NAS for Home in 2026: Synology DS224+ vs QNAP TS-264 vs UGREEN DXP2800
An honest comparison of the three most relevant 2-bay home NAS devices of 2026, focused on Mac users, Time Machine and iCloud Photos.
Setting up a home NAS is no longer just for geeks. With iCloud+ plans getting more expensive, Time Machine demanding large disks and the Photos library growing every month, having a storage server on your local network makes more and more sense. Especially if you use a Mac.
Today I’m comparing the three 2-bay NAS devices I see recommended most in 2026 for home use: the Synology DS224+, the QNAP TS-264 and the newcomer UGREEN DXP2800. All three sit in the same price range (between 300 and 500 euros without drives), but they play in different leagues.
Summary table: specs and price
| Model | CPU | RAM (max.) | Bays | HDMI | 2.5GbE | Approx. RRP (without drives) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Synology DS224+ | Intel Celeron J4125 (4 cores) | 2 GB (6 GB) | 2 x 3.5″ | No | No (2x 1GbE) | 329 € |
| QNAP TS-264 | Intel Celeron N5095 (4 cores) | 8 GB (16 GB) | 2 x 3.5″ + 2 M.2 | Yes (4K) | Yes (2x 2.5GbE) | 499 € |
| UGREEN DXP2800 | Intel N100 (4 cores) | 8 GB (16 GB) | 2 x 3.5″ + 2 M.2 | Yes (4K) | Yes (1x 2.5GbE) | 379 € |
Prices checked in October 2026 at Amazon Spain and official stores. They vary depending on stock.
Why a home NAS makes sense in 2026
Three concrete reasons, no marketing:
- Backups for several Macs without paying for iCloud. Time Machine over the network to a NAS works well if the NAS supports modern SMB and has dedicated space.
- Photos library outside iCloud. You can move your photo library to a NAS and access it from your iPhone with apps like Synology Photos or QuMagie.
- Plex or Infuse for your collection. If you have 4K HDR movies, a NAS with hardware transcoding and local HDMI outperforms any external Apple TV.
If all you want is “a shared folder,” an external USB disk on your router will do. If you want something serious, keep reading.
Synology DS224+: the silent standard
The DS224+ is the direct successor to the legendary DS220+. Same chassis, same philosophy: solid hardware, impeccable software.
- CPU: Intel Celeron J4125 at 2 GHz, 4 cores.
- RAM: 2 GB DDR4 standard, expandable to 6 GB (one of the slots is soldered).
- Network: two Gigabit ports (1 GbE), no 2.5GbE. This is its biggest weakness in 2026.
- DSM 7.2: its operating system. The best in the home market, no question.
For Mac users
Time Machine works out of the box. You create a user, assign it a quota, enable SMB and Bonjour, and your Mac sees it in Finder → Locations. Synology Photos has a decent iOS app and detects faces locally, without sending anything to the cloud.
The weak points
No HDMI, no 2.5GbE and only 2 GB of RAM out of the box. Plex transcodes, but if you use 4K HDR you’ll struggle. For “direct” streaming (without transcoding) it works perfectly.
QNAP TS-264: the one that handles 4K without breaking a sweat
The TS-264 is the “power” proposal of the group.
- CPU: Intel Celeron N5095 at 2 GHz, 4 cores, with a UHD graphics engine that transcodes H.265 in hardware.
- RAM: 8 GB DDR4 standard, expandable to 16 GB.
- Network: two 2.5GbE ports. If you have a modern Wi-Fi 7 router, you’ll make the most of the real speed.
- HDMI 2.0 4K: you can plug it into the TV and use it as a local player with HD Station.
- Two NVMe M.2 slots for cache or an SSD volume.
For Mac users
Compatible with Time Machine via SMB. The QuMagie app for Photos has improved a lot but still trails Synology’s in polish.
The weak points
QTS, its operating system, is harder to manage than DSM. And QNAP has had past security problems (DeadBolt ransomware in 2022–2023). Today they are reasonably patched, but you should never expose the NAS directly to the internet and always use a VPN or Tailscale.
UGREEN DXP2800: the newcomer that raises eyebrows
UGREEN has spent years making decent cables and chargers. In 2024 it launched its NAS line, and by 2026 it is a real option.
- CPU: Intel N100, 4 cores. It is the most powerful chip of the trio, based on the Alder Lake-N architecture.
- RAM: 8 GB DDR5 (note: DDR5), expandable to 16 GB.
- Network: one 2.5GbE port.
- 4K HDMI, two NVMe M.2 slots, USB-C at 10 Gbps.
For Mac users
Supports Time Machine. Its UGREEN NAS app for iOS is functional, not pretty. There is a Photos app, and it does the job.
The weak points (and this matters)
UGOS, its operating system, is at version 1.x. It works, but it lacks the years of maturity that DSM or QTS have. Fewer third-party apps, less documentation, a small community. That said, the hardware for the price is outstanding: you pay 379 € for specs that would normally cost 500 €.
If you don’t mind tinkering, installing Unraid or TrueNAS Scale on the UGREEN is a perfectly valid option, and the community documents it well.
Time Machine: how the three behave
All three support Time Machine over SMB. The process is similar:
- Create a dedicated user (
timemachine, for example). - Create a shared folder with a quota (important: without a quota, Time Machine will eat the whole NAS).
- Enable the SMB and Bonjour service.
- On the Mac: System Settings → General → Time Machine → Add Backup Disk.
On Synology, the path is Control Panel → Shared Folder → new + Time Machine option. On QNAP, there is a dedicated wizard in the App Center. On UGREEN, you enable it from System Settings → Time Machine.
My experience: the DS224+ is the most predictable. It has run the same way for years and never disconnects. The QNAP is smooth once configured properly. The UGREEN works, but I have seen cases where backups required a manual restart of the SMB service.
Plex and multimedia: clear winner
If Plex is your main reason:
- QNAP TS-264: transcodes 4K H.265 effortlessly. Direct HDMI. Winner.
- UGREEN DXP2800: the N100 also transcodes well. Second place.
- Synology DS224+: it’s tight. Perfect for 1080p, for 4K only if the client can play directly without transcoding.
If you combine the NAS with an Apple TV 4K for video output, the QNAP’s and UGREEN’s HDMI loses its appeal. In that scenario the DS224+ is fairly on par.
Real price per euro
As of October 2026, fitting any of the three with two 4 TB WD Red Plus drives costs roughly:
- DS224+ + 2x 4 TB: ~550 €
- UGREEN DXP2800 + 2x 4 TB: ~600 €
- TS-264 + 2x 4 TB: ~720 €
The UGREEN wins on hardware-per-euro. The Synology wins on peace of mind per euro. The QNAP is the most expensive but the most versatile.
Verdict: who should buy what
- Buy the Synology DS224+ if you want to set it up, forget about it and have it work for five years without touching it. It’s the choice for someone who values software and reliability above hardware. The best for Time Machine and Photos.
- Buy the QNAP TS-264 if your main use case is 4K multimedia with Plex or Jellyfin, or if you want to comfortably virtualize some Docker containers.
- Buy the UGREEN DXP2800 if you get a lot of hardware for little money, you’re not scared of young software and, in the worst case, you’d be willing to install TrueNAS on it. It’s the controlled-risk bet.
And if you’re still not sure how much space you need: start by calculating how much your Photos library takes up and multiply it by three. You’ll need more than you think.
