17 years helping Singaporean businesses
choose better software

About DiskStation

With Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) you can set up and run various virtual machines, including Windows and Linux, on Synology NAS.

Learn more about DiskStation

Pros:

Disk station have many feature and function for small to large business. Easy to access from anywhere and rapid access to your personal files.

Cons:

To set up remote login was a bit tricky specially setting up a DDNS.

DiskStation ratings

Average score

Ease of Use
4.6
Customer Service
4.2
Features
4.7
Value for Money
4.6

Likelihood to recommend

9.2/10

DiskStation has an overall rating of 4.8 out 5 stars based on 91 user reviews on Capterra.

Have you used DiskStation before?

Share your experiences with other software buyers.

Filter reviews (91)

Harshit
Harshit
Software intern in India
Verified LinkedIn User
Computer Software, 10,000+ Employees
Used the Software for: 6-12 months
Reviewer Source

A worthy product for all developers

5.0 3 years ago

Comments: Best product and definitely worth giving a try

Pros:

The software is designed in such way that it provides a fastest cloud services and our own virtual machine at an insanely low price

Cons:

I am using this software for over 6 months have nothing like cons.

Bill
Owner in US
Information Technology & Services, Self Employed
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

Alternatives Considered:

Excellent small business solution

5.0 4 years ago

Comments: Using ABfB to backup my customers' servers and PCs off-site, and to backup my own local data to B2. So easy to use I backup all my managed PCs for bare metal restore. I can do this because ABfB's dedupe is very good at reducing storage used. Tested restores come up ready to put back into production.

Pros:

The deduping is excellent at conserving space. Several different backup methods including multi-version, incremental and full-system bare metal restore. Can backup Linux servers agentless using SSH keys. Restores so far have been consistently solid. File and folder restores can be initiated from the NAS or the client computer. A report can be emailed daily or weekly showing the status of all backups. Backup as many computers as your bandwidth can handle -- there are no per-machine licensing costs.

Cons:

No bare metal restore for Linux. I have numerous servers, desktops and laptops running Debian, Devuan, and Ubuntu that would be nice to be able to recover without rebuilding.

Peter
Director of Technology Services in US
Nonprofit Organization Management, 201–500 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Diskstation for NFPs

5.0 3 weeks ago New

Comments: Diskstation is very easy to user and setup - My team adapted to in very quickly

Pros:

Diskstation replaced a legacy Windows file server for us! No licensing required!

Cons:

No direct integration with Entra ID for single sign on

Brian
Tech Manager in US
, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Solid & functional

3.0 8 years ago

Comments: My business has been using DiskStation for the last four years. Aside from the occasional hiccup, it has worked admirably. We use it for basic music playback in our music school. We have one at each of our locations, synced so that changes made to one location are reflected at the other. The response is slow at times, particularly when using a remote connection.

Jeremy
Jeremy
Owner in Canada
Verified LinkedIn User
Design
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Synology Diskstation has been an incredibly valuable resource for business and home solutions.

5.0 7 years ago

Pros:

The amount of first-party apps which are aimed at solving a lot of tasks users may have is what makes this software suite great. Other NAS providers may aim at a handful of media and downloading softwares, but Synology makes it clear out of the gate that their focus is on productivity. They produce apps which handle everything from CRM and CMS installations to security camera integration, to virtualization. The sheer value proposition of Diskstation makes it difficult to view this as a valuable product. Their customer service is also spot-on - we had to run an RMA through their center and both Email and Phone support were prompt and helpful.

Cons:

The only issue I have found is either the learning curve of the software is a bit too high for some use cases, or the software doesn't dive deep enough into it outright replacing everything we are using. While I see incredible value for others with the mail server, for instance, it cannot perform everything we need and so it isn't being used. This is only a minor issue though, as I am confident there is something for everybody on in this product.

Stacey
Stacey
Systems Administrator in US
Verified LinkedIn User
Higher Education, 1,001–5,000 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Easy to use, full featureset.

5.0 6 years ago

Comments: I have installed multiple Synology NAS systems for different labs on campus. Built-in multiple 10Gb networking provides fast access. AD integration provides simple authentication path for changing class rosters allowing simple turnover from semester to semester.

Pros:

Provides a intuitive interface to what could be complex configurations. Linux based with a web management interface that allows granular control of configuration. Great support for Active Directory authentication. Security updates are prompt and backwards compatible. The current system software run on the most recent Synology hardware as well as the older hardware. The only thing missing from older hardware are Intel CPU dependent features suck as virtualization. All add-on software modules that you need are freely available for installation via the Package manager.

Cons:

Older or lower end hardware uses a slower ARM CPU. This limits performance compared with Intel CPU based hardware.

Daniel
Daniel
Founder in South Korea
Verified LinkedIn User
Internet, Self Employed
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

The Best Way to Manage and Backup Your Data

5.0 6 years ago

Pros:

DiskStation is so user-friendly. The menus are easy to navigate and you can find what you're looking for very quickly. Setup is a breeze and the add-ons give you more functionality without any added cost. I love the virtual desktop environment that Synology has created for DiskStation. It feels like I'm using another OS but I think that's a good thing. The environment is different enough so I don't confuse it with my main OS but familiar enough so I can do what I need to quickly. Synology has made backing up critical data effortless and made accessing that data very convenient.

