Best 24TB NAS drives
24TB NAS-rated CMR drives by price per TB
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The best 24TB NAS drives are NAS-rated CMR models. 24TB is a top-tier capacity for data hoarders, large Plex and media servers, surveillance and small-business archives that need the most storage per bay. At this capacity, rebuild time matters, so favour CMR drives and consider RAID 6 or SHR-2 for two-drive protection. The live table ranks current UK 24TB drives by price per terabyte.
Who a 24TB NAS drive suits
24TB is a top-tier capacity for data hoarders, large Plex and media servers, surveillance and small-business archives that need the most storage per bay. These are helium-filled enterprise and Pro drives, the densest you can reasonably buy for a home or SOHO NAS.
24TB is overkill for a small Plex library but ideal for a large 4K collection or a household that never wants to run out. Fewer, larger drives also leave bays free to expand later.
Where 24TB sits on the value curve
24TB carries a clear capacity premium per terabyte over mid-size drives, but it gives the highest density per bay, so it wins when you have limited bays and a lot to store. Seagate Exos is typically the cheapest route to this capacity; the Pro NAS ranges cost a little more for lower noise and NAS tuning.
For the lowest price per terabyte at 24TB, Seagate Exos is usually the value pick, with WD Red Pro and IronWolf Pro costing a little more for lower noise and NAS tuning. The live table ranks them by current UK price per terabyte.
Usable capacity from 24TB drives
| Use case | Best choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 2x 24TB, RAID 1 / SHR | ~22TB usable | A mirror: survives one drive failure, half the raw capacity. |
| 4x 24TB, RAID 5 / SHR | ~66TB usable | Single parity: survives one failure, about 75% of raw. |
| 4x 24TB, RAID 6 / SHR-2 | ~44TB usable | Dual parity: survives two failures, the safer choice at high capacity. |
The 24TB buying note
At 24TB rebuild time and dual redundancy are the priority. A single-parity rebuild of a drive this large can run well over a day, so RAID 6 or SHR-2 (two-drive fault tolerance) is strongly advised over RAID 5. CMR is essential, and expect more noise and heat from these enterprise-class drives, which suit a cupboard or rack rather than a desk.
Available NAS-rated families at 24TB: 24TB comes from Seagate IronWolf Pro, WD Red Pro, Seagate Exos and Toshiba enterprise drives. There is no WD Red Plus or standard IronWolf at this size; everything here is a high-workload (300 to 550TB per year), 5-year-warranty class drive.
24TB NAS drives, by price per TB
Frequently asked questions
How many 24TB drives do I need for around 66TB usable?
Four 24TB drives in RAID 5 or Synology SHR give about 66TB usable after parity and overhead, with single-drive fault tolerance. Two 24TB drives in a mirror give about 22TB. For two-drive protection, four in RAID 6 or SHR-2 give about 44TB.
Is 24TB too much for a home NAS?
Not if you store a large 4K media library, run surveillance, or want maximum density per bay. 24TB gives the best capacity per bay; for light backup-only use, an 8TB to 12TB drive is cheaper per terabyte.
What is the cheapest 24TB NAS drive in the UK?
For the lowest price per terabyte at 24TB, Seagate Exos is usually the value pick, with WD Red Pro and IronWolf Pro costing a little more for lower noise and NAS tuning. The live table ranks them by current UK price per terabyte.
Does a 24TB drive need RAID 6 instead of RAID 5?
It is strongly advised. Rebuilding a failed 24TB drive can take more than a day, and RAID 5 has no protection during that window. RAID 6 or Synology SHR-2 keeps a second parity drive so the array survives a second failure mid-rebuild.