Best TerraMaster NAS devices in 2024

TerraMaster enclosures are renowned for offering terrific features but remaining highly affordable. That’s one big reason they are a preferred choice among many home users and small businesses for their data storage needs and why they made it to our favorite NAS enclosures list. Even compared to other brands like Synology, Asustor, and QNAP, you will often find that TerraMaster products get you more features per dollar, be it a desktop NAS, a rackmount unit, or a DAS.

If you have been looking for a great NAS for your home, business, Plex server, or anything else, this guide will help you find the best TerraMaster NAS that can meet your needs.

• Source: TerraMaster

  TerraMaster F2-223

  Best overall

• Source: TerraMaster

  TerraMaster F4-424 Pro

  Premium pick

• Source:TerraMaster

  TerraMaster F2-212

  Best value

• Source: TerraMaster

  TerraMaster F4-423

  Best for Plex

• Source: TerraMaster

  TerraMaster D5-300

  Best DAS

• See More

• Source: TerraMaster

  TerraMaster T12-423

  Best capacity

• Source: TerraMaster

  TerraMaster U8-423

  Best rackmount

Top TerraMaster NAS

Best overall

TerraMaster F2-223

Our top pick for a home TerraMaster NAS

The TerraMaster F2-223 is one of the more powerful two-bay NAS from the brand, rocking a capable Intel processor, two drive bays, multiple 2.5GbE ports, and a decent OS. This is a good value choice for homeowners seeking a serious enclosure.

Pros

• Intel processor

• 4K media transcoding

• 2.5 GbE networking

Cons

• Rougher OS

The TerraMaster F2-223 is a very powerful NAS for its size, rocking just two drive bays. This is the minimum number of bays we'd recommend for live NAS deployment to ensure RAID is activated for protection against data loss. Inside the NAS is the Intel Celeron N4505 processor, which can boost up to 2.9GHz and has two physical cores for performing numerous tasks simultaneously. It's perfect for a busy household or bustling office where not too much data needs to be stored (maximum of 20TB with RAID enabled).

The default 4GB of DDR4 system memory installed is more than enough for most available apps on the TerraMaster OS. But should you require more RAM, up to 32GB can be installed. That's more than what you'd find in many gaming desktop PCs. The integrated graphics processing in the chip makes this a good starter Plex NAS, too. Two M.2 SSDs ensure you have the possibility of adding caching to the OS, and two 2.5GbE ports likely support more bandwidth than possible with your current network infrastructure.

This is the best NAS TerraMaster has to offer in terms of value, and we'd put it up against the mighty (and more popular) Synology DiskStation DS224+.

Premium pick

TerraMaster F4-424 Pro

Powerful CPU and RAM combination

The new F4-424 Pro is a four-bay powerhouse for business and developer use, focusing on installed applications rather than merely file serving. With up to 32GB of DDR5 RAM, an eight-core Intel CPU, four bays, and dual M.2 slots, the F4-424 Pro is ready for action.

Pros

• Powerful 8-core Intel processor

• 32GB DDR5 memory

• Dual M.2 Slots

Cons

• Pricey

• Only 2.5GbE LAN ports

• No PCIe slot option

The latest four-bay NAS from TerraMaster, the F4-424 Pro, costs another $200 more than the vanilla F4-424, but the justifications for the extra money will be important to some.

The base F4-424 has a four-core N95 processor, whereas the Pro model sports an eight-core Core i3-N305 CPU and comes pre-installed with 32GB of DDR5 RAM, not the 8GB that its cheaper brother gets. With a redesigned enclosure, access to the inside is also straightforward.

That extra processing power and memory make the F4-424 Pro ideal for software development since it is possible to use Docker and virtualization on this NAS without experiencing dramatic slowdowns.

By default, this NAS has dual 2.5GbE LAN ports, dual M.2 slots for caching or storage, HDMI out, and dual USB 3.1 10Gbps ports.