Cons:

The software is great but the online support material is lacking in a big way. I wish there were more videos produced by Synology to help users understand the advanced features of the software. It also feels like I'm downloading updates all the time.

Marwan
Technical Support in Jordan
Construction, 51–200 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Alternatives Considered:

DiskStation is the best and cheapest backup solution.

5.0 7 months ago

Comments: DiskStation is the best solution that I use. and has a wide range of integration.

Pros:

DiskStation is cheap and stable, with a large store of applications to integrate with everything. DiskStation can connect to the C2 cloud smoothly.

Cons:

After 5 years of using Diskstation, I didn't find a major con. We can say the frequent updates were annoying.

Kevin
Kevin
IT Manager in US
Verified LinkedIn User
Oil & Energy
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

It works and its dirt cheap. Solid NAS. Support could drastically improve.

5.0 7 years ago

Comments: The cost of storage and the functions, this is a great investment with no learning curve.

Pros:

Pretty much everything but support. Assuming you bought the bare model, you populate the drives. Then use the utility that finds it by MAC and you assign an IP. Connect, and you'll find a rather pretty GUI that resembles windows 7. Updates and simple, and frequently released. 3rd party and native apps are abound. Its also dead simple to set up replication, if you wanted to setup a second unit for DR or backups. I also personally use one at home, using it as a plex host for my home theater, and it performs flawlessly.

Cons:

Support isn't great, and it's overseas. Expect to conduct it all via email, and responses are not quick, Still, its so solid you may never need to contact them. Compared to the costs of a SAN, and other NAS, this should be a no brainer.

Fabruzio
Technician in Italy
Information Technology & Services, 2–10 Employees
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

Synology DiskStation, a must for secure your data

5.0 5 months ago

Comments: Synology diskstation is my backup repository, I save a copy of my data and also several mailbox accounts. So this helps to meet GDPR compliance.
The initial setup was easy and I can find a lot of documentation on internet, or eventually ask for help to Synology support.

Pros:

The interface is simple and intuitive. You can set the nas and install/configure services and apps (I recommend a RAID 5 disk configuration for better performance). I use Diskstation as backup repository for email accounts and data. As data backup, Email backup is crucial too and you can backup e.g. all your 365 mailboxes and features. Also you can set remote backups of your data. Definitely worth the price.

Cons:

DIskstation works well and I don't have any issue to tell

Asanka
Technical Consultant in Sri Lanka
Information Technology & Services, 201–500 Employees
Used the Software for: 6-12 months
Reviewer Source

Worth every penny and then some

5.0 2 years ago

Comments: I have had a excellent experience with DiskStation software and hardware. It's easy to setup and you will be up and running in no time because of this. I really loved the user experience and was pleasantly surprised by how fast the software was.

Pros:

I love the simplicity and the speed of the software. You feel like working on a native app, without the overheads of a native app. It's surprisingly snappy, responsive and feels very polished. It's featured enough for even a middle sized organization.

Cons:

Some notifications point towards actions that needs to be taken (as an example, security gives some suggestions for making your setup more secure). The notification will tell you what need to be done. However, sometimes the instructions can become bit confusing (finding the exact place to execute the instructions). Notification should make a link to whatever the section of the configuration the changes need to be done and take the user there. However this is very minor, and as the time goes by - i got to know what it means by simply looking at the message. (it's not the most intuitive for a first time user though)

Craig
Chief Systems Engineer in US
Computer & Network Security, 2–10 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Product offering are available for all size businesses

5.0 2 years ago

Comments: We use DiskStation for file sharing, imaging, and Hyper-V.

Pros:

the built-in apps are some of the best in the industry. they also provide updates to the native OS with regular frequency. iSCSI work well. Like the ability to backup MS365. We migrated to a new Diskstation from an older Diskstation for one client and they process went so smooth.

Cons:

SMB pricing is good, Enterprise pricing increases exponentially. Would like to see even more third-party integrations.

Roland
Owner in US
Design, 2–10 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

This is a great server set up for an agency or freelancer.

5.0 2 years ago

Comments: Great product. Overall I would recommend this for agencies or freelancers that want to have file storage onsite vs in the cloud.

Pros:

File storage, file sharing, backups and document management were very easy to set up and use. Used this for many years before switching to a cloud storage system.

Cons:

The only thing that I had an issue with was initial set up. It did take us some time to get connected and up and running but once we did it once and had to redo it when we moved offices it was easy.

Bart
Sr. Accountmanager in Netherlands
Information Technology & Services, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Diskstation as fileserver

5.0 2 years ago

Comments: Very good, stable OS and never data loss. Good simple fileserver for small SMB!

Pros:

Price is good, good hardware from Synology, a lot of features or addons-apps to install, good security, a lot of updates, monitoring and logging is great, backup to the cloud is supported.

Cons:

Nothing, it works like expected. Maybe would commercial support be an option to think about in the future as feature

Matthew
Owner/Photographer in US
Photography, 2–10 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Simple. Robust. Customizable. Effective. Reliable.

