QNAP TS-264 vs Synology DS225+

For a household that wants a set-and-forget backup and photo box, the Synology DiskStation DS225+ is the safer buy: DSM's Drive, Photos, Active Backup and Hyper Backup packages handle phone backups, PC backups and offsite copies without extra hardware decisions, and it carries a 3-year hardware warranty. If you want media transcoding headroom, containers, virtual machines or a faster network later, buy the QNAP TS-264-8G instead: dual 2.5GbE ports, 8 GB of SODIMM memory with a 16 GB official maximum, two NVMe slots and a PCIe slot — provided you confirm the memory revision, which QNAP changed under the same model name.

Official specifications checked November 4, 2026. This guide is based on maker documentation, not physical testing, and no retailer stock or offer is verified.

Quick picks

Compare specifications and all conditions

Family backups and a photo library with the least fuss

Our choice

Synology DS225+

What decides it

Drive, Photos, Active Backup and Hyper Backup; a 2.5GbE port; 3-year warranty

Media server, containers or a small application server

Our choice

QNAP TS-264-8G, documented SODIMM revision

What decides it

8 GB RAM (16 GB maximum), NVMe slots, PCIe slot, dual 2.5GbE

Wired transfers faster than gigabit

Our choice

TS-264-8G

What decides it

Two built-in 2.5GbE ports versus one; both need a 2.5 GbE-capable computer and switch

Surveillance with more than a couple of cameras

Our choice

Depends — count first

What decides it

Synology lists the DS225+ for up to 25 IP cameras with two free Surveillance Station licenses; QNAP's QVR camera compatibility list decides the TS-264

Extra insurance against a Synology versus QNAP dead end

Our choice

Read the DS224+ note below

What decides it

Cheaper, gigabit-only, 2-year warranty; only with a real saving

Full comparison table ↔

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Your job	Our choice	What decides it
Family backups and a photo library with the least fuss	Synology DS225+	Drive, Photos, Active Backup and Hyper Backup; a 2.5GbE port; 3-year warranty
Media server, containers or a small application server	QNAP TS-264-8G, documented SODIMM revision	8 GB RAM (16 GB maximum), NVMe slots, PCIe slot, dual 2.5GbE
Wired transfers faster than gigabit	TS-264-8G	Two built-in 2.5GbE ports versus one; both need a 2.5 GbE-capable computer and switch
Surveillance with more than a couple of cameras	Depends — count first	Synology lists the DS225+ for up to 25 IP cameras with two free Surveillance Station licenses; QNAP's QVR camera compatibility list decides the TS-264
Extra insurance against a Synology versus QNAP dead end	Read the DS224+ note below	Cheaper, gigabit-only, 2-year warranty; only with a real saving

Your job	Our choice	What decides it
Family backups and a photo library with the least fuss	Synology DS225+	Drive, Photos, Active Backup and Hyper Backup; a 2.5GbE port; 3-year warranty
Media server, containers or a small application server	QNAP TS-264-8G, documented SODIMM revision	8 GB RAM (16 GB maximum), NVMe slots, PCIe slot, dual 2.5GbE
Wired transfers faster than gigabit	TS-264-8G	Two built-in 2.5GbE ports versus one; both need a 2.5 GbE-capable computer and switch
Surveillance with more than a couple of cameras	Depends — count first	Synology lists the DS225+ for up to 25 IP cameras with two free Surveillance Station licenses; QNAP's QVR camera compatibility list decides the TS-264
Extra insurance against a Synology versus QNAP dead end	Read the DS224+ note below	Cheaper, gigabit-only, 2-year warranty; only with a real saving

The decision in one look

• 2Drive bays in both enclosures, diskless from the factory
• 2.5GbE ports built into the TS-264 (the DS225+ has one 2.5GbE plus one 1GbE)
• 6GB maximum RAM in the DS225+, against 16 GB in the TS-264's documented revision
• 3Year standard hardware warranty on both current enclosures

Two bays, two different philosophies

Both enclosures hold two 3.5-inch SATA drives or 2.5-inch SATA SSDs, hot-swappable in both cases, and both ship diskless — QNAP's table states the system is shipped without HDD, and Synology says storage drives are sold separately. What differs is what each maker built around those two bays.

