NAS vs. Cloud Storage: Which One is Best?
NAS (Network Attached Storage) is becoming a popular storage method for people to take control over their data and move away from cloud storage companies that take advantage of their data for their own profits.
Although cloud storage is the mainstream storage option for families, businesses, and personal use, NAS storage is an option many are choosing due to more control over where data resides.
However, some cloud providers, such as Internxt, allow you to connect your cloud storage account to your QNAP or Synology NAS device, allowing you greater control over your data and improved flexibility in how you store, sync, and back up files across both local and remote storage.
Throughout this article, we will explain the differences between NAS vs. cloud storage, the pros and cons of choosing each option, and connecting Internxt to your NAS device.
We will also cover how NAS devices work, costs, benefits, plus the advantages and disadvantages.
First, we will explain what NAS storage is so you can decide whether it's the right storage option for you.
Table of contents
- What is NAS storage, and how does it work?
- NAS vs cloud storage costs
- NAS or cloud storage: Which one should you choose?
- When to choose NAS vs. cloud storage
- NAS vs. cloud storage comparison
- Related articles
- Frequently asked questions about NAS vs cloud storage
What is NAS storage, and how does it work?
NAS is a file storage system that allows multiple users to store and access data from a centralized disk capacity. It is a dedicated device connected to your home or office network that stores and shares files.
NAS consists of multiple hard drives, and more can be added for greater capacity, which can be used for archiving and cloud backups.
NAS storage is accessed on a local area network (LAN) via an Ethernet connection, so files are accessed through a browser or app.
You can use NAS storage to store any files, including videos, photos, games, programs, legal documents, and more.
Common use cases for NAS storage include:
- Share and access files among multiple users or devices on a local network.
- Automate backups for personal or business data to prevent data loss.
- Store and stream videos, music, and photos to your TV, computer, or smartphone.
- Access your files in the cloud without relying on third-party providers.
NAS vs cloud storage costs
If you’re considering choosing a NAS, the first thing to be aware of is that the upfront costs can be quite high, depending on your storage needs.
Therefore, when choosing NAS or cloud storage, you should be aware of the upfront costs and the time it takes for you to make money back compared to a cloud storage subscription.
NAS for Home users
Home NAS systems can be used for personal use for your media collection, streaming, or backups, and offer up to 16TB of file storage. You can buy a diskless NAS device and then purchase hard drives or SSDs separately to customize your setup to best meet your needs.
- QNAP NAS enclosure: €350–€600
- 2 × 8TB NAS drives: €280–€400 each → €560–€800
Total cost: €910–€1,400
Cloud storage for home users
For cloud storage for personal use, Internxt offers post-quantum and zero-knowledge encryption, so if you want the same control over the privacy of your files as your NAS system, Internxt offers the best encrypted cloud storage plus NAS and Rclone support for its Ultimate plans.
If you already have a NAS device, you don’t have to worry about subscription costs with Internxt, as it offers a lifetime cloud storage plan for €585, so you can combine your NAS device with your cloud storage with no more subscription costs and maximum privacy.
Internxt also offers a full privacy suite, which includes Antivirus, VPN, Meet, Mail, and rclone support, giving you everything you need to protect your privacy, take control of your data, and secure your devices.
Full features can be viewed below, and you can visit our website to learn more about Internxt NAS support and pick up your exclusive 85% discount on any Internxt lifetime plan.
| Plan | Storage | Features | Annual (Paid monthly) | Lifetime Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essential | 1TB |
|
€9.99/month | €380 |
| Premium | 3TB |
|
€19.99/month | €580 |
| Ultimate | 5TB |
|
€29.99/month | €780 |
| *Prices are correct at the time of writing and are subject to change. For latest prices, check https://internxt.com/pricing | ||||
Small businesses
Small businesses will likely have more needs for their file storage. As a result, this kind of use case for NAS storage will require additional features such as access controls, stronger encryption, and support for accessing and sharing folders between users
QNAP SMB NAS (4–8 bay): €600–€1,500
4 × 6TB–8TB NAS drives: €150–€250 each → €600–€1,000
RAM / SSD cache/network upgrades: €300–€1,000
Total cost: €1,500–€3,500
Cloud storage for business
Choosing a NAS for your small business is a solid option if you want full control over your data, but it comes with additional costs such as maintenance, hardware upgrades, NAS cloud backup, and ongoing management, which could cost an extra €1,030–€3,880 per year.
Enterprises
Enterprise NAS systems offer even more security control, performance, and storage for large-scale data needs. Therefore, they are commonly used in data centers and support thousands of simultaneous connections.
