What File System Should You Use for a NAS?
Published: 2026年7月24日
Pulling live prices…
Live data across PricePerGig listings. Prices may change; Updated every few hours.
📊 As of July 25, 2026, the typical NAS on Amazon.com is $135/TB or $0.135/GB across the 4,620 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around $38/TB or $0.038/GB. The best deals on Amazon.com start from about $261 for 8TB ($32.6/TB), $350 for 14TB ($25/TB) and $590 for 20TB ($29.5/TB). The current best value is 14TB at roughly $25 per TB.
📊 As of July 25, 2026, the typical NAS on eBay.com is $95.2/TB or $0.095/GB across the 9,006 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around $92.7/TB or $0.093/GB. The best deals on eBay.com start from about $190 for 8TB ($23.7/TB), $330 for 14TB ($23.6/TB) and $550 for 20TB ($27.5/TB). The current best value is 10TB at roughly $20 per TB.
📊 As of July 25, 2026, the typical NAS on Newegg.com is $117/TB or $0.117/GB across the 1,050 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around $50.2/TB or $0.05/GB. The best deals on Newegg.com start from about $300 for 8TB ($37.5/TB), $400 for 14TB ($28.5/TB) and $810 for 20TB ($40.5/TB). The current best value is 14TB at roughly $28.5 per TB.
📊 As of 25 July 2026, the typical NAS on Amazon.co.uk is £156/TB or £0.156/GB across the 3,437 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around £44.1/TB or £0.044/GB. The best deals on Amazon.co.uk start from about £244 for 8TB (£30.5/TB), £330 for 14TB (£23.6/TB) and £517 for 20TB (£25.8/TB). The current best value is 14TB at roughly £23.6 per TB.
📊 As of 25 July 2026, the typical NAS on eBay.co.uk is £180/TB or £0.18/GB across the 4,532 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around £42.7/TB or £0.043/GB. The best deals on eBay.co.uk start from about £150 for 8TB (£18.8/TB), £249 for 14TB (£17.8/TB) and £466 for 20TB (£23.3/TB). The current best value is 12TB at roughly £15 per TB.
📊 As of 25 July 2026, the typical NAS on Overclockers.co.uk is £48.3/TB or £0.048/GB across the 55 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around £39.4/TB or £0.039/GB. The best deals on Overclockers.co.uk start from about £110 for 2TB (£55/TB), £180 for 6TB (£30/TB) and £280 for 8TB (£35/TB). The current best value is 6TB at roughly £30 per TB.
📊 As of 25 July 2026, the typical NAS on Box.co.uk is £50.1/TB or £0.05/GB across the 57 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around £45.6/TB or £0.046/GB. The best deals on Box.co.uk start from about £105 for 2TB (£52.5/TB), £271 for 8TB (£33.9/TB) and £330 for 10TB (£33/TB). The current best value is 10TB at roughly £33 per TB.
📊 As of 25. Juli 2026, the typical NAS on Amazon.de is 218 €/TB or 0,218 €/GB across the 3,552 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around 52,4 €/TB or 0,052 €/GB. The best deals on Amazon.de start from about 299 € for 8TB (37,4 €/TB), 354 € for 14TB (25,3 €/TB) and 519 € for 20TB (26 €/TB). The current best value is 18TB at roughly 24,1 € per TB.
📊 As of 25. Juli 2026, the typical NAS on eBay.de is 108 €/TB or 0,108 €/GB across the 176 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around 26,5 €/TB or 0,027 €/GB. The best deals on eBay.de start from about 43,3 € for 2TB (21,7 €/TB), 150 € for 6TB (25 €/TB) and 81,8 € for 8TB (10,2 €/TB). The current best value is 8TB at roughly 10,2 € per TB.
📊 As of 25. Juli 2026, the typical NAS on getgoods.de is 65,6 €/TB or 0,066 €/GB across the 95 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around 51,4 €/TB or 0,051 €/GB. The best deals on getgoods.de start from about 116 € for 2TB (58,9 €/TB), 178 € for 4TB (44,5 €/TB) and 295 € for 8TB (36,9 €/TB). The current best value is 8TB at roughly 36,9 € per TB.
📊 As of 25 July 2026, the typical NAS on eBay.com.au is $109/TB or $0.109/GB across the 1,137 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around $79.9/TB or $0.08/GB. The best deals on eBay.com.au start from about $390 for 8TB ($48.7/TB), $550 for 12TB ($45.8/TB) and $880 for 16TB ($55/TB). The current best value is 10TB at roughly $30.8 per TB.
📊 As of 25 juillet 2026, the typical NAS on Amazon.fr is 165 €/TB or 0,165 €/GB across the 2,733 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around 48,7 €/TB or 0,049 €/GB. The best deals on Amazon.fr start from about 285 € for 8TB (35,6 €/TB), 405 € for 14TB (28,9 €/TB) and 522 € for 20TB (26,1 €/TB). The current best value is 20TB at roughly 26,1 € per TB.
📊 As of 25 de julio de 2026, the typical NAS on Amazon.es is 206 €/TB or 0,206 €/GB across the 2,902 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around 51,6 €/TB or 0,052 €/GB. The best deals on Amazon.es start from about 300 € for 8TB (37,5 €/TB), 479 € for 14TB (34,2 €/TB) and 557 € for 20TB (27,8 €/TB). The current best value is 16TB at roughly 27,5 € per TB.