This NAS is easily the most unapologetically prosumer-aimed solution yet from TerraMaster. One reservation is that, at this price, it should have had a 10GbE LAN port or a PCIe slot, like the F4-423. Another is the limited value of the HDMI port since TerraMaster still has yet to release a graphical interface that works with video out.

These points aside, the F4-424 Pro represents a sea-change for TerraMaster, who wants to shrug off the mantle of being the cheap NAS option.

Best value

TerraMaster F2-212

For those on the tightest of budgets

A major improvement over the previous F2-210, the F2-212 delivers a faster processor, more memory and the potential for an enhanced LAN port. With the functionality on offer and the relatively modest price difference, picking the F2-212 is a no-brainer.

Pros

• Affordable

• Two drive bays

• Can be upgraded to 2.5GbE LAN

Cons

• RAM cannot be upgraded

• TerraMaster apps lack polish

• Only one USB 3.2 Gen 1 port

It might be a coincidence, but the F2-212 has an almost identical specification to Synology’s DS-223j. It uses the same processor, has 1GB of RAM, dual drive bays, and 1GbE LAN port as its competitor.

However, the devil in this detail is that while the DS223j has slightly better USB options, the F2-212 can be cheaply upgraded to a 2.5GbE LAN port using a USB adapter. That makes it more useful for those storing media files on their NAS, as the files can be moved to and from more than twice as quickly.

This NAS is also typically about $20 cheaper than the Synology DS223j, providing another good reason to buy one for those who need a cost-effective NAS for home or office use.

A weakness of both designs is that the memory can’t be upgraded from the 1GB of RAM that comes mounted on the mainboard, with memory upgrades limited to more expensive machines in the TerraMaster range. One specific downside of this and other TerraMaster NAS is that the selection of applications isn’t as polished as you might see from Synology, Asustor, and QNAP. But for general file serving and DNLA services, the F2-212 is a great first NAS for centralized file management.

Overall, for the cost, this is an impressive NAS.

Best for Plex

TerraMaster F4-423

The TerraMaster NAS to buy for running Plex media server

TerraMaster's F4-423 is an Intel-powered NAS with four drive bays, M.2 SSD support, and 2.5Gb networking. For the price, it's a very capable server foundation that can be used for various deployments.

Pros

• Intel CPU with 4K transcoding support

• Four drive bays and two M.2 slots

• 2.5 GbE networking

Cons

• Rougher OS

If you're searching for the best TerraMaster NAS for running Plex, we'd recommend the TerraMaster F4-423. The most important factors for choosing the best Plex NAS are drive bays, the processor, RAM, and an HDMI port for directly connecting the NAS to a large screen. The Intel Celeron N5095 is a great little chip for running software and services, such as Plex Media Server. This thing has four physical cores that can boost up to 2.9GHz and supports hardware transcoding for streaming 4K content.

The TerraMaster F4-223 has four drive bays for installing 3.5-inch hard drives or 2.5-inch SSDs, and there are two M.2 slots for installing NVMe SSDs for use as a cache. While the same TerraMaster Operating System (TOS) is installed and running on this NAS after all the drives have been inserted into the bays, one doesn't have to spend too much time in the backend once all services have been activated. Running Plex on this NAS is super simple with the available performance and storage capacity, whether you're streaming music, video, or both.

Best DAS

TerraMaster D5-300

If you only need to store files on an external storage device

The TerraMaster D5-300 is a direct-attached storage (DAS) enclosure with support for up to five drives. This is different to a NAS in that it doesn't have a processor or operating system. It's designed to emulate an external drive and as such it's only effective for single-user applications.

Pros

• Plug and play

• Better value

Cons

• No OS

• Can only be used to store files

Not everyone requires a network-attached storage enclosure, which is where direct-attached storage units that connect directly to your computer come into play. The TerraMaster D5-300 is a five-bay DAS with no operating system, no RAM, no networking ports, and no M.2 storage slots. It's about as basic as it comes, but this does mean it's far more affordable than a five-bay NAS, costing just $260 at MSRP.

