4 Best NAS Cases in 2025: Small & Compact

You’re here because you want to build a NAS (Network Attached Storage) solution for your home or office.

Here’s the deal:

After building several NAS rigs myself and hours of research, I found Silverstone SG13 V2 case best for home users and AUDHEID K7 for business use and big private cloud.

In this article, I’ve rounded up the 4 best NAS cases I’d use again out of 23 I tested for over 2 years.

I’ll also walk you through my experience with each of them so that you can choose the perfect one for yourself. After that, I’ll also point out the best pre-built NAS in case you change your mind.

Let’s dive in!

Best NAS Cases

The point of building a NAS is to save money.

They’re cheaper than a traditional pre-built NAS but still can work pretty well for DIY purposes.

Using a Micro ATX and mini ITX NAS case is a better idea than an ATX for most since the point of a NAS is storing as much data as possible without taking up much room.

Smallest Case
  • Specs:
    • Drive Bays: 5 x Internal 3.5" + 1 x Internal 2.5"
    • Expansion Slots: 1 x Full-Height
    • Dimensions: 8.76" x 8.76" x 8.819
Best miniITX Case
  • Specs:
    • Drive Bays: 1 x Internal 3.5" + 1 x Internal 2.5"
    • Expansion Slots: 2 x Full-Height
    • Dimensions: 1.22" x 8.74" x 7.126"
Professional Use
  • Specs:
    • Drive Bays: 8 x Internal 3.5”
    • