platform handles continuous backups, media serving, and a few virtual machines without breaking a sweat. The two main limitations — gigabit-only stock networking and no native hardware transcoding — push power users to the QNAP TS-464. Everyone else gets the easier path with the Synology.
Is there a cheaper alternative worth considering?
QNAP TS-464 (around $566) rates 4.5/5 in our analysis. The TS-464 is the right answer if Plex transcoding is the primary use case. The Celeron N5095's iGPU handles four simultaneous 4K HEVC transcodes without choking, and the dual 2.5 GbE ports plus a PCIe slot for 10 GbE expansion give you more network headroom than the Synology DS923+. The trade-off is QTS — functional but less refined than DSM. Power users learn to live with it; casual users may not.
How does Verdict rank these products?
Every rating on Verdict is the numerical average of scores published by independent review sites, YouTube reviewers, and Reddit buyer reports. No editor adjusts the order — the ranking is whatever the source data produces. See our methodology page for the full process.
When was this guide last updated?
This guide was last re-checked in May 2026. We re-run our research pipeline for each category on a rolling basis so prices and rankings reflect current market reality.

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