In a stunning development that has shocked absolutely no one who has ever owned a computer, hard drives can fail. To address this earth-shattering revelation, network-attached storage (NAS) systems have emerged as the go-to solution for safeguarding data through RAID technology, which distributes data across multiple drives so you don't have to weep when one dies.

ZDNET's latest roundup of the best NAS devices for 2026 has been refreshed with new additions including the Synology DS223, Ugreen NAS DH2300, and Synology BeeStation Plus. After extensive testing and simulated drive failures (the digital equivalent of kicking tires), our top pick overall is the TerraMaster F8 SSD Plus - a palm-sized, 8-bay all-SSD NAS that maxes out at 64TB and runs at a whisper-quiet 19dB, because nobody wants a server that sounds like a jet engine.

For $765 (no storage included, because you have to buy that separately), the TerraMaster F8 SSD Plus packs an N305 8-core processor turboing to 3.4GHz and delivers read/write speeds up to 1,024MB/s. It's ideal for small businesses or anyone who has accepted that SSDs are the future and spinning hard drives belong in museums. If you have a pile of old HDDs you're desperate to reuse, look elsewhere.

If you prefer a NAS that comes with storage already inside so you don't have to play matchmaker with drives, the Synology DS223 Diskstation NAS is your best bet at $1,042. It includes 2x 12TB Seagate IronWolf SATA drives and Synology's excellent DiskStation Manager (DSM) software, plus free Hyper Backup software for backing up to the cloud. It's a professional-grade unit for those who want enterprise tools without the enterprise headache.

For those who can't decide between HDDs and SSDs, the Asustor AS5404T bridges worlds with four drive bays and four M.2 SSD slots, dual 2.5G Ethernet ports, and an HDMI output that might tempt you to move it from the server closet to the family room. At $583, it's a versatile option with over 200 App Central applications and a reputation for being easy to use - which is the tech equivalent of a unicorn.