Which NAS has the better operating system?

Again, it all depends on your personal preferences. If you built the PC on your own and you like to tinker quite a bit, a QNAP unit is probably the better NAS for you. A QNAP unit is also recommended if you mainly need a NAS capable of transcoding your Plex needs to a wide array of devices.

If you’re a fan of such technicalities, Synology is the easy choice. DSM makes things a lot easier for the newcomers, tech-savvy users might feel like they’ve hit a glass wall sooner than QNAP users.

WINNER - DRAW "too close to call"

Which NAS has the better mobile applications?

All the latest Synology and QNAP units will give you access to a suite of mobile applications for Android, iOS, and even for Windows Mobile. If you plan on access your NAS device from a mobile phone, it’s important to be aware of what each brand has to offer.

Bottom line is, both Synology and QNAP NAS devices have suites of applications that are designed to work over the internet. But which company does it better?

Although QNAP arguably has the better suite of mobile apps for their NAS units, you might experience some instability if you like to tinker with the possibility and refine the process as much as possible.

If you don’t want to miss out on the ability to use other third-party applications with your NAS unit, don’t’ look beyond QNAP. However, if you prefer simplicity and stability over the ability to tinker with different connectivity possibilities, I would pick a Synology unit.

WINNER - QNAP

Which NAS has better Hardware Specifications

Now that we have a better understanding between the Synology and Qnap software, let’s take a look at the hardware specifications. Like for like, the specifications on Synology are lesser than the ones on Qnap units. However, that doesn’t mean that you’ll be at a disadvantage if you end up buying a Synology unit.

It really depends on whether you really need to spend additional cost on enhanced hardware specifications or not.

QNAP

QNAP units are better when it comes to pure specifications and connectivity slots. However, if you don’t really need to use your NAS for localised access chores, I’d say you should go with a Synology unit as they tend to work flawlessly with all internet-based data exchanges (as long as you stay within their ecosystem).

Qnap units are as good on your local network and internet access, the brand puts just as much effort on localised access and is why a lot of Qnap units even ship with a remote control.

most Qnap units include an HDMI port, more PCIe expansion slots,  Thunderbolt connectivity and a direct attach USB port on the front of the unit that lets you access the NAS unit via a USB connection. When it comes to the processing power (without comparing model vs model), Qnap has the better overall specifications with a higher performance range of CPU's and more RAM.

Of course, some of these hardware options can translate into a higher price tag, but it’s well worth it if you’ll actually end up using these hardware additions.

Synology

Synology is true to the MacOS approach and advertises itself as a network and internet access product. Synology might not give you superior specifications but it does a much better job at keeping the network standards as high as possible.

WINNER - QNAP

Which NAS has the better surveillance capabilities?

Although the two NAS brands are pretty even when it comes to the features surveillance software that they use, QNAP has to be the winner in this segment. I say this not only because QVR Pro arrives with much more camera licenses and with more customising options, but because most QNAP units have HDMI port and keyboard & mouse support, which allows you to transform the unit into a standalone surveillance center.

WINNER - QNAP

Which NAS has the better RAID configuration options?

Synology supports more than the traditional RAID system, their NAS units are superior from a RAID perspective due to the fact that the SHR system allows you to introduce a new drive with a different size without causing instability and other problems.

QNAP units are only equipped to support the traditional RAID system where everything has to be the same. If you introduce different drive, a traditional RAID system will treat it as the lowest capacity model drive. For example, if you introduce a 8 TB drive to a RAID configuration that has 2 TB x 2 TB x 2 TB x 2 TB, a traditional RAID system will only see the new drive as a 2 TB drive. Whereas, if you use Synology’s SHR system it will recognise it as an 8 TB drive, If you add a second you will get the additional 8 TB of storage.

WINNER - SYNOLOGY

Conclusion

Having played with and used many brands of NAS over the years iFixApple supply both of these brands on a regular basis and dont believe you can go far wrong with either. So it just depends on your preference, just like are you a Android/Windows user or are you an IOS/Mac user? so If you’re more of a technical-minded individual and you like to tinker with your NAS system then pick QNAP and if you want a NAS thats easy to use with Focus and stability it's SYNOLOGY,