Buying Guide
The Best NAS for Plex Media Servers, Compared
We looked at 8 NAS for plex media servers side by side, with the trade-offs that separate them and who each one suits.
By Jamie Cole, Lead Product Researcher
10 min read8 products evaluated
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A NAS built for Plex only needs serious CPU power if it will actually be asked to transcode video on the fly, and a large share of buyers who pay a premium for an Intel-based NAS never end up needing it. 265 files, which means the NAS just serves the original file with almost no processing overhead regardless of whether it has an ARM or Intel chip inside.
Below are 8 NAS devices we compared for Plex use, ranging from a budget ARM box suited to a single-room direct play setup to an Intel Pentium Gold 4-bay NAS built for simultaneous multi-user transcoding and large libraries, with network speed and RAM requirements broken out so you can match the hardware to how you actually watch.
Quick Picks
Our 8 recommendations at a glance. Tap a pick for the full verdict.
Best Overall for Plex
UGREEN NAS DXP4800 Plus 4-Bay (Intel Pentium Gold 5-Core)
Buyers who need real hardware transcoding and room to grow a library
Our take Check price for UGREEN NAS DXP4800 Plus 4-Bay (Intel Pentium Gold 5-Core) (opens in a new tab)
Best Hardware Transcoding
QNAP TS-264-8G-US 2-Bay Desktop NAS
Large Plex libraries with 5,000+ items that need serious metadata RAM
Our take Check price for QNAP TS-264-8G-US 2-Bay Desktop NAS (opens in a new tab)
Best 2-Bay for Content Creators
UGREEN NAS DXP2800 2-Bay
Content creators who also run a modest Plex library on the side
Our take Check price for UGREEN NAS DXP2800 2-Bay (opens in a new tab)
Best Intel Quad-Core Budget
TERRAMASTER F2-425 2-Bay NAS (Intel x86 Quad-Core, 4GB RAM)
Buyers who want real Intel transcoding capability without the premium price
Our take Check price for TERRAMASTER F2-425 2-Bay NAS (Intel x86 Quad-Core, 4GB RAM) (opens in a new tab)
Best 2.5GbE for Multi-Room Streaming
QNAP TS-216G-US 2-Bay 2.5GbE Desktop NAS
Multi-room households streaming 4K to more than one TV at once
Our take Check price for QNAP TS-216G-US 2-Bay 2.5GbE Desktop NAS (opens in a new tab)
Best Budget Entry-Level
Asustor Drivestor 2 Gen 2 AS1202T 2-Bay NAS
First-time NAS owners whose Plex clients already support direct play
Our take Check price for Asustor Drivestor 2 Gen 2 AS1202T 2-Bay NAS (opens in a new tab)
Best Ultra-Budget Pick
UGREEN NAS DH2300 2-Bay Desktop NAS (Diskless, 64TB Support)
Budget buyers who want high capacity headroom without transcoding needs
Our take Check price for UGREEN NAS DH2300 2-Bay Desktop NAS (Diskless, 64TB Support) (opens in a new tab)
Best for Simple Home Backup Plus Plex
Synology DS223 2-Bay Home & Office Backup Hub
Buyers who want one NAS to handle both backup and direct-play Plex duty
Our take Check price for Synology DS223 2-Bay Home & Office Backup Hub (opens in a new tab)
Our Picks
Best Overall for Plex1 of 8
UGREEN NAS DXP4800 Plus 4-Bay (Intel Pentium Gold 5-Core) on Amazon (opens in a new tab)
The DXP4800 Plus pairs an Intel Pentium Gold 5-core CPU with 4 drive bays, enough horsepower to hardware-transcode a 4K stream while still serving direct play requests to other rooms at the same time.
Best for
- Buyers who need real hardware transcoding and room to grow a library
Why we like it
That combination is what actually separates a premium Plex NAS from a budget one, not the brand name on the case.
Four bays give real capacity headroom for a growing media library, and the Intel chip means hardware transcoding is available if a Plex Pass subscription is added later. Buyers who only ever stream to direct-play-capable clients will still get full value from the extra bays for expansion.
4 bays leave room for a growing library.
Key dimensions & specs
- 4-bay NAS enclosure
- Intel Pentium Gold 5-core CPU
- Hardware transcode capable (Plex Pass required)
- Supports RAID for expansion
Pros
- Intel CPU handles real hardware transcoding, not just direct play
- 4 bays leave room for a growing library
- Strong choice for multi-user simultaneous streaming
- Expandable capacity over time
Cons
- Most expensive pick in this list
- Overkill if every client already supports direct play
- Requires a Plex Pass subscription to unlock hardware transcoding
Best Hardware Transcoding2 of 8
QNAP TS-264-8G-US 2-Bay Desktop NAS on Amazon (opens in a new tab)
QNAP's TS-264-8G ships with 8GB of RAM out of the box, a meaningful advantage for anyone running a Plex library with 5,000 or more items, since metadata indexing for large libraries is RAM-hungry.
