NetApp StorageGRID vs Qumulo comparison

NetApp and Qumulo are both solutions in the File and Object Storage category. NetApp is ranked #9 with an average rating of 8.3, while Qumulo is ranked #21. NetApp holds a 5.8% mindshare in FaOS, compared to Qumulo’s 4.0% mindshare. Additionally, 88% of NetApp users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Qumulo users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 4, 2024

Qumulo and NetApp StorageGRID compete in the data storage market. Qumulo appears to have the upper hand in ease of use and customer support, while NetApp StorageGRID offers advanced features justifying its pricing model.

Features: Qumulo offers scalable file storage, real-time analytics, and seamless cloud integration. Their analytics provide insights into processes, users, and file interactions, enhancing overall management. NetApp StorageGRID provides robust object storage capabilities, flexibility, and reliable data management functions. It integrates well with backup platforms like Veeam and Veritas and supports data deduplication and compression, saving significant storage space.

Room for Improvement: Qumulo could enhance its data protection features and provide more detailed reporting capabilities. Their recovery options in disaster scenarios also need improvement and additional failover strategies should be integrated by default. NetApp StorageGRID could refine its interface to improve user experience further and simplify policy management for Information Lifecycle Management. Enhancing its integration with third-party tools could also benefit users.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Qumulo offers straightforward deployment with excellent customer support, efficiently guiding clients through setup processes. This focus on simplicity is contrasted with NetApp StorageGRID's more complex deployment, which is offset by strong technical support aiding in customization. The choice here often depends on whether clients prioritize ease or flexibility in deployment.

Pricing and ROI: Qumulo presents a competitive pricing model with quick ROI, thanks to lower initial setup costs. This makes it appealing for businesses seeking affordability and rapid returns. NetApp StorageGRID, while demanding a higher upfront investment, promises an impressive ROI over the long term through its rich set of features and scalable solutions. Businesses valuing durability and extended value tend to favor this option.

To learn more, read our detailed NetApp StorageGRID vs. Qumulo Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

NetApp StorageGRID vs. Qumulo

September 2025

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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

Pure Storage FlashBlade

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the File and Object Storage category, the mindshare of Pure Storage FlashBlade is 5.7%, down from 6.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NetApp StorageGRID is 5.8%, up from 4.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Qumulo is 4.0%, up from 3.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

File and Object Storage Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Pure Storage FlashBlade	5.7%
NetApp StorageGRID	5.8%
Qumulo	4.0%
Other	84.5%

File and Object Storage

Featured Reviews

Parul-Patel

Senior Network Engineer at Holy Redeemer Health System, Inc.

High performance and throughput enhance IT backup management

The multi-dimensional scale-out design feature of Pure Storage FlashBlade is not in use in our environment. Regarding data reduction technologies, we don't get much deduplication because the data is already deduplicated from our FlashArray before we get to backup, so there is no benefit of deduplication. Regarding the integration with cloud-native ecosystem tools, we are not on cloud; we are strictly an on-premises solution. Pure Storage FlashBlade is not used by any end-user; it's used only for IT backup, with only about four people in our group managing it. I cannot recommend Pure Storage FlashBlade to other users depending upon their financial situation because it's an expensive solution, and the cost is very high, including licensing and renewal every year. I rate Pure Storage FlashBlade an eight out of ten.

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Michael Lopez

Sr Systems Engineer at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees

Has reduced storage costs and improved snapshot management for large data workloads

The advanced features of NetApp StorageGRID which our upper management wouldn't agree to use, include the S3 feature. We are heavy into AWS, and my thoughts were to develop a small dev environment or even a POC environment on-prem. That's still up in the air as we continue on. Currently, AI has taken over everything with a focus on AI. The upgrades of NetApp StorageGRID present a challenge. It's a rolling upgrade, node by node. At one point, one node would not upgrade. The positive aspect is that it didn't take down the entire environment. The environment remained functional on two different versions. The scalability of NetApp StorageGRID has been proven as we've expanded twice. We started with six or seven nodes and have grown to 15 nodes. It does take time for synchronization to complete. From what I've seen, it took a couple of months for it all to sync up once adding nodes. However, it was transparent. It captured the addition and performed effectively, all happening in the background, steadily and surely.

