For years the "which NAS do we get" question had an easy answer: Synology. In 2024-2025 a direct competitor arrived, Ugreen, with more aggressive hardware and lower prices. We deployed it in production at three clients. Here is an honest comparison.
Hardware
On 4-bay models under €1,000:
- Synology DS923+: AMD Ryzen R1600, 4 GB RAM (up to 32), 2x 1GbE, M.2 NVMe cache slot.
- Ugreen DXP4800 Plus: Intel Pentium Gold 8505, 8 GB DDR5 (up to 64), 1x 10GbE + 1x 2.5GbE, two M.2 slots.
On paper Ugreen crushes Synology at price parity. Newer CPU, more base RAM, 10GbE included. On sequential transfers Ugreen is genuinely faster, especially if you actually use 10GbE.
Software
Here the story changes. DSM, Synology's OS, is the reason many people pay the premium: mature, stable, with an app ecosystem (Hyper Backup, Active Backup for Business, Drive, Photos) that has been working for years and covers most business needs.
Ugreen's UGOS is evolving fast. UGOS Pro (2025) has closed many gaps: snapshots, replication, Docker, Active Directory. But for advanced business cases (Hyper Backup to cloud, Surveillance Station with multi-brand cameras, Drive with selective sync) Synology remains more solid.
12-month reliability
Clients where we deployed Ugreen a year ago: no hardware failure, two non-trivial firmware updates (one with downtime). Synology clients installed 5+ years ago: DSM updates without incident, single-disk replacement with SHR without data loss.
The experience pool with Synology is vastly larger. Ugreen is growing, but it is too early to call 5-year reliability. If your NAS must run 7 years and be forgotten, Synology is the safe call.
When we pick what
Synology for:
- Companies with advanced backup needs (Active Backup for Business: servers, VMs, M365, Google Workspace).
- Clients wanting a "set and forget" system without in-house IT.
- Multi-NAS setups with site-to-site replication.
Ugreen for:
- Production studios needing 10GbE and lots of RAM on a tight budget.
- Technical clients who will leverage Docker and self-hosting.
- Sequential workloads (video editing, high-res photography, RAW archives) where speed beats software.
The hybrid we often use
On new builds we sometimes put a Ugreen as the "performance tier" for active work, and a Synology as the "backup tier" receiving nightly Snapshot Replication. Each does what it is best at.
Final advice
If it is your first NAS and you must pick one: Synology. If you already know Linux, Docker and self-hosting and want more hardware per euro: Ugreen. Both are serious products in 2025; it was about time Synology got a real competitor.