Best 18TB NAS hard drives
We track 11 currently-sold 18TB NAS drives from WD, Seagate and Toshiba, ranked by real-world failure rate. None have large-scale Backblaze failure data yet, so they are ranked on manufacturer class and specs. Best value is the WD WD181KRYZ at about $35.46/TB.
| Drive | Capacity | Tech | Class | Interface | AFR | £/TB | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
WD181KFGX
WD Red Pro
|
18 TB | CMR | NAS-Pro | SATA | - | £48.69 | £877 |
| 2 |
WD181KRYZ
WD Gold
|
18 TB | CMR | Enterprise | SATA | - | £27.92 | £503 |
| 3 |
WUH721818ALE6L4
WD Ultrastar DC HC550
|
18 TB | CMR | Enterprise | SATA | - | £54.27 | £977 |
| 4 |
WD181PURP
WD Purple Pro
|
18 TB | CMR | Surveillance | SATA | - | £29.99 | £540 |
| 5 |
ST18000NT001
Seagate IronWolf Pro
|
18 TB | CMR | NAS-Pro | SATA | - | £33.11 | £596 |
| 6 |
ST18000NM000J
Seagate Exos X18
|
18 TB | CMR | Enterprise | SATA | - | £30.00 | £540 |
| 7 |
ST18000NM004J
Seagate Exos X18
|
18 TB | CMR | Enterprise | SAS | - | - | - |
| 8 |
ST18000VE002
Seagate SkyHawk AI
|
18 TB | CMR | Surveillance | SATA | - | - | - |
| 9 |
MG09ACA18TE
Toshiba MG09
|
18 TB | CMR | Enterprise | SATA | - | £33.06 | £595 |
| 10 |
MG09SCA18TE
Toshiba MG09
|
18 TB | CMR | Enterprise | SAS | - | £44.34 | £798 |
| 11 |
HDWG180
Toshiba N300
|
18 TB | CMR | NAS | SATA | - | £66.67 | £1,200 |
Ranked by measured failure rate (Backblaze AFR). $/TB uses the cheapest live price where available.
Every drive here is a CMR (RAID-safe) 18TB model in current production. For a NAS or RAID array, pick the lowest failure rate you can afford; enterprise drives (Exos, Ultrastar, MG) trade some noise and power draw for the longest workload ratings. See how to choose a NAS drive for the full rundown.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the most reliable 18TB NAS drive?
- None of the 18TB drives have large-scale Backblaze failure data yet; choose by manufacturer class and warranty.
- Are 18TB NAS drives CMR or SMR?
- Every 18TB drive we recommend for NAS use is CMR (conventional recording), the RAID-safe choice. We exclude SMR drives from NAS picks.