QNAP enterprise/rack NAS: €1,500–€5,000+
8–16 enterprise-grade drives: €200–€400 each → €1,600–€6,400
Redundancy/networking / SSD cache / UPS/expansion: €2,000–€5,000+
Total cost: €5,000–€15,000+
The initial costs also include ongoing maintenance and other costs, which may include:
- IT administration / managed services: €5,000–€20,000
- Hardware maintenance contracts/warranties: €1,000–€5,000
- Drive replacements and failure redundancy: €1,000–€4,000
- Electricity and cooling: €300–€1,500
- Software, backup, and security licensing: €2,000–€10,000
Total per year: €9,300–€40,500
Cloud storage for enterprises
If you want to avoid on-premises storage or are interested in migrating to the cloud, then Internxt also offers S3 enterprise cloud storage.
Internxt S3 is an object storage solution designed to store petabytes of data for enterprises that need to back up and access large data lakes.
Internxt offers a flat pay-as-you-go fee at €7/TB/month for full scalability, making it the perfect cloud storage for small businesses up to large enterprises. There are also no additional fees, so you can manage your cloud storage budget accordingly without worrying about any unexpected costs.
In terms of NAS vs cloud storage, S3 is the better option for storing unstructured data, whereas NAS is better for teams in a local or office environment.
NAS or cloud storage: Which one should you choose?
The good news is, you don’t have to exclusively choose between NAS vs cloud storage; you can combine both of them to set up a hybrid cloud storage solution, such as using your Internxt Drive account with your QNAP or Synology device.
However, in general, you should consider the following when choosing between NAS or cloud storage:
- Cloud storage is best for users and businesses that need remote access from anywhere, automatic scaling without hardware limits, built-in backup and redundancy, easy collaboration across multiple locations, and minimal maintenance since infrastructure, updates, and security are managed by the provider.
- NAS is best for users and businesses that need high-speed local file access over a private network, full control over hardware and data storage, predictable long-term costs with no subscriptions, customizable storage configurations like RAID, and the ability to operate independently of internet connectivity.
NAS vs cloud storage overview
| Factor | NAS | Cloud Storage |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Fast local network access, best in office or home LAN environments | Access from anywhere with internet, ideal for remote teams |
| Performance | Very high speed and low latency for large file transfers | Depends on internet speed and latency |
| Scalability | Limited by physical hardware, requires upgrades for expansion | Highly scalable on demand with no hardware management |
| Maintenance | User-managed setup, updates, backups, and hardware replacement | Fully managed by provider with automatic redundancy and updates |
| Cost | €900–€1,500 upfront + ~€80–€300 per year ongoing maintenance and electricity | ~€5–€25 per month subscription or one-time payment with lifetime plans |
| Data control | Full control over hardware, privacy, and configuration | Managed by third-party provider with strong security controls |
| Reliability | Depends on RAID setup, backups, and hardware quality | Built-in redundancy across multiple data centers |
| Best use case | Local file sharing, media storage, high-speed internal workflows | Remote collaboration, backups, scalable cloud-native workflows |
When to choose NAS vs. cloud storage
Although NAS and traditional cloud storage offer the same storage, the main difference between NAS vs. cloud storage is data location and control. NAS stores data locally on your hardware, whereas cloud storage relies on third-party servers.
Many prefer NAS for their storage as it gives users full control over their data; they don’t have to rely on cloud storage to host their data on external servers because they own the device where the data is hosted.
In summary, choosing NAS vs. cloud storage often involves data location and control. Many users are concerned about data collection or other privacy concerns from companies like Google Drive.
Choosing to host from their own NAS system prevents these issues.
If you still want a cloud storage service that offers maximum security and privacy for your files and to store large-scale data, companies like Internxt offer post-quantum and zero-knowledge encryption for personal cloud use and S3 storage for a scalable, secure, and affordable method to store unlimited amounts of data for enterprises.
NAS vs. cloud storage comparison
To understand the differences between NAS and cloud storage, we will look at what each service offers to help you choose the best one to fit your needs.
Cost and return on investment
NAS storage may appeal to larger businesses that can afford the initial upfront cost of setting up a NAS system or those who use a hybrid cloud storage approach to data management. This avoids the subscription charges or hidden fees from other cloud providers, giving them a one-time payment and potential savings in the long term.
For individual use, NAS storage can be expensive, depending on the size of the data you want to store. However, the appeal for individual users is that you have full control and ownership of the device, giving you full ownership of your data and total control over the security of your files.
Choose NAS if you want long-term cost efficiency at scale, full data ownership, and can handle upfront investment and maintenance.
Choose cloud storage if you want low upfront cost, predictable pricing, or one-time lifetime plans, easy scaling, and no hardware maintenance responsibilities.