Synology's DS225+ is built around its software. Synology's product page lists it for backing up multiple endpoints, managing up to 25 IP cameras, or safely syncing and sharing files across locations, with a built-in 2.5GbE port and over 282/217 MB/s sequential read/write (its internal-testing figures, which may vary). Its Intel Celeron J4125 (four cores, 2.0 GHz base / 2.7 GHz turbo) is paired with 2 GB DDR4 non-ECC in one slot, expandable to 6 GB (2 GB + 4 GB). It has no NVMe or PCIe slots.

• Synology DS225+6GB
• QNAP TS-264-8G (documented revision)16GB

Source: Synology DS225+ and QNAP TS-264 spec tables (linked below)

QNAP's TS-264-8G is built around hardware headroom. QNAP's current US comparison table lists an Intel Celeron N5095 4-core/4-thread processor with burst up to 2.9 GHz, Intel UHD Graphics, an AES-NI encryption engine, and hardware-accelerated transcoding — so on paper it is the stronger media box. It carries 8 GB SODIMM DDR4, two DDR4 SODIMM slots and a 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) maximum, plus two M.2 2280 PCIe Gen 3 x1 slots for SSD cache or storage pools and one PCIe Gen 3 x2 slot for an expansion card.

Synology also reserves a revision right of its own: it notes it may revise pre-installed memory module specifications in response to component lifecycle and supply conditions. But the DS225+'s slot count and 6 GB ceiling have stayed consistent across its own documentation.

Ports: the real local-transfer bottleneck

• Yes: Two 2.5GbE ports on the TS-264, each 2.5G/1G/100M — trunking or separate duties are options in QTS
• Yes: One 2.5GbE port on the DS225+ plus one 1GbE port, for a second subnet or a slower link
• Partly: 2.5 GbE speed needs a 2.5 GbE port or adapter on the computer, a 2.5 GbE switch in between, and Cat 5e or better cabling
• No: 10GbE and 5GbE are not built into either box; the TS-264 needs a PCIe card, and the DS225+ has no PCIe slot at all

Synology puts the 2.5GbE port ahead of the hard drives as the DS225+'s real bottleneck: over 282/217 MB/s sequential read/write exceeds what a pair of mirrored spinning drives sustains anyway. The TS-264's second 2.5GbE port buys you a faster backup target link or a separate media subnet, not double the speed of one file copy. Neither box goes beyond 2.5 GbE without hardware: 5GbE and 10GbE on the TS-264 are "optional via PCIe expansion card," and the DS225+ has no expansion slot. Our best 2.5Gb switches guide covers the switch side.

Build the exact kit, at equal drive capacity

Compare diskless-to-diskless offers with the same two drives, never an enclosure-only price against a bundled offer. Then budget the rest.

1. 1

   Pick two equal drives

   Check QNAP's or Synology's compatibility list for your exact drive and firmware; both makers publish model-specific lists.

2. 2

   Confirm the enclosure revision

   QNAP: SODIMM (current) versus fixed 8 GB (older manual). Synology: any diskless DS225+.

3. 3

   Add the network link

   A 2.5 GbE switch or adapter on your computer, if you want more than gigabit locally.

4. 4

   Buy a separate backup destination

   An external USB drive (both boxes have USB 3.2 ports) or a cloud target; a mirror is not a backup.

On drives: Synology says 2025 model-year DiskStation Plus, Value, and J Series running DSM 7.3 support installation and storage pool creation with third-party drives, so the DS225+ (a Plus model) is not locked to Synology-branded drives under DSM 7.3 — though its M.2 storage pools and cache would still need list drives if it had any, and Synology still asks you to consult the compatibility list before purchasing. QNAP ships the TS-264 without drives and points to its HDD compatibility list. Our best NAS hard drives and WD Red Plus vs IronWolf comparisons cover the drive choice, and Synology's drive compatibility rules explain the DSM 7.3 policy in depth.

The Synology DS225+ section

The DS225+ is the current two-bay Plus model, and the right pick when the software does the work. Synology's software specification lists Hyper Backup (folder, package and entire-system backup), Synology Drive (up to 10 users, 100,000 hosted files), Synology Photos with facial recognition — object recognition requires 4 GB of RAM — Snapshot Replication, and Surveillance Station with two free camera licenses. The J4125's integrated Intel UHD Graphics 600 supports Quick Sync Video per Intel, but Synology does not present the DS225+ as a transcoding box.