📊 As of July 25, 2026, the typical NAS on Amazon.ca is $246/TB or $0.246/GB across the 1,898 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around $70.4/TB or $0.07/GB. The best deals on Amazon.ca start from about $430 for 8TB ($53.8/TB), $574 for 14TB ($41/TB) and $999 for 20TB ($50/TB). The current best value is 14TB at roughly $41 per TB.
📊 As of July 25, 2026, the typical NAS on eBay.ca is $75.7/TB or $0.076/GB across the 162 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around $28.4/TB or $0.028/GB. The best deals on eBay.ca start from about $55 for 2TB ($27.5/TB), $70 for 4TB ($17.5/TB) and $115 for 8TB ($14.4/TB). The current best value is 8TB at roughly $14.4 per TB.
📊 As of July 25, 2026, the typical NAS on Newegg.ca is $146/TB or $0.146/GB across the 393 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around $70.3/TB or $0.07/GB. The best deals on Newegg.ca start from about $420 for 8TB ($52.5/TB), $745 for 14TB ($53.2/TB) and $907 for 20TB ($45.3/TB). The current best value is 20TB at roughly $45.3 per TB.
📊 As of 25 juli 2026, the typical NAS on Amazon.nl is € 116/TB or € 0,116/GB across the 1,494 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around € 55,8/TB or € 0,056/GB. The best deals on Amazon.nl start from about € 263 for 8TB (€ 32,9/TB), € 509 for 14TB (€ 36,4/TB) and € 464 for 20TB (€ 23,2/TB). The current best value is 20TB at roughly € 23,2 per TB.
📊 As of 25 luglio 2026, the typical NAS on Amazon.it is 199 €/TB or 0,199 €/GB across the 4,379 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around 50,5 €/TB or 0,051 €/GB. The best deals on Amazon.it start from about 306 € for 8TB (38,3 €/TB), 484 € for 14TB (34,6 €/TB) and 814 € for 20TB (40,7 €/TB). The current best value is 16TB at roughly 27,5 € per TB.
📊 As of 25 luglio 2026, the typical NAS on eBay.it is 99,4 €/TB or 0,099 €/GB across the 11,460 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around 96,5 €/TB or 0,097 €/GB. The best deals on eBay.it start from about 252 € for 8TB (31,5 €/TB), 426 € for 14TB (30,4 €/TB) and 460 € for 20TB (23 €/TB). The current best value is 20TB at roughly 23 € per TB.
📊 As of 25 juli 2026, the typical NAS on Amazon.se is 1 505 kr/TB or 1,505 kr/GB across the 952 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around 743 kr/TB or 0,743 kr/GB. The best deals on Amazon.se start from about 1 000 kr for 2TB (501 kr/TB), 1 346 kr for 4TB (337 kr/TB) and 331 kr for 6TB (55,1 kr/TB). The current best value is 6TB at roughly 55,1 kr per TB.
📊 As of 25 lipca 2026, the typical NAS on Amazon.pl is 575 zł/TB or 0,575 zł/GB across the 1,229 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around 198 zł/TB or 0,198 zł/GB. The best deals on Amazon.pl start from about 1124 zł for 8TB (141 zł/TB), 1255 zł for 12TB (105 zł/TB) and 1667 zł for 16TB (104 zł/TB). The current best value is 16TB at roughly 104 zł per TB.
Sourced from real discussions on r/homelab, r/zfs and r/DataHoarder, cross-checked against live PricePerGig listings.
Building a NAS and stuck on the file system question? Let me make it painless.
For most people, the answer is ZFS. It is the gold standard for keeping data safe, and it is free.
If your platform pushes Btrfs, that is a solid choice too. Plain ext4 is fine only for simple single drive setups.
The table above shows the live price per TB on your marketplace for the drives that will sit under whichever file system you pick.
Why ZFS is the default pick
ZFS sounds intimidating. It is not, and it does something genuinely magic.
It checks every piece of data for silent corruption and quietly repairs it.
Hard drives occasionally flip bits without telling you. Over years, that rot can creep into photos and files. ZFS notices, and with redundancy it fixes the damage automatically. Your data stays exactly as you saved it.
On top of that you get instant snapshots, easy redundancy levels like RAIDZ, and rock solid stability. For anything you actually care about, that integrity checking is the killer feature.
It likes a bit more memory than other options, but on a modern NAS that is no big deal.
Where Btrfs fits
Btrfs is the friendly alternative, and it is genuinely good.
It offers similar perks, checksums for integrity, snapshots, and flexible volumes. Several popular prebuilt NAS units use it by default, and it works well there.
If your hardware or software steers you toward Btrfs, you are not missing out. It is a capable, modern choice. ZFS just has the longer track record and the bigger fan club for serious storage.
When plain ext4 is fine
Do not over engineer a simple setup.
If you are running a single drive holding stuff that is easily replaceable, ext4 is perfectly fine. It is simple, fast and battle tested.
The moment you add multiple drives and care about the data, though, you want the integrity checking and snapshots that ext4 simply does not have. That is the line where you step up to ZFS or Btrfs.
What actually matters more than the file system
A reality check before you agonise over this.
No file system saves you from a fire, a theft, or a fat fingered delete. Integrity checking is not a backup.
So whichever you pick, the real safety comes from redundancy plus an offsite backup. The file system protects against silent corruption. Backups protect against everything else.
The bottom line
For a home NAS, pick ZFS for the best blend of data integrity, snapshots and redundancy. Btrfs is a fine alternative, and ext4 is okay for simple single drive boxes.
Whichever you choose, buy good drives at the best price per TB on the live table above, run redundancy, and keep an offsite backup. The file system keeps your data honest, and the backups keep it alive when somthing goes wrong.