Best for
- Large Plex libraries with 5,000+ items that need serious metadata RAM
Why we like it
Combined with an Intel-class processor, it's built to hardware transcode without leaning on the CPU alone.
Two bays keep the footprint compact for a home office rather than a media closet, and the extra RAM headroom also helps if Plex is run alongside other containerized apps on the same box.
Key dimensions & specs
- 2-bay desktop NAS
- 8GB RAM included
- Intel-class CPU for hardware transcoding
- Compact desktop form factor
Pros
- 8GB RAM handles large Plex libraries smoothly
- Built for genuine hardware transcoding
- Compact 2-bay footprint
- Room to run other apps alongside Plex
Cons
- Only 2 bays limits total raw capacity
- Pricier than ARM-based 2-bay alternatives
- Still needs a Plex Pass for hardware transcode
Best 2-Bay for Content Creators3 of 8
UGREEN NAS DXP2800 2-Bay on Amazon (opens in a new tab)
The DXP2800 sits between the budget ARM boxes and the full Intel 4-bay units in this list, giving content creators enough processing headroom for a mixed workload of media editing and Plex serving without paying for 4 bays they may not fill right away.
Best for
- Content creators who also run a modest Plex library on the side
Why we like it
It's a sensible middle pick for anyone who wants some transcoding capability without committing to the largest and most expensive enclosure in this roundup.
Enough headroom for occasional transcoding.
Key dimensions & specs
- 2-bay NAS enclosure
- Mid-tier CPU for mixed workloads
- Suited to media editing plus Plex serving
Pros
- Good middle ground between budget ARM and premium Intel picks
- Enough headroom for occasional transcoding
- Compact 2-bay size
Cons
- Only 2 bays caps total capacity
- Not as fast for transcoding as the 8GB QNAP or Pentium Gold UGREEN
- Still benefits most from direct-play-capable clients
Best Intel Quad-Core Budget4 of 8
TERRAMASTER F2-425 2-Bay NAS (Intel x86 Quad-Core, 4GB RAM) on Amazon (opens in a new tab)
The F2-425 is the cheapest Intel x86 quad-core NAS in this list, and that matters because an Intel chip is what actually enables hardware transcoding down the line, ARM chips simply can't do it regardless of subscription status.
Best for
- Buyers who want real Intel transcoding capability without the premium price
Why we like it
At 4GB RAM it's suited to a moderate library rather than a massive one.
5GbE networking is also built in, which is the networking tier this guide recommends once more than one 4K stream needs to run to different rooms at the same time.
5GbE networking supports multi-room 4K.
Key dimensions & specs
- 2-bay NAS
- Intel x86 quad-core CPU
- 4GB RAM
- 2.5GbE LAN
Pros
- Cheapest Intel x86 NAS in this list
- 2.5GbE networking supports multi-room 4K
- Genuine hardware transcode capability if needed later
Cons
- 4GB RAM is tighter for very large libraries
- Only 2 bays
- Still requires a Plex Pass to use hardware transcoding
Best 2.5GbE for Multi-Room Streaming5 of 8
QNAP TS-216G-US 2-Bay 2.5GbE Desktop NAS on Amazon (opens in a new tab)
265 remux typically needs 50 to 80 Mbps of sustained throughput, which a standard 1GbE connection handles fine for one stream.
Best for
- Multi-room households streaming 4K to more than one TV at once
Why we like it
5GbE switch removes the network as the bottleneck, and that's exactly what the TS-216G is built around.
It's a solid pick for a household with multiple TVs pulling from the same library at once, even if the CPU inside leans more toward direct play than heavy transcoding duty.
Solid pick for multi-TV households.
Key dimensions & specs
- 2-bay desktop NAS
- 2.5GbE LAN
- Built for multi-room simultaneous streaming
Pros
- 2.5GbE handles multiple simultaneous 4K streams
- Solid pick for multi-TV households
- Compact desktop footprint
Cons
- CPU favors direct play over heavy transcoding
- Needs a 2.5GbE switch to fully benefit from the faster LAN
- Only 2 bays
Best Budget Entry-Level6 of 8
Asustor Drivestor 2 Gen 2 AS1202T 2-Bay NAS on Amazon (opens in a new tab)
5GbE networking still keeps it relevant for a single 4K stream without a network bottleneck.
