Setting up and using network-attached storage (NAS) is a great way to control your data from the comfort of your home. Cloud subscriptions are excellent for conveniently moving files between devices. A major drawback is the reliance on third-party companies to host it all, not to mention the data connections between your device and their servers. That's where NAS can prove more advantageous with local access to the LAN, physical administration, and saving money on subscriptions. But what if you wanted to complement your NAS solution with cloud storage? That's where service integrations come into play. Now you can enjoy the best of both worlds!

5 Google Drive

Unlike other cloud storage solutions, Google offers far more functionality with its Google Drive. Storing lots of data on the service is possible, but you can also create powerful spreadsheets, load up documents, and even check over presentations, all without leaving the browser. It's excellent for productivity and convenience, especially if you use an Android-powered smartphone and don't enjoy paying for Office on your PC. Google's free tier for storage is relatively limiting, which is why moving data to a NAS can make sense by freeing up space.

Google Drive is supported by various NAS brands with their respective operating systems. TrueNAS also supports Google Drive and can synchronize data stored in the cloud with the NAS. This can all be achieved without installing additional plugins.

4 Microsoft OneDrive

Microsoft's popular cloud storage service is another fine choice for synchronizing data between your data and a second backup destination. Baked into Windows, this platform is ready once you sign in using your Microsoft account. Microsoft offers 5GB for free, though you can easily expand this capacity through optional extras or Microsoft 365. Similarly to Google Drive, Microsoft has a suite of web apps for its popular Office applications so if you're used to Microsoft's productivity apps, synchronizing OneDrive with your NAS could be a good shout as it allows for continued usage of the company's cloud backend.

3 Apple iCloud

If you own an Apple device, be it an iPhone or Mac Mini M4, there's a good chance you have a file or few stored on Apple iCloud. Integrating this popular free-to-use storage solution on your NAS is a great way to indirectly integrate your Apple hardware into your localized storage setup. One problem with iCloud is not many platforms support it. If looking at a prebuilt enclosure, you'll need to consider which brand allows iCloud integration. Synology is one example as DSM makes it easy to connect to just about any cloud storage service. TrueNAS and other offerings may not be as user-friendly.

2 Dropbox

Dropbox is available on almost every platform, be it smartphones or desktop PCs. Because of its wide availability, Dropbox can prove useful when added to your NAS by allowing everyone in the household to synchronize their storage and enjoy the versatility of accessing Dropbox from anywhere in the world to offloading most of the data onto the NAS secured within the LAN. 2GB is available for free with 2TB being locked behind a $10 monthly fee.

1 Synology C2

Synology continues to be one of the more popular brands for NAS enclosures and the company has certainly used this to its advantage. Synology C2 is the company's cloud-based platform with storage, password management, backups, and file transfers all bundled into one offering. Prices start from $25 per year for 300GB. C2 Object Storage is where things get interesting as this is similar to AWS, Google Cloud Platform, and Azure. You can get 15GB for free through Synology with each additional TB costing $7 per month. This is for serious data storage and power users.

Remember the 3-2-1 backup rule

Your NAS shouldn't be considered as the single location for storing backups. You must have more than one copy of all your data, just in case something goes wrong and things become corrupted. While I recommend using a NAS instead of cloud storage services as your primary method of storing lots of data, they can prove useful when adding additional locations to your backup plan. Remember to factor in how much data you're working with and how much space will be required on a cloud subscription. You may have to fork out for a paid tier.