Cheapest 4-bay with 2.5GbE

QNAP TS-433

Four bays of backup and file storage on a budget.

Our pick: Cheapest 4-bay with 2.5GbE. The QNAP TS-433 is a 4-bay NAS powered by the ARM Cortex-A55, 4 cores, with 4GB of RAM and 2.5GbE + 1GbE networking. It suits four bays of backup and file storage on a budget. The catch: the ARM chip is slow for Plex, Docker or many users; buyers split evenly on performance.

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2 Bayabout $2404 Bayabout $430

about $430Amazon shows today's exact price.

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Bays: 4
Processor: ARM Cortex-A55, 4 cores
Memory: 4GB
Network: 2.5GbE + 1GbE
NVMe slots: None
Plex hardware transcoding: No
Software: QNAP QTS

Specs are from the Amazon listing or the maker. Prices are for the box without drives unless the listing says otherwise.

Why we pick it

Four bays plus a 2.5GbE port for less than most 4-bays
4.2 stars from 126 ratings

The catch

The ARM chip is slow for Plex, Docker or many users; buyers split evenly on performance.

4 bay in one line

The sweet spot: four drives in RAID 5 or SHR lose only one drive to protection, and you can grow the pool later. Pick this if your library will outgrow one drive.

How many bays do you need? · RAID is not backup

Questions about the QNAP TS-433

Is the QNAP TS-433 a good NAS?

Cheapest 4-bay with 2.5GbE. Four bays plus a 2.5GbE port for less than most 4-bays. 4.2 stars from 126 ratings. The catch: The ARM chip is slow for Plex, Docker or many users; buyers split evenly on performance.

Can the QNAP TS-433 run Plex?

It can serve files to Plex players that play them directly, but it has no hardware transcoding, so converting 4K or HEVC on the fly will struggle. For Plex, pick a NAS with an Intel CPU.

Does the QNAP TS-433 include drives?

No. The price is for the box (diskless) unless the listing you choose says it is a bundle. Add NAS-rated CMR drives such as WD Red Plus or Toshiba N300.

Who is the QNAP TS-433 for?

Four bays of backup and file storage on a budget.

What QNAP says about it

ARM Cortex-A55 quad-core 2.0GHz processor with 4 GB DDR4 RAM
Future-proof high speed 2.5GbE port x 1, 1GbE port x 1
Budget-friendly home NAS for file storage and multimedia streaming
Centrally store and organize personal or family photos, music, and videos
Effortlessly backup your Windows Computers with QNAP’s NetBak Replicator software and Mac computers with Time Machine

From the Amazon listing, in the maker's own words.