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VinceVitro

Senior Storage Architect at a healthcare company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Useful data sharing, simple cluster scaling, and excellent support

One aspect of Qumulo that I hoped to see improved was its software upgrade process, which did see significant progress during my usage. Initially, upgrading the software resulted in several minutes of system downtime. However, by the time I departed last summer, the downtime had reduced to mere ten seconds. Although I am unsure if Qumulo has yet achieved a completely outage-free upgrade, I simply performed the upgrades early in the morning before the marketing department began its workday, so any downtime was inconsequential.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The initial setup was straightforward. If you know how to plug in power and network you're pretty much qualified. They were on site to configure the network, the box to fit into our network architecture. Other than that, we self-managed from there."

"Approximately 40% to 50% of my time is saved using Pure Storage FlashBlade compared to different products."

"What I like best about Pure Storage FlashBlade is its object storage functionality, plus it has fast underlying hardware. Pure Storage FlashBlade is also very stable. I find its stability one of its valuable features."

"The tool's most valuable features are data warehousing, speedy recovery, and analytics. Its latest release is cost-effective."

"The product is scalable and easy to expand."

"Among its most appealing features are its ease of handling and minimal maintenance requirements."

"The most valuable features include the ease of implementation, ease of use and the speed that you can do backup and recovery on."

"It helps simplify our storage, because the user interface is very simple and the installation is easy."

More Pure Storage FlashBlade pros

"It helps automate our storage infrastructure."

"StorageGRID is designed for cloud-based, highly scalable storage. Think big names like service providers like Google who need massive storage volumes with scalability. It also offers cloud-enabled storage capabilities with cloud management functionality. So, if you prioritize scalability and cloud integration, StorageGRID is the way to go. Its object-based storage is built specifically for that purpose."

"The implementation with NetApp went smoothly. It is a 'setup and forget' type of appliance."

"It improves our operational efficiency."

"The speed of the disks removed the bottleneck from our storage."

"The feature of NetApp StorageGRID that has significantly improved data storage management for my customers is the value of the S3 API because it allows developers who are not infrastructure-oriented to use it and write code against it."

"It has awesome scalability. We consume it with storage appliance nodes, then we just plug and play as we need more."

"Duplication, interface and the manageability is good and simple."

More NetApp StorageGRID pros

"The most valuable feature is real-time analytics."

"The data protection algorithm to protect the data between the nodes has been the most valuable feature. The integration with backup platforms such as Veeam and Veritas has also been valuable."

"The most valuable features of Qumulo are its rolling updates and all-day availability."

"The ratio of total operational cost to complexity versus feature set is very good."

"The most valuable features of Qumulo are the ease of management and special permissions that are quick to enable. The overall performance of the solution is good."

"It is a very stable product. I never faced any issues."

"The feature that I like most is the analytics part of the file system."

"The most valuable feature of Qumulo is the ability to share files and reliability."

Cons

"To improve FlashBlade, some analysts suggest enhancing its handling of relational database management systems and SQL queries."

"There is some room for new features related to authentication and integration with Kubernetes, and other solution using S3 Bucket."

"An area for improvement in Pure Storage FlashBlade is its price. It could be reduced. The technical support for Pure Storage FlashBlade also needs improvement. It used to be good, with more experienced engineers. Nowadays, it isn't, and it takes longer for support to solve problems."

"It's on the expensive side, as expected for a niche product."

"I would like to have Snapshots and Snapmail in the next release. People who came from a NetApp background, especially expect these features."