• Intel Celeron J4125, four cores, 2.0/2.7 GHz base/turbo; 2 GB DDR4 in one slot, 6 GB maximum
• One 2.5GbE and one 1GbE RJ-45 port; two USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports with USB Copy
• 2 × 3.5-inch SATA bays, hot-swappable; 40 TB raw with 20 TB drives (Synology's calculation)
• 3-year hardware warranty, extendable to 5 with Extended Warranty Plus

The trade-offs: 2 GB of RAM is tight if you add many packages or want object recognition, and there is no NVMe cache, no PCIe and no 10GbE path. Synology recommends its own memory modules for expansion and will not provide complete product warranty or technical support if non-Synology modules are used.

The QNAP TS-264-8G section

The TS-264 is the right pick when the hardware carries the workload. QNAP's table lists Container Station, Virtualization Station and Linux Station (the last requires 4 GB or more of RAM) among its software features, which is where the 8 GB of installed memory and a 16 GB ceiling matter. The two M.2 2280 slots run SSD cache or storage pools without giving up a SATA bay, and the HDMI output can drive a display directly (check the HDMI revision caveat above if that matters to you).

• Intel Celeron N5095, four cores / four threads, burst up to 2.9 GHz; Intel UHD Graphics; AES-NI; hardware-accelerated transcoding
• 8 GB SODIMM DDR4 in two slots, 16 GB maximum (documented revision only); 4 GB dual-boot flash
• Two 2.5GbE ports; two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports plus two USB 2.0 ports; USB One Touch Copy
• QTS by default (ext4); QuTS hero (ZFS) is an alternative, and switching operating systems requires a backup and disk removal
• 3-year standard warranty

The trade-offs: you must verify the memory revision before counting on any of the upgrade numbers, QTS asks more configuration decisions than DSM, and 10GbE or 5GbE means a PCIe card in the single shared slot.

Phone photos, PC backups and applications

Both platforms back up phones, PCs and run apps — the difference is how much of the household story is pre-assembled. Synology's page pitches exactly that flow: automatic photo backup with album organization and secure share links, PC and device backups with centralized administration, and versioning to roll back accidental deletions. QNAP covers the same jobs in QTS (Qsync, Hybrid Backup Sync, QuMagie and friends) with more knobs to turn and more compatibility checking on your side; our Synology vs TrueNAS hardware guide covers platform lock-in trade-offs that apply here too. If your named application matters — a specific Docker stack, a specific camera model, a specific Plex or Jellyfin plan — check that application's requirements against each platform before deciding; our Jellyfin vs Plex hardware guide covers the transcoding question in detail.

For surveillance, the DS225+ is specified by Synology for up to 25 IP cameras (with additional cameras requiring licenses), while QNAP's camera support is decided by its QVR camera compatibility list, not a headline number. Count cameras and check the lists first.

When the DS224+, another platform or four bays make more sense

• DS224+: the older two-bay Synology with the same J4125 and 6 GB memory ceiling but two 1GbE ports and a standard 2-year hardware warranty. It only makes sense with a real saving, because the DS225+ adds the 2.5GbE port and the extra warranty year at the same 40 TB raw capacity. Synology's US and global status data have disagreed about its availability, so check seller condition and warranty eligibility; our DS224+ vs DS225+ comparison covers the details, and our DS224+ vs TS-264 page covers the older pair.
• Four bays: if you are mirroring plus backing up inside one box, four bays (RAID 5 or RAID 10, or pairs) avoid the capacity halving of a two-bay mirror. See best four-bay NAS.
• Another platform: if neither DSM nor QTS appeals, our Synology vs UGREEN and Synology vs TrueNAS comparisons cover the alternatives, and the DIY NAS hardware guide covers building your own.

How we choose

We have not tested these enclosures. Every specification here comes from Synology's DS225+, DS224+ and DSM 7.3 pages, QNAP's TS-264 comparison table and its operating-system descriptions, and Intel's processor pages, all checked November 4, 2026, with the QNAP memory-revision conflict reported rather than resolved. Picks follow the job: the DS225+ for the least-fuss household workflow, the TS-264-8G for hardware headroom, both diskless and compared at equal drive capacity. Full method: How we choose.

Verdict

Buy the Synology DS225+ if the NAS's job is your family's backups and photos: one 2.5GbE port is enough for mirrored drives, the package set is complete without extra hardware, and the 3-year warranty is standard. Buy the QNAP TS-264-8G for a media server, containers or a network you intend to upgrade — but only after confirming the memory revision, because QNAP's own documents disagree about what a "TS-264-8G" contains. Either way, buy the same two drives, a separate backup destination, and treat the mirror as drive insurance, not backup.