Best high-capacity NAS hard drives (16TB+)
When bays are the limit, capacity per drive is everything. These are the largest CMR drives in our catalog - 16TB and up - for dense arrays that need maximum storage without another enclosure.
Big drives mean longer rebuilds and more data riding on each disk, so pair them with real redundancy: RAID 6 / SHR-2 once you're past a few large drives.
| Drive | Capacity | Tech | Class | Interface | AFR | C$/TB | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
WUH722626ALE6L4 WD Ultrastar DC HC590
|
26 TB | CMR | Enterprise | SATA | 0.67% | - | - |
| 2 |
WUH722424ALE6L4 WD Ultrastar DC HC580
|
24 TB | CMR | Enterprise | SATA | - | - | - |
| 3 |
ST24000NT002 Seagate IronWolf Pro
|
24 TB | CMR | NAS-Pro | SATA | - | C$49.58 | C$1,190 |
| 4 |
ST24000NM002H Seagate Exos X24
|
24 TB | CMR | Enterprise | SATA | 2.91% | C$55.21 | C$1,325 |
| 5 |
ST24000VE002 Seagate SkyHawk AI
|
24 TB | CMR | Surveillance | SATA | - | C$49.58 | C$1,190 |
| 6 |
MG11ACA24TE Toshiba MG11
|
24 TB | CMR | Enterprise | SATA | 0.42% | - | - |
| 7 |
WD241KFGX WD Red Pro
|
24 TB | CMR | NAS-Pro | SATA | - | - | - |
| 8 |
WD242KRYZ WD Gold
|
24 TB | CMR | Enterprise | SATA | - | - | - |
| 9 |
HAT5320-24T Synology Enterprise Series
|
24 TB | CMR | Enterprise | SATA | - | - | - |
| 10 |
WD221KFGX WD Red Pro
|
22 TB | CMR | NAS-Pro | SATA | - | C$52.73 | C$1,160 |
| 11 |
WD221KRYZ WD Gold
|
22 TB | CMR | Enterprise | SATA | - | C$59.08 | C$1,300 |
| 12 |
WUH722222ALE6L4 WD Ultrastar DC HC570
|
22 TB | CMR | Enterprise | SATA | 0.45% | - | - |
Ranked by capacity. $/TB uses the cheapest live price where available.
Going big without going fragile
Capacity per bay
Fewer, larger drives keep the enclosure simple and leave slots free for later. Almost all of them are helium-sealed, which matters more than it sounds when a chassis is packed: less heat, less power, less noise per terabyte stored.
Plan for longer rebuilds
The price of density is rebuild time. Resilvering a 20TB+ drive can run a full day, and a second failure during that window takes a single-parity array down with it. Past a few large drives, RAID 6 or SHR-2 isn't a nicety - it's the thing standing between you and a restore from backup.
Match endurance to workload
High-capacity NAS and enterprise drives carry workload ratings of 300-550TB/year. For a busy multi-user NAS or a backup target that's always ingesting, that endurance headroom matters more than raw speed - and it's where enterprise drives earn their premium.
Frequently asked questions
- Are large hard drives less reliable?
- Not inherently - modern 16-24TB CMR drives are built to enterprise standards. The real risk is rebuild time: with very large drives, a RAID rebuild takes longer, widening the window for a second failure. Use double-parity redundancy with big arrays.
- What's the largest NAS drive available?
- Capacities climb steadily as new models ship, so check the table above for the largest conventional (CMR) drives selling right now rather than a fixed number that dates quickly.
- Should I use helium drives?
- Most high-capacity drives are helium-sealed, which lowers power draw, heat and noise. It's a mature, reliable technology used across enterprise fleets.