Regardless of whether you’re a data hoarder, movie aficionado, or just a cautious user who wants to preserve important files, a self-assembled Network Attached Storage rig can be a worthy addition to your computing environment. Once you're putting all the hardware pieces in place, the next step involves choosing an OS that suits your specific needs.

Turns out, there are quite a number of operating systems that are designed for NAS systems, with each bearing some pros as well as cons. To help you out, we’ve compiled a list of the best OS worth checking out for any up-and-coming NAS enthusiast.

5 TrueNAS Core

A stable OS that's perfect for archiving data

If you’ve ever dealt with NAS devices, you might have heard about TrueNAS' lineup of operating systems. Core is the older sibling in the TrueNAS family, and boasts sky-high stability as one of its key aspects. However, there are a couple of reasons why it lies at the bottom of the list.

Leaving aside its lackluster performance in heavy virtualization workloads, there won’t be a lot of features added to TrueNAS Core going forward. That’s because its parent company, iXsystems, has diverted most of its resources to the development of Scale and pushed Core into the maintenance phase, where it’ll receive bug fixes once every blue moon. All that said, it’s undoubtedly an amazing OS that can fulfill your storage needs for years to come and is great for users who want a crash-free experience over all else.

4 Debian-based distros with SnapRAID and MergerFS

When you don't want to lose access to your favorite desktop OS

If you're a Linux enthusiast, it’s entirely possible to turn your Penguin-scented PC into a powerful NAS without a lot of performance overhead from the underlying OS. For an extremely barebones setup, all you need to do is configure some file-sharing protocols like SMB and NFS before modifying the network rules to allow other devices on your home network to access the data stored on the PC.

However, you can dial this project’s usefulness up a notch by installing MergerFS. This convenient package can pool multiple drives together to provide a common mounting point for all your storage needs. If you’re concerned about data loss from drive failure, you can set up SnapRAID to grant more backup provisions to your arrays.

3 Unraid

Expensive, but chock-full of features

Whereas the rest of the operating systems on this list can be used free of charge, Unraid is more of an outlier with its mandatory paid license. However, if you’re willing to shell out extra money on Unraid, you’ll get an amazing NAS OS that’s easy to set up and just as simple to use.

Compared to everything we’ve covered so far, initializing an array is child’s play in Unraid, and you can start sharing all your essential files within minutes of installing the OS on a USB drive. Besides letting you create Docker containers, Unraid also provides access to thousands of apps and plugins, ranging from encryption utilities and AI tools to security services and game servers.

2 OpenMediaVault

Great for low-end systems

Typically used with SBCs, mini-PCs, old laptops, and devices that falter on the performance front, OpenMediaVault is a free operating system that can turn any weak machine into a usable NAS. But don’t let its abysmally low hardware requirements fool you; OMV is one of the most feature-laden operating systems on this list.

Besides supporting Btrfs, Ext4, F2FS, JFS, and a plethora of other file systems, OpenMediaVault can even run everyone’s favorite ZFS with the aid of external plugins. What’s more, it even supports Docker containers, meaning you can run a handful of apps on OMV in addition to using the underlying hardware as a NAS.

1 TrueNAS Scale

Perfect for most users despite its free cost

If we perform a thorough comparison between TrueNAS Scale and every other option on this list, iXsystem’s magnum opus of an OS might not emerge victorious every time. However, it’s the most popular NAS operating system, with thousands of data hoarders and home server users relying on the OS for their complex storage setups.

I’ll admit, Scale has a difficult learning curve, and navigating battalions of menus just to enable a simple network share can be overwhelming for any beginner. But TrueNAS Scale is not only faster than everything else we’ve covered so far, but it also delivers top-notch performance in virtualization tasks. Plus, it’s backed by a huge community and even supports multiple RAID specifications to help you create the perfect array that caters to all your mirroring, parity, and striping requirements.

Every device can be turned into a NAS if you try hard enough

Although we’ve only highlighted five operating systems on this list, there are many other options that can scratch that NAS itch for you. For example, if you’re not a fan of learning the ins-and-outs of a new OS, you can even turn your Windows 11 machine into a makeshift NAS. While it’s not very secure and has a lot of performance overhead, Windows 11 shouldn’t struggle too much in simple, non-intensive NAS workloads.

Heck, if you’re up for the challenge, you can even build a low-powered NAS out of an old Android smartphone. Or, you can go to the other end of the spectrum and convert your Proxmox-themed home lab into a full-fledged storage server with the power of virtualization and the ZFS file system.