"In terms of technical support, the experience has been mixed. The support is done through email and is not that great, making it a very problematic area I've been dealing with for over four years."

"On our dedupe during our initial buy, we were expecting a number a little higher like 4x. However, we are getting about 3.6. While it is close enough, it doesn't quite hit the numbers. So, this has been a challenge."

"Recently, while upgrading the version code, one of the controllers failed. Replacing the controller took between 14 to 20 days."

More Pure Storage FlashBlade cons

"Data retrieval speed could be better."

"The user interface of NetApp StorageGRID might need some tweaks, and configuration is maybe a little bit confusing for those who are not so experienced."

"They can enhance the deduplication and compression features, which are crucial for saving more disk space."

"The processes around installation and upgrade need improvement."

"Improvements need to be made in the support area."

"The upgrades of NetApp StorageGRID present challenges. It's a rolling upgrade, node by node. At one point, one node would not upgrade."

"The redundancy and reliability are great, but I also see room for improvement there. I would like to see more efficiency in the storage and dedupe/compression solutions."

"It has its quirks here and there, but it is an older NetApp system."

More NetApp StorageGRID cons

"One aspect of Qumulo that I hoped to see improved was its software upgrade process, which did see significant progress during my usage. Initially, upgrading the software resulted in several minutes of system downtime. However, by the time I departed last summer, the downtime had reduced to mere ten seconds. Although I am unsure if Qumulo has yet achieved a completely outage-free upgrade, I simply performed the upgrades early in the morning before the marketing department began its workday, so any downtime was inconsequential."

"The price of the software is a bit expensive, so a reduction in cost would make it more competitive."

"Qumulo should continue to expand automation and orchestration capabilities."

"In the next release, I would like to see the ability to have more control at a terminal level of the file system."

"Some anti-theft permissions do not transfer well to Qumulo."

"In the future, I would like to see non-disruptive updates."

"The support for iMac and protocols should be improved, not all features are available."

"The solution could improve availability and improve data protection or data services such as compression of deduplication. In a future release, we'd like to have more cloud API integrations."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I rate the tool's pricing a seven to eight out of ten."

"The pricing is relatively expensive due to the FlashBlade technology. However, for companies needing quick and reliable data access, the cost is justified."

"It's a costly solution, but Pure Storage FlashBlade doesn't require additional licenses. All of the software is combined into one bundle."

"We used a reseller for the purchase."

"I feel that the price could always be lowered."

"I have seen ROI. It has allowed me to increase the density of my VMs without having to purchase anything additional."

"Our customers have seen a reduction in TCO."

"Pure Storage FlashBlade is a hardware appliance, and it's very expensive if you compare its price with other solutions. You can get the same features and benefits from its competitor, VAST Data, but for half the price of Pure Storage FlashBlade."

More Pure Storage FlashBlade pricing and cost advice

"While we have been able to save money on storage costs, it could be better."

"We save money on storage costs from this solution since it allows us to have a source of revenue from customers consuming the service."

"It is very cost-effective."

"We chose NetApp because of price and performance."

"NetApp is not known for being the cheapest storage option on the market. Almost all of the other storage options we looked at were less expensive than StorageGRID. The price is one thing to criticize, which is what we hear internally and from customers as well. They find the cost of the terabytes in this class of storage a little bit higher than expected."

"We pay for a license annually."

"The pricing of StorageGRID falls within the typical range for enterprise-grade solutions and is comparable to other vendors such as Dell, NetApp, and Pure Storage."

"The price is attractive."

More NetApp StorageGRID pricing and cost advice

"The price of Qumulo is reasonable."

"The price of the solution is in the middle range compared to others. We look at the price per terabyte."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Government

Financial Services Firm

20%

Manufacturing Company

18%

Computer Software Company

15%

University

Computer Software Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

Government

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	11
Midsize Enterprise	11
Large Enterprise	20

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	5
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	11

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	4
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	2

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Pure Storage FlashBlade?