5.0 2 years ago

Comments: Per-device local & remote backup. Local redundant file storage. Fast & secure NAS solution.

Pros:

Clean interface. Ease of access. Customizable. 3rd Party App support & security. It just WORKS, ALWAYS.

Cons:

I do not have anything that I would attribute to a Con in all truth.

Jarrod
Director of Photography in US
Marketing & Advertising, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

Useful software from the NAS manufacturer

5.0 5 years ago

Pros:

Diskstation is both software and hardware for enterprise or personal sever use. The hardware comes in different configurations like 2, 4 or 6 drive bays with different ram and CPU options as well. The software allows you to configure your NAS to the exact needs for your solution. It’s extremely useful when the hardware throws an error (like we have experienced due to bad drives and not anything due to the diskstation hardware). The software tells you the error immediately on login and what time it happened. There’s a reason synology is the industry leader in storage, the diskstation platform is smart, easy to setup even for those who are new to networks and network storage, and it’s smart.

Cons:

The interface can be cluttered sometimes and a little hard to find a specific setting.

Daniel
Consultant in Sweden
Information Technology & Services, Self Employed
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Great product

5.0 2 years ago

Pros:

Awesome Nas software which does all you want and then some. I sincerely recommend this over any other kind of Nas that's available out there.

Cons:

Nothing, it's just a Great product. The only thing I miss is being able to run my own hardware.

Verified Reviewer
Verified LinkedIn User
Utilities, 201–500 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Ease of implementation

5.0 4 years ago

Pros:

The ease of implementation of this server with DiskStation and software is a massive plus for synology.

Cons:

To set up remote login was a bit tricky specially setting up a DDNS. However, the community is very helpful.

Verified Reviewer
Verified LinkedIn User
Real Estate, 501–1,000 Employees
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

Synology DiskStation for Business

5.0 2 years ago

Comments: DiskStation has been great for the company and allows us to continuously adapt to an ever-changing work environment.

Pros:

This software allowed us to create a NAS system to be shared with users in the office. We were able to set and configure rules and install applications as needed to fit our needs.

Cons:

There is a learning curve to the software.

Christopher
Christopher
Cofounder in US
Verified LinkedIn User
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

I had no idea that owning a Synology would be one of the best decisions I'd ever made.

4.0 7 years ago

Pros:

There are hundreds of apps that you can install to extend the functionality of your Synology. I put docker on it and am using it as a testbed for my web development projects.

Cons:

The support documentation for the product is good but could be better. Many of the add-ons apps don't have any documentation on how to use the app.

Verified Reviewer
Verified LinkedIn User
Computer & Network Security, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

A very good OS makes a very good NAS

5.0 6 years ago

Pros:

I was skeptical when deciding about a new NAS. Synology was for sure an expensive solution, but all reviews I've read came to the conclusion that it works due to having the best OS out there. So I got it and I have to say that I'm really impressed with the OS, it's set of features are also endless. It has all kinds of NAS-related features, but also a lot of features you can use in a small business, it pretty much can replace a small server.

Cons:

Nothing so far, no issues, no problems. Only thing that comes to mind is that it's expensive compared to other similar devices in terms of hardware.

Verified Reviewer
Verified LinkedIn User
Banking, 201–500 Employees
Used the Software for: 6-12 months
Reviewer Source

Surveillance Station

5.0 5 years ago

Comments: I couldn't be happier with the functionality and reliability of Diskstation

Pros:

This is a very handy and inexpensive surveillance system for individuals or small businesses. We currently have 5 cameras connected and plan on adding several more.

Cons:

There really aren't any actual cons to this software. At first it seems a bit pedestrian for a lack of a better term, but it's truly powerful enough for small businesses.

MUHAMMAD
IT Coordinator in US
Information Technology & Services, 201–500 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

SANology

5.0 6 years ago

Pros:

Synology is amazing SAN Server. Its OS is very user-friendly. You can create and manage multiple raids of a same or different type in one enterprise level Disk Station. You can add a hot spare drive that kicks in itself in case of any drive failure You can manage users and groups and grant them required rights like FTP read only etc.

Cons:

Sometimg update requires reboot that sucks

Verified Reviewer
Verified LinkedIn User
Motion Pictures & Film, 2–10 Employees
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

One of the best NAS products around

5.0 6 years ago

Comments: Having centralized backup for all business computers, as well as easy-to-manage sharing and access permissions has been a great feature of the Synology gear.

Pros:

The interface is easy to use but also incredibly powerful. There are so many add-on packages that make this device even more powerful.

Cons:

The only possible downside I see is paid support for exFAT instead of built-in support. Running the latest version of DiskStation also requires buying Synology hardware, which isn't the cheapest hardware around.

Brian
Brian
Network Services Manager in US
Verified LinkedIn User
Construction, 1,001–5,000 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Great small business class storage along with excellent home storage features.

5.0 5 years ago

Comments: Great product for small business or low end storage needs.

Pros:

Great price, easy to setup, awesome performance and many features.

Cons:

The only thing that I can say would be I wish they would focus on a higher end business line.