No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

FreeNAS vs NetApp Private Storage comparison

Why PeerSpot?
 

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 September 2026, in the NAS category, the mindshare of FreeNAS is 3.9%, up from 2.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NetApp Private Storage is 4.4%, up from 2.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
NAS Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
NetApp Private Storage4.4%
FreeNAS3.9%
Other91.7%
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 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."
"The stability is quite good; our system is in production and we have not had any problems with it, and when a drive fails, we don't really have any disruption because we can easily rebuild the disk, even if it is very large."
"It integrates well into either Windows or Linux environments."
"The solution has been very stable so far."
"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."
"It has the best storage capacity."
"The program is fast, fun to work on and easy."
"After using FreeNAS I will never spend money for commercial products like Dell or 3Par."
"If your company has the budget for NetApp Private Storage I would recommend it."
"Integration with other NetApp solutions and merging them is manageable."
"NetApp has its own dedicated operating system, so it will not be affected by any wireless piggybacking or malware. That's the beauty of NetApp's operating system."
"For recording and stability, NetApp Private Storage is the best."
"The most valuable feature of NetApp Private Storage is out-of-the-box integration with the SAN switches. They are much easier compared to Dell solutions. Additionally, the connector that comes with the solution that allows connection back to the Cisco SAN switches is very good. In Dell, I would need to use an FCIP or CIP port that is required."
"In terms of quality and uptime, it is the thing to have."
"The beauty is it's worth it."
"They have the scalability that we need, that we ask for, and I think it is a very, very good solution."
 

Cons

"If you find the documentation, it is always incomplete and fragmented."
"They can improve the integration with PSA systems. This functionality could be better."
"Its support for Hyper-V clusters."
"They should include clustering for the solution."
"The latest version of the dashboard doesn't work as good as the previous version. Sometimes we change our dashboard back to the previous version because the latest version just doesn't work as good."
"Make it easier to find out how to fix things when something goes wrong."
"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."
"One of my hard drives has failed and the documentation that I've been able to find has not helped."
"The solution could improve by having better support experts. For example, they do not have clear instructions on configuration."
"The price could be lower."
"The documentation could be improved."
"I would like to see the GUI management simplified in the next release."
"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."
"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."
"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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"For our configuration, we pay a little bit less than €10,000 ($12,000 USD) per year."
"Its price is okay. It suits our needs."
"We use the free version of the program."
"Its licensing cost is based on the hardware capacity."
"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,."
"The price of NetApp Private Storage is similar to other solutions. There is typically an annual license required for this solution."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which NAS solutions are best for your needs.
913,683 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
18%
Performing Arts
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Healthcare Company
8%
Outsourcing Company
11%
Construction Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
 

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.
913,683 professionals have used our research since 2012.