Best for
- First-time NAS owners whose Plex clients already support direct play
Key dimensions & specs
- 2-bay NAS
- Quad-core 1.7GHz ARM CPU
- 2.5GbE networking
- 1GB DDR4 RAM
Pros
- Lowest price among 2.5GbE-equipped picks
- Handles direct play smoothly for compatible clients
- Simple entry point for first-time NAS owners
Cons
- ARM CPU cannot hardware transcode at all
- 1GB RAM limits very large library indexing
- Only 2 bays
Best Ultra-Budget Pick7 of 8
UGREEN NAS DH2300 2-Bay Desktop NAS (Diskless, 64TB Support) on Amazon (opens in a new tab)
The DH2300 supports up to 64TB of raw capacity across its 2 bays, giving it room for a large media library despite its entry-level price.
Best for
- Budget buyers who want high capacity headroom without transcoding needs
Why we like it
It's a diskless enclosure, so drives are purchased separately based on how much library headroom is actually needed.
Like the other ARM-based picks in this list, it's built around direct play rather than transcoding, which keeps costs down for households that don't need the CPU horsepower a Plex Pass subscription would otherwise put to use.
Key dimensions & specs
- 2-bay desktop NAS
- Supports up to 64TB total capacity
- Diskless enclosure
Pros
- High maximum capacity ceiling for the price
- Simple, low-cost entry point
- Good fit for direct-play-only households
Cons
- Not built for hardware transcoding
- Diskless, drives are an added cost
- Only 2 bays
Best for Simple Home Backup Plus Plex8 of 8
Synology DS223 2-Bay Home & Office Backup Hub on Amazon (opens in a new tab)
The DS223 is primarily built as a backup and file-sharing hub, and Synology's DSM software layer makes running Plex alongside those duties straightforward for buyers who want one box instead of two.
Best for
- Buyers who want one NAS to handle both backup and direct-play Plex duty
Why we like it
Its ARM processor keeps things focused on direct play rather than transcoding.
For a household that wants a single NAS to both back up computers and quietly run a Plex library for direct-play clients, this covers both jobs without added complexity.
Key dimensions & specs
- 2-bay NAS
- DSM software platform
- Built primarily for backup and file sharing
Pros
- DSM software makes running Plex alongside backup duties simple
- Well-suited to combined backup plus media serving
- Reliable for direct-play households
Cons
- Not built for hardware transcoding
- Plex is a secondary use case, not the primary design intent
- Only 2 bays
How We Chose These NAS for Plex Media Servers
Each pick was assessed across 5 criteria weighted for real-world use.
- Compared Intel x86 chips, capable of real hardware transcoding with a Plex Pass, against ARM chips, which can never hardware transcode regardless of subscription status.
- Weighed onboard RAM against typical library sizes, since metadata indexing for libraries above 5,000 items gets noticeably heavier on memory.
- 5GbE, against how many simultaneous 4K streams a household is likely to run at once.
- Bay count and expansion room
- Scored each NAS on how much a growing media library could scale before running out of drive bays.
- Value for the actual use case
- Weighed price against whether the buyer needs transcoding power, direct-play-only households get far more value from a cheaper ARM box.
What to Look for in an NA for Plex Media Servers
Key buying criteria so you get the right fit the first time.
Remember every listed NAS here is diskless, budget drives separately
The price shown for a NAS enclosure covers the hardware chassis, CPU, and RAM only, not the actual storage drives, NAS-grade drives built for 24/7 operation like Seagate IronWolf or WD Red still need to be budgeted on top, often adding $80 to $200 or more per bay depending on capacity and drive type.
This matters because comparing NAS units purely by enclosure price without factoring in drive cost gives a misleading picture of the real total investment, a cheaper enclosure with more bays to fill can end up costing more overall than a pricier enclosure with fewer bays.
Check whether a listing is diskless or ships with drives included, and add realistic per-bay drive costs to the enclosure price before comparing total cost across options.
Weigh CPU class and RAM over bay count for real day-to-day performance
Bay count determines maximum storage capacity, but CPU architecture (Intel, AMD, or ARM) and RAM amount determine how well the NAS actually handles real workloads, running apps, transcoding media on the fly, or serving multiple simultaneous users, and a higher bay count with a weak CPU can bottleneck performance regardless of how much raw storage it holds.
This matters more the more the NAS will do beyond simple file storage, like Plex transcoding or running multiple docker containers, less if it's purely a basic backup target.
Check the specific CPU model and RAM amount (and whether RAM is upgradeable) rather than choosing primarily by bay count.
Understand RAID as a rebuild-time safety net, not a substitute for real backup
RAID configurations protect against a single drive failure by letting the array rebuild from redundant data, but RAID is not a backup, it does nothing to protect against accidental deletion, ransomware, theft, fire, or a controller failure that affects the whole array at once.
This distinction matters because treating RAID redundancy as sufficient backup protection is a common and risky misunderstanding, a real backup strategy needs a copy of critical data stored somewhere physically separate from the NAS itself.
