Synology DS1825+ Review: Best Software, Check the Drive List

Updated 2026-08-21 Researched, not tested in person Vendor neutral

Quick answer

Eight bays scaling to 360TB with expansion units, optional 10GbE or 25GbE networking, and DSM, which remains the most polished NAS operating system anyone ships. Buy it if you want the NAS to be an appliance that works rather than a project. Check Synology's compatibility list for this model before you buy drives, because current Plus-series units are specific about which drives they support and that can change the total cost significantly.

Eight bays, 25GbE as an option, DSM at its best, and a drive compatibility policy you must read first.

Best NAS Software

Synology DS1825+ Enterprise Video Production and Storage DiskStation

~$1,368

An eight-bay DiskStation scaling to 360TB with expansion units, with optional 10GbE or 25GbE network cards and high-availability clustering.

Check price on Amazon

Specifications

Bays	8, expandable
Capacity	160 TB, growing to 360 TB with expansion units
Stated throughput	Up to 2,239 MB/s
Concurrent editing	Synology states support for 50 or more concurrent users editing 4K and 8K projects
Networking	Optional 10GbE or 25GbE upgrade cards
Availability	High-availability clustering with automated failover
Warranty	3 years, with enterprise support options

Specifications above come from Synology's published product information. Treat pricing as approximate, since Amazon pricing moves.

What it does well

DSM is the reason people buy Synology. Snapshots, Hyper Backup, Synology Photos, Docker, virtual machines and surveillance all work without you assembling them, and the update record is long.
Expansion to 360TB means the chassis is not the ceiling, which matters for anyone whose storage grows steadily rather than in one jump.
A 25GbE card option is unusual at this level and gives the unit somewhere to go if your network catches up.
High availability clustering and automated failover are features you would otherwise build yourself, badly.
The community is the largest of any NAS platform, so almost every problem you can have has already been answered.

Where it falls short

Drive compatibility is the thing to check before ordering. Synology publishes a per-model compatibility list, and current Plus-series units are specific about which drives are supported for full functionality. Verify your intended drives against the list for this exact model before buying either.
Synology hardware is consistently behind competitors on raw specification for the money. You are paying for the software.
Eight spinning drives is real noise and real power, and this is not a living room device.
The 25GbE option is an additional card and an additional cost, and it is useless without a 25GbE switch at the other end.
The performance figures Synology quotes are best-case aggregated numbers with the right networking and drives fitted. Your figure will be lower.

What owners report

Owner reports on Synology are the most consistent in the category: people describe the software as the reason they stay, and the hardware value as the reason they occasionally look elsewhere. The recent point of contention across the Plus line is drive compatibility, and it is worth reading the current list for your specific model rather than relying on what was true for an older one.

Our Synology versus QNAP comparison covers the two mature platforms directly. The short version is that Synology is the appliance and QNAP gives you more hardware and more rope. Either way, read our security hardening guide before the NAS touches the internet.

On drives, our guide to choosing NAS drives covers CMR against SMR, workload ratings and why desktop drives misbehave in a multi-bay array. Combine it with the RAID capacity calculator so you know what eight bays actually yields after redundancy.

Who it suits

Anyone who wants the NAS to be an appliance rather than a hobby.
Small studios and teams where several people hit the same storage at once.
Buyers who value a long software update record over raw specification.

Who should skip it

Buyers optimising for hardware per dollar, where UGREEN and QNAP win.
Anyone who has already bought drives without checking the model's compatibility list.
Homes that need four bays, where a DS925+ costs far less and does the same job.

Alternatives worth considering

Half the Bays

Synology 4-Bay DiskStation DS925+

~$754

The same DSM software in four bays with dual 2.5GbE, at roughly half the price. Most homes do not need eight bays, and four large drives hold more than most households ever fill. The same drive compatibility list applies.

Check price on Amazon

More Hardware

UGREEN NASync DXP8800 Plus 8-Bay NAS

~$1,370

A 12th gen 10-core i5 and two 10GbE ports built in, for similar money. You trade software maturity and community size for a much stronger specification sheet and explicitly stated third-party drive support.

Check price on Amazon

Cheaper Eight-Bay

QNAP TS-873A-8G 8 Bay NAS

~$1,199

AMD Ryzen Embedded V1500B, 8GB expandable to 64GB, dual 2.5GbE. Less money and more memory headroom, on a platform with its own long history. Keep it off the public internet.

Check price on Amazon

Keep reading

This review draws on published specifications, manufacturer figures and the consensus of verified owner reviews. We have not tested this product ourselves, and we say so rather than implying otherwise. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

Frequently asked questions

Does the Synology DS1825+ work with any hard drives?

Synology publishes a compatibility list per model, and current Plus-series units are specific about which drives are supported for full functionality. Check the list for this exact model before buying drives, because it can add meaningfully to the total cost. Do not assume that what worked in an older DiskStation applies here.

Is Synology DSM worth the price premium?

For most people, yes. You are paying for software that works without assembly: snapshots, backup, photo management, containers and surveillance all integrated and maintained. If you enjoy building and maintaining a server, that premium buys you something you would rather do yourself.

Do I need eight bays?

Only if four large drives will not hold what you have, or if you want two independent storage pools. Bays cost power, heat and noise as well as money. Use the RAID capacity calculator to see what four versus eight bays yields after redundancy before deciding.

Should I get the 10GbE or 25GbE card?

Only if the rest of your network can use it. A 25GbE card with a gigabit switch is money spent on nothing. Even 10GbE needs an array wide enough or fast enough to feed it. Work out what your drives can sustain first with the throughput calculator.

Synology or QNAP?

Synology for software polish and the largest community. QNAP for more hardware at the price and more flexibility. Both are mature. QNAP has been targeted by ransomware campaigns aimed at internet-exposed devices, which is a strong argument for keeping any NAS admin interface off the public internet regardless of brand.

How we choose: we compare published manufacturer specifications, drive datasheets, published reliability statistics and verified owner reviews. We do not test hardware in person, and we are not tied to any NAS vendor. Capacity and power figures here are researched guidance, not a warranty. RAID protects against drive failure, not against deletion, ransomware, fire or theft, so keep verified backups regardless of what any calculator tells you.

Working out your own cost per usable terabyte? The Home Server Build Planner is the paid version of these pages: 8 printable worksheets you fill in with your own numbers, plus the full PDF, $29.