The tool's most valuable feature is its fast performance, especially in handling snapshots. It helps during power out...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Pure Storage FlashBlade?

The pricing of Pure Storage FlashBlade is expensive compared to other products I used from other companies in the pas...

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What needs improvement with Pure Storage FlashBlade?

I believe there is not much improvement needed because they have everything we need, but the interface is a little bi...

See all answers

What do you like most about NetApp StorageGRID?

The management portals have most significantly improved our data retrieval times. They've made it much easier to rest...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NetApp StorageGRID?

It would definitely be more on the expensive side, especially if you compare it with open source solutions like Ceph.

See all answers

What needs improvement with NetApp StorageGRID?

If I could change anything in NetApp StorageGRID, that would be pricing. In terms of functionality, reliability, and ...

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Comparisons

Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs Pure Storage FlashBlade

Compared 20% of the time

Pure Storage FlashArray vs Pure Storage FlashBlade

Compared 11% of the time

MinIO vs Pure Storage FlashBlade

Compared 10% of the time

Red Hat Ceph Storage vs Pure Storage FlashBlade

Compared 9% of the time

NetApp AFF vs Pure Storage FlashBlade

Compared 3% of the time

More Pure Storage FlashBlade Competitors

MinIO vs NetApp StorageGRID

Compared 29% of the time

Dell ObjectScale vs NetApp StorageGRID

Compared 23% of the time

Red Hat Ceph Storage vs NetApp StorageGRID

Compared 22% of the time

Scality RING vs NetApp StorageGRID

Compared 6% of the time

Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs NetApp StorageGRID

Compared 3% of the time

More NetApp StorageGRID Competitors

Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs Qumulo

Compared 25% of the time

VAST Data vs Qumulo

Compared 11% of the time

NetApp FAS Series vs Qumulo

Compared 10% of the time

Nasuni vs Qumulo

Compared 7% of the time

Red Hat Ceph Storage vs Qumulo

Compared 4% of the time

More Qumulo Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Pure Storage FlashBlade

September 2025

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Buyer's Guide

NetApp StorageGRID

September 2025

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Buyer's Guide

NAS

September 2025

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Also Known As

No data available

Storage GRID

No data available

Overview

FlashBlade is the industry’s most advanced scale-out storage for unstructured data, powered by a modern, massively parallel architecture to consolidate complex data silos (like backup appliances and data lakes) and accelerate tomorrow’s discoveries and insights.

Pure Storage

Store and manage unstructured data at scale using NetApp StorageGRID for secure, durable object storage. Place content in the right location, at the right time, and on the right storage tier, optimizing workflows and reducing overall costs for globally distributed rich media.

NetApp

Qumulo is a data storage and management platform that promotes object-based storage for users, backup archives, and surveillance. Its primary use case is to provide a cost-effective and feature-rich solution for managing large data.

Qumulo's data protection algorithm ensures the safety of node data, while its integration with backup platforms like Veeam and Veritas makes it easy to manage backups. The platform offers a good balance between operational cost and complexity versus feature set, making it an attractive option for businesses of all sizes.

Qumulo

Sample Customers

ServiceNow, Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, Dominos, Man AHL

ASE, DARZ GmbH

County of Riverside Sheriff Department, Hyundai Mobis Automotive North America, University of Arizona, UCSD - San Diego Supercomputer Center, Medical College of Wisconsin, Sinclair Oil, Royal Dutch Shell, Kaiser Permanente, Deluxe Creative, Vexcel Imaging, University of Florida, The Madison Square Garden Company, Arizona State University, Cinesite, San Diego Padres Baseball, Johns Hopkins University - School of Medicine, IHME, EllieMae, Washington State University.

Buyer's Guide

NetApp StorageGRID vs. Qumulo

September 2025

Free Report: NetApp StorageGRID vs. Qumulo

Find out what your peers are saying about NetApp StorageGRID vs. Qumulo and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.

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