Check what RAID level a given NAS supports, and separately plan an actual backup strategy, ideally following a 3-2-1 approach, rather than relying on RAID redundancy alone.
Match drive type (HDD vs SSD/NVMe) to your actual access pattern
Traditional hard drives offer the lowest cost per terabyte for bulk storage like media libraries or backups, while SSD or NVMe-based NAS storage costs significantly more per terabyte but delivers much faster random access speeds, useful for frequently-accessed files, active project work, or serving as a fast cache tier.
This matters directly based on how you'll actually use the storage, a media library accessed sequentially benefits little from SSD speed, while an active working file share benefits considerably.
Check whether the NAS supports the drive type you need, and weigh the real cost-per-terabyte difference against how much you'll actually benefit from faster random access.
Consider noise level if the NAS will run continuously in a shared living or office space
A NAS that runs 24/7 generates continuous fan and drive noise, and that noise profile varies meaningfully between models, some use larger, slower-spinning fans that stay quiet, while others rely on smaller, faster fans that produce a persistent whine noticeable in a quiet room.
This matters a great deal if the NAS will sit in a bedroom, living room, or shared home office rather than a dedicated closet or basement out of earshot.
Check reviews specifically for real-world noise level mentions during continuous operation, not just idle noise, since drive activity and fan speed both increase under load.
How to Choose an NA for Plex Media Servers
By Rating Confidence: Highest Rated vs Most Reviewed
| UGREEN NAS DXP4800 Plus 4 | |
| UGREEN NAS DXP4800 Plus 4 |
| Asustor Drivestor 2 Gen 2 AS1202T 2 | |
| UGREEN NAS DXP4800 Plus 4 |
Diskless Enclosure vs Drives Included
- Lets you choose your own NAS-grade drives and capacity, but budget $80-200+ per bay separately. In this comparison: UGREEN NAS DH2300 2.
- Ready to use out of the box, simpler for a first NAS purchase. In this comparison: UGREEN NAS DXP4800 Plus 4, QNAP TS, UGREEN NAS DXP2800 2, TERRAMASTER F2, QNAP TS, Asustor Drivestor 2 Gen 2 AS1202T 2, Synology DS223 2.
Default to diskless if you want control over drive choice and capacity, drives-included for the simplest setup.
Check each pick's listed CPU architecture and RAM amount against your actual workload before buying, not just bay count alone.
For Media Streaming or Plex Specifically
- A CPU capable of hardware transcoding and enough RAM to handle multiple simultaneous streams, not just total bay count.
- You need real multi-user performance, media transcoding, or business-critical reliability, where UGREEN NAS DXP4800 Plus 4's CPU and RAM give real headroom over the cheaper picks.
- You just need simple backup storage for one or two users, where Asustor Drivestor 2 Gen 2 AS1202T 2 covers the same job at a lower price.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need an Intel NAS to run Plex well?
Only if you actually need hardware transcoding, meaning you have clients that don't support direct play of your file formats, or multiple users transcoding at once. 265 files, in which case an ARM-based NAS like the Asustor Drivestor 2 handles the job just as smoothly as an Intel model.
Does hardware transcoding work automatically on an Intel NAS?
Hardware transcoding in Plex requires an active Plex Pass subscription. Without it, even a powerful Intel NAS falls back to software transcoding, which runs at roughly the same speed as a budget ARM NAS doing the same job.
How much RAM does a NAS need for a large Plex library?
For a library of 5,000 or more items with multiple simultaneous users, 8GB or more of RAM is worth prioritizing, since metadata indexing gets noticeably heavier at that scale. The QNAP TS-264-8G ships with 8GB built in specifically for this reason.
What network speed do I need for 4K Plex streaming?
265 remux typically needs 50-80 Mbps, which standard 1GbE handles fine. 5GbE switch removes the network as a bottleneck.
Is a 2-bay or 4-bay NAS better for Plex?
A 2-bay NAS is enough for most home libraries that aren't rapidly expanding. A 4-bay NAS like the UGREEN DXP4800 Plus makes more sense if your library is actively growing and you want headroom to add capacity without replacing the whole enclosure later.
Can I use a diskless NAS for Plex right away?
No, a diskless NAS like the UGREEN DH2300 ships without drives, so you'll need to purchase compatible hard drives or SSDs separately before setting up storage pools and installing Plex.
Bottom Line
Best overall: UGREEN NAS DXP4800 Plus 4-Bay (Intel Pentium Gold 5-Core) — best overall for plex pick in this roundup. See the full verdicts above for every pick, with pros, cons and who each one suits.
Browse all nas for plex media servers on Amazon — Prime-eligible options with current pricing.