Best NAS for a homelab (2026): 2-bay and 4-bay picks for Plex, backups and Docker

Your NAS should earn its space on the shelf: serve the movies, catch the backups and leave enough room for the next project. Choose the UGREEN DXP2800 for a two-bay media starter, DXP4800 Plus for four-bay Plex/Jellyfin and Docker, or Synology DS925+ for four-bay DSM backups. The Synology DS225+ is the smaller DSM option when a mirrored pair is all you need.

Specs and compatibility come from the makers, Plex and Jellyfin, checked October 25, 2026; capacity examples are calculated.

Prefer to choose the board and storage controller yourself? Our Jonsbo vs Fractal compact DIY NAS case guide compares drive access, PSU fit and HBA clearance before you order the parts.

Want a multi-drive backup target without another networked NAS? Our QNAP TR-004 vs TerraMaster D4-320 USB DAS guide compares hardware RAID, independent disks and the restore test to run before trusting the schedule.

The quick picks: buy for the job

Your main job	Pick	The reason to choose it
Two-bay Plex/Jellyfin starter	UGREEN DXP2800	Intel N100 graphics, 8 GB RAM and two NVMe slots
Compact DSM backup destination	Synology DS225+	DSM backup apps in a two-bay enclosure
Four-bay media and Docker	UGREEN DXP4800 Plus	Intel graphics, up to 64 GB RAM and a 10GbE port
Four-bay DSM backup hub	Synology DS925+	ECC memory, DSM apps and dual 2.5GbE
Expansion cards and your own storage OS	DIY instead	Choose the case, HBA, networking and ZFS layout yourself

All four NAS picks are diskless: the enclosure comes first, then the drives. Choose the job before choosing a logo. A backup destination and a server converting video for several different playback devices have different priorities.

Compare the hardware

Diskless NAS	Hardware to plan around
UGREEN DXP2800	Intel N100; 8 GB DDR5, 16 GB maximum. 2 SATA + 2 NVMe; 1 × 2.5GbE.
Synology DS225+	Intel J4125; 2 GB DDR4, 6 GB maximum. 2 SATA, no NVMe; 1 × 2.5GbE + 1 × 1GbE.
UGREEN DXP4800 Plus	Intel Pentium Gold 8505; 8 GB DDR5, 64 GB maximum. 4 SATA + 2 NVMe; 1 × 10GbE + 1 × 2.5GbE.
Synology DS925+	AMD Ryzen V1500B; 4 GB DDR4 ECC, 32 GB maximum. 4 SATA + 2 NVMe; 2 × 2.5GbE.

All four run containers: UGOS Pro Docker on UGREEN and DSM Container Manager on Synology. For hardware transcoding, choose the Intel Quick Sync path on the two UGREEN picks. Plex’s matrix currently marks both Synology models No for hardware transcoding.

Sources: UGREEN DXP2800, DXP4800 Plus, Synology DS225+, DS925+ and the Plex NAS matrix. These are maker-supported memory ceilings.

Two bays: start with DXP2800, or choose DSM

Buy the DXP2800 when the first jobs are media, shared files and a few containers. Its N100 gives you the Intel graphics route for hardware transcoding, while the two NVMe slots leave your SATA bays available for a mirrored HDD pair.

Buy the DS225+ when you want DSM’s backup workflow in the smaller enclosure. Its 2 GB starting RAM and 6 GB official ceiling are tighter limits for a growing application collection. Keep its main job focused.

Our DXP2800 vs DS225+ comparison covers their apps, media differences and expansion in detail. The short version: UGREEN for the media project; Synology for the DSM workflow.

Four bays for movies and containers: DXP4800 Plus

The DXP4800 Plus is the strongest fit here when you want the NAS to do several jobs: hold a growing movie library, run Docker applications and serve large files over a faster network. Four SATA bays give you more layout choices, and the 64 GB memory ceiling leaves more room for applications than either two-bay pick.

UGREEN documents Intel Quick Sync support for its Pentium Gold 8505 in the NAS hardware guide. UGOS Pro supplies Docker and virtual-machine apps. Start with the installed 8 GB, watch memory use as you add services, then upgrade for a real workload.

Choose DXP4800 Plus specifically: the plain DXP4800, GT and Pro are different models. This pick has one 10GbE port and one 2.5GbE port. The 10GbE connection is useful for large transfers to a suitably equipped workstation or switch; you can still start on 2.5GbE.

Four bays for DSM backups: DS925+

Choose the DS925+ when the software is the attraction. Its four bays, 4 GB of ECC memory and 32 GB ceiling make it a more expandable DSM base than the DS225+. Both models support Container Manager, so choosing the backup-focused NAS does not mean giving up containers.

Synology’s DS925+ datasheet describes Active Backup Suite for endpoint workloads, Hyper Backup for copying NAS data to another destination, and Snapshot Replication for versioned recovery. That is the appeal: a set of tools you can turn into a repeatable backup routine.

