In the world of network-attached storage (NAS), Unraid offers an interesting middle ground. Unlike traditional RAID, which demands identical drives and prioritizes performance, Unraid offers a more flexible approach — mixing drive sizes while maintaining redundancy through a parity system. It is less restrictive than Synology or QNAP products, fully and natively supports Docker and virtual machines, yet lacks some enterprise-grade features found in TrueNAS.

This mix of strengths and trade-offs makes Unraid a compelling choice for some and a frustrating one for others. So, let’s break down the key benefits and drawbacks to see if it’s the right fit for you.

One of Unraid’s biggest selling points is its ability to handle different drive sizes and types within the same array. Traditional RAID configurations require drives of the same size, and upgrading them often involves replacing every disk in the array. Unraid, on the other hand, lets you mix old and new drives, drive sizes, brands, and expand your storage incrementally without any data loss. This makes it especially useful for home users who want to repurpose older drives while still benefiting from a functional NAS.