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FreeNAS vs NetApp Private Storage comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 7, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

FreeNAS
Ranking in NAS
14th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
NetApp Private Storage
Ranking in NAS
9th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2026, in the NAS category, the mindshare of FreeNAS is 4.0%, up from 2.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NetApp Private Storage is 4.4%, up from 2.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
NAS Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
NetApp Private Storage4.4%
FreeNAS4.0%
Other91.6%
NAS
 

Featured Reviews

Vincenzo D'Aniello - PeerSpot reviewer
Software developer at TREXON S.R.L.
Open-source with great disk management and task synchronization
The system itself allows you to add any feature. The only bad thing is that this maybe depends on FreeBSD, and sometimes finding documentation is difficult. For example, we knew that previous versions automatically enabled the Linux kernel, yet with the recent version, this was no longer the case. Now, there was the possibility of being able to create Debian-based jails, and finding the documentation was not easy or fast. That said, in the end, we succeeded. If you find the documentation, it is always incomplete and fragmented.
Atilla Celiloglu - PeerSpot reviewer
Broadcast Technology Director at tv8
Has supported continuous broadcasting with reliable performance and consistent operations
They can make more solutions for cloud integration in NetApp Private Storage. It should be easier to use the cloud S3 integration, maybe from a NetApp interface, where users can choose the type of storage before sending to S3. I would like to see more audit and performance logs via cloud integrations and ONTAP. Without the need for separate software.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The fact that no data are lost when a hard drive fails is extremely reassuring, as I have had two of five drives fail at one time and no data were lost."
"FreeNAS is much simpler and easier to use than other solutions, but we don't have the complete range of features that come with the full version."
"It integrates well into either Windows or Linux environments."
"It has the best storage capacity."
"The ease of use of the 'jail', the management of backups, and copies to easily create test and pre-production scenarios have speeded up the development and distribution of business apps."
"After using FreeNAS I will never spend money for commercial products like Dell or 3Par."
"The program is fast, fun to work on and easy."
"Its stability is the most valuable. It is reliable, and we don't have to worry too much about it."
"They have the scalability that we need, that we ask for, and I think it is a very, very good solution."
"The solution is stable."
"Its flexibility and ability to configure volumes is its most valuable aspect; I have no problem configuring the product for different kinds of use cases and configuring throughput or configuring some kind of logical volumes and so on."
"We get our data faster and it's very reliable; we don't go down."
"The beauty is it's worth it."
"Integration with other NetApp solutions and merging them is manageable."
"The solution scales well."
"Really, I sell only NetApp because I know it and it's really good and very predictable."
 

Cons

"The one thing that I find difficult to do which is very time-consuming is that I like to have a backup of the important files."
"They should include clustering for the solution."
"Make it easier to find out how to fix things when something goes wrong."
"They can improve the integration with PSA systems. This functionality could be better."
"If you find the documentation, it is always incomplete and fragmented."
"The support for S3 needs to be improved."
"One of my hard drives has failed and the documentation that I've been able to find has not helped."
"Its support for Hyper-V clusters."
"They need a little more technical people in Akola. Most of the NetApp people are in Bangalore, Mumbai, or Delhi, but there are very few in Akola. I think NetApp has few technicians in Akola because they mostly rely on partners to service this area."
"They can make more solutions for cloud integration in NetApp Private Storage. It should be easier to use the cloud S3 integration, maybe from a NetApp interface, where users can choose the type of storage before sending to S3."
"There is room for improvement in the support. It has been a problem for our team."
"There may actually be so many features that the end-user gets lost in the volume."
"I would like to have the Active-Active feature. Some competitors already have it. I would like NetApp to add it to stay competitive."
"I think that it should work better with Microsoft solutions, more integrated with Microsoft. We also need integrated NAS and block storage."
"If you overthink provisioning, if you over-allocate, if it gets full, or if something crazy happens and you haven't been watching, then you can lose data."
"The solution could improve by having better support experts. For example, they do not have clear instructions on configuration."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"For our configuration, we pay a little bit less than €10,000 ($12,000 USD) per year."
"We use the free version of the program."
"Its licensing cost is based on the hardware capacity."
"Its price is okay. It suits our needs."
"The price of NetApp Private Storage is similar to other solutions. There is typically an annual license required for this solution."
"The product is costly."
"The price could be lower."
"It is an expensive solution."
"NetApp Private Storage is cheaper here in India compared to other solutions, such as Dell."
"In general, I am pleased with the pricing, though it is a little high."
"We negotiate whatever deal we can get on the type of storage that it is, but it's totally under our control,."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
20%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Healthcare Company
8%
Construction Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Construction Company
11%
Outsourcing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Large Enterprise2
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise7
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
What needs improvement with NetApp Private Storage?
They can make more solutions for cloud integration in NetApp Private Storage. It should be easier to use the cloud S3 integration, maybe from a NetApp interface, where users can choose the type of ...
What is your primary use case for NetApp Private Storage?
It consists of a large production company and national television channels broadcasting 24/7. We wanted to choose a stable product with flawless SLA levels for an organization that broadcasts 24/7....
What advice do you have for others considering NetApp Private Storage?
I believe it will deliver the expected performance and stability for television channels and production studios. On a scale of 1-10, I rate NetApp Private Storage an 8.
 

Also Known As

No data available
NPS
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Morroni Technologies Inc., Creative Integrations
ASE IT, Concerto Cloud
Find out what your peers are saying about FreeNAS vs. NetApp Private Storage and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
917,433 professionals have used our research since 2012.