The D5-300's five bays can hold up to an impressive 100TB of data, and it even supports various RAID modes to maintain data integrity in case of a mishap. You can connect it directly to your computer (Linux, Mac, and Windows are supported) using a USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C port, which is designed to offer up to 220MB/s of transfer speeds both ways.

If all you require is a place to throw some hard drives and connect them to your desktop or laptop PC, check out this budget-friendly DAS from TerraMaster. Freelance professionals working solo in particular will appreciate this DAS as it will save them quite a bit of cash upfront while also providing ample storage space for their massive project files.

Best capacity

TerraMaster T12-423

Designed with big data and businesses in mind

The TerraMaster T12-423 is a serious NAS for businesses and big data applications. It has 12 3.5-inch drive bays, a single M.2 SSD slot, upgradeable RAM, a powerful Intel processor, and high-speed network interfaces. It's pricey, but well worth it if you require more powerful data storage.

Pros

• Powerful internals

• 12 drive bays

Cons

• Rougher OS

• Expensive

You likely don't need the TerraMaster T12-423 and what it has inside the chassis, but should you have a budget of $1,400 and need a server with 12 available drive bays, TerraMaster's tower NAS is a great choice. The NAS is powered by the mighty Intel Celeron N5095 processor with four physical cores and a maximum burst speed of 2.9GHz. While this may be a 15W chip, the CPU is more than capable of handling up to 240TB of data.

The other specifications are equally impressive, including the single M.2 SSD slot for caching, two 2.5GbE connections, and a single HDMI port. For growing businesses, a server such as the TerraMaster T12-423 can help provide a place to not only store more data securely but also run useful apps and services to provide additional functionality to the workforce.

Best rackmount

TerraMaster U8-423

The best TerraMaster rackmount NAS for server cabinets

The TerraMaster U8-423 is a compact 2U server with eight 3.5-inch drive bays, M.2 slot, fast network connections, and a capable Intel processor. It's a great value choice for those with existing server cabinets.

Pros

• Powerful internals

• 8 drive bays

Cons

• Rougher OS

• Pricey

It's time for the big one. TerraMaster also makes some rackmount servers and the TerraMaster U8-423 is the company's most recent launch. It's a 2U rackmount chassis with the familiar quad-core Intel Celeron N5095 processor inside. 4GB of DDR4 RAM is installed by default, but this can be expanded up to 32GB. The eight drive bays are good for storing up to 160TB of data, and the single M.2 SSD slot is handy for adding caching support.

It's pricey, coming in at $1,100, and you will need a server cabinet to make the most of the form factor, but there's some seriously good value here if you can overlook the rather rough OS. It's good enough for running the server, but those coming from other brands may notice a slight downgrade in visuals.

How to choose the best TerraMaster NAS?

The TerraMaster F2-223 is among the best TerraMaster NAS available for homeowners and small businesses. It has two 3.5-inch drive bays, a powerful Intel processor, M.2 SSD support, 2.5GbE networking, and a decent enough operating system. It may not be quite as good as the Synology DiskStation DS224+ with its superior OS, but this NAS is much more affordable and powerful.

But you can save more cash with the TerraMaster F2-212, provided you are ready to live with some of its shortcomings, like a weaker processor and limited RAM. For basic data storage, it will do a fantastic job right out of the box and has the option of a USB adapter to add a 2.5GbE LAN port.

If all you’ve ever dreamed of is running a massive Plex server at your home, your best option among TerraMaster enclosures is the F4-423. It has a fairly new Intel Celeron processor that can handle 4K transcoding like a breeze. And, the dual 2.5GbE LAN ports support high-speed file transfers if you have that network infrastructure.

Given its additional benefits, like M.2 slots for caching or SSD storage, you can even get some serious work done on it. Spending more on the F4-424 Pro will get you even more processing power for multiple apps or virtual machines.

Best overall

TerraMaster F2-223

Our top pick for a home TerraMaster NAS

The TerraMaster F2-223 is one of the more powerful two-bay NAS from the brand, rocking a capable Intel processor, two drive bays, multiple 2.5GbE ports, and a decent OS. This is a good value choice for homeowners seeking a serious enclosure.