Security
Security for NAS storage and in the cloud work in similar ways, the difference being that NAS requires additional setup, tools, and maintenance to ensure files remain secure. NAS will require a team of experts to ensure security is maintained and the necessary access controls are implemented.
Cloud storage offers end-to-end encryption, 2FA, and other controls, which all come as standard with the provider, and they handle the infrastructure while the data owner secures the data.
However, not all cloud storage offers the same security, with many people choosing alternatives to Big Tech companies like Google Drive in favor of Internxt’s zero-knowledge encrypted cloud storage that doesn’t hold the encryption keys to your data.
Only you hold the keys to your files, meaning nobody else can access your files without permission, offering a higher level of security and more control over the privacy of your files.
So, if you’re considering NAS vs. cloud storage and don’t want the upfront costs of NAS but want the same security, Internxt offers the best security and privacy of your files with its business, family, or subscription plans.
Choose NAS if you need full control over encryption, access rules, and physical data security, and can manage security maintenance internally.
Choose cloud storage if you want managed encryption, automatic security updates, and enterprise-grade protection without handling security infrastructure yourself.
Backup
Endpoint backup is crucial to protecting data to avoid ransomware, loss, or corruption. Cloud storage backups store multiple versions of your files across servers for increased redundancy to ensure you can always access your files in case of accidental data loss, natural disasters, or cyberattacks.
NAS storage relies on on-premises backups on physical devices and may be more prone to hardware failure, theft, or other events such as fires, which would lose your data forever.
Choose NAS if you want local control over backups, fast recovery on-site, and are able to manage and maintain your own backup strategy.
Choose cloud storage if you want automated backups, version history, off-site protection, and disaster recovery handled for you.
Setup
If you want to enable remote access or cloud-like features, you need to handle network configurations, firewalls, and security.
Although this setup requires more investment in time and money, the benefits of setting up a NAS vs. cloud storage appeal to users or businesses that demand full control over their data.
Choose NAS if you want full control over configuration, are willing to handle setup and maintenance, and need a customized local storage system.
Choose cloud storage if you want a fast, simple setup with no infrastructure management and immediate access to scalable storage.
Maintenance
Once you are set up in the cloud, there is very little to do regarding maintenance, as the provider handles all updates.
In contrast, choosing NAS will be more demanding, and you must continuously monitor the health of your hard drives to prevent performance issues while accessing the cloud, monitor backups, and update the firmware to prevent hackers from exposing vulnerabilities in the system.
Choose NAS if you want full control and are prepared to actively manage hardware, updates, and system health.
Choose cloud storage if you want a low-maintenance solution where all infrastructure, updates, and security are handled automatically.
Scalability
Moving on to scalability, many cloud storage providers will have a limit on the amount of storage offered, which may not suit the needs of enterprises holding large data lakes or warehouses.
Although traditional cloud storage is easier to scale to meet business demands, the limited storage may not be suitable for bigger businesses.
Having said that, the ease of scalability in cloud storage is advantageous to smaller businesses or freelancers. Even with Internxt S3 storage, you can scale your storage more easily at a fixed cost and increase storage when required. It is a cheaper alternative to AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud.
It is possible to scale NAS storage by adding more drives; it is a more manual process that includes installing additional hardware and managing the system configurations. Upgrading your NAS storage, therefore, will require more resources, planning, and money to ensure it is done correctly.
Choose NAS if you have stable storage needs, want predictable long-term capacity, and are prepared to expand hardware manually when needed.
Choose cloud storage if you need flexible, on-demand scaling with minimal effort and fast adaptation to changing storage requirements.
Related articles
Internxt NAS support for QNAP and Synology
Frequently asked questions about NAS vs cloud storage
What is the main difference between NAS and cloud storage?
NAS is local storage hardware you manage yourself, while cloud storage is hosted online and managed by a provider.
Which is cheaper, NAS or cloud storage?
NAS has a higher upfront cost but lower long-term cost at fixed capacity. Cloud storage has a low upfront cost but ongoing subscription fees.
Is cloud storage more secure than NAS?
Cloud storage includes managed encryption and security updates, while NAS security depends on how well it is configured and maintained.
Can NAS be accessed remotely like cloud storage?
Yes, but it requires additional setup, such as VPNs or remote access tools, unlike cloud storage, which works anywhere by default.
Which is better for business use?
Cloud storage is better for scalability and remote teams, while NAS is better for local high-speed access and full data control.
What happens if my NAS fails?
Data can be lost if backups are not properly configured, whereas cloud storage typically includes built-in redundancy.
Can I use both NAS and cloud storage together?
Yes, many businesses use a hybrid approach, storing active files on NAS and backups or archives in the cloud.