Use it as a file store for a separate media mini PC if you want DSM and hardware transcoding together. For an all-in-one media box, choose the Intel UGREEN instead.

Synology’s current drive policy: what changed

Checked October 25, 2026: DSM 7.3 allows third-party HDDs and 2.5-inch SATA SSDs in new pools on 2025 DiskStation Plus models, including these two Synology picks. You are not limited to Synology-branded HDDs. Models on the explicit incompatibility list remain unsupported.

The NVMe rule is narrower: new M.2 storage pools and SSD cache require drives on the compatibility list. Match the exact NAS and SSD before planning that upgrade. Synology’s drive-compatibility policy separates the drive types; old blanket claims about all third-party drives miss that distinction.

How many bays do you actually need?

Two bays suit a focused file collection that fits comfortably on one drive’s capacity, mirrored across a pair. Four bays make more sense when the collection is already growing or you want a parity layout without replacing both disks just to gain space.

Here is the arithmetic for matched 8 TB drives, using nominal decimal capacity:

Drives	Layout	Raw capacity	Capacity for data
2 × 8 TB	RAID 1 mirror	16 TB	8 TB
4 × 8 TB	RAID 5, single parity	32 TB	24 TB
4 × 8 TB	RAID 6, double parity	32 TB	16 TB
4 × 8 TB	RAID 10, mirrored pairs	32 TB	16 TB

These calculated figures come before formatting, filesystem metadata, snapshots and free-space allowance. RAID 1 and RAID 5 tolerate one drive failure; RAID 6 tolerates two. RAID 10 survives any single failure, with additional failures depending on which mirror pairs lose disks.

RAID keeps a drive failure from immediately stopping the party. Backups get your files back after deletion, theft or loss of the whole NAS. Plan both with RAID vs snapshots vs backups. Keep room for retained versions as well as today’s files.

Plex and Jellyfin: get the graphics doing the work

When your player accepts the original file, Direct Play is the easy path. When it needs a different video format or bitrate, transcoding becomes the job that changes your hardware choice.

For Plex hardware transcoding, use a supported graphics path and an active Plex Pass. Give the container access to the graphics device, enable Use hardware acceleration when available, then play a file that requires conversion. Look for (hw) in the expanded playback details, as Plex’s hardware-acceleration guide explains.

For Jellyfin, follow its Intel Quick Sync/VA-API guide. Test a representative file on the player you will actually use, including subtitles and HDR handling. That tells you far more than a promise of a particular number of “4K streams.”

Drives first, SSD extras second

Choose compatible CMR NAS drives with enough space for growth. Our NAS hard-drive guide handles the exact drive models, workload ratings and warranties, so you can choose the enclosure here without buying a random disk bundle.

Give NVMe a job before filling every slot. An application or VM pool and a read cache solve different problems. Start with NVMe SSDs for NAS cache and app pools to decide which fits, then follow your enclosure’s supported configuration. A lightly used file share does not need an SSD shopping spree on day one.

Let the network keep up

If your computer and NAS both have 2.5GbE, connect them through a 2.5GbE switch. Leaving a 1GbE switch in the path wastes the faster ports. Choose managed VLANs when your lab needs separation; otherwise an unmanaged switch keeps this part pleasantly boring.

For the DXP4800 Plus, move to 10GbE when the client, switch and storage can all use it. Our DAC vs RJ45 vs fibre guide covers that next step. Two network ports do not automatically double one file transfer’s speed.

To connect a desktop or server to that faster NAS, use our 10GbE NIC guide: match a copper card to the DXP4800 Plus, or choose SFP+ for a compatible switch uplink.

First setup: make the boring bits brilliant

1. Update the NAS OS and apps. Set up your administrator account, then use a separate everyday account for file access.
2. Build the pool deliberately. Check drive health, choose the redundancy layout and create the volume before moving your only copy of anything.
3. Enable snapshots on Btrfs. Synology supports Snapshot Replication; UGREEN’s Snapshot guide requires Btrfs and UGOS Pro 1.6.1.2846 or later. Schedule retained versions for important folders.
4. Make an offsite backup and restore a file. Hyper Backup supplies Synology’s versioned destination options. Pick the equivalent supported backup route on UGOS and verify that you can recover your data.
5. Add a UPS and test shutdown. Use our NAS-friendly UPS guide to match the USB/NUT route, then test a controlled power-loss shutdown before you need it.

When DIY is the better answer

Build your own when you want more drive bays, a specific expansion card or full control over the storage OS. Start with the SATA/HBA guide, NAS drives and ZFS vs mdadm vs hardware RAID. Choose the case, cooling and power supply around those parts.

Prefer an appliance? DXP2800 starts the media server, DXP4800 Plus grows it to four bays, and DS225+ or DS925+ gives you DSM at the size you need. Pick the box, give your backups somewhere else to live, and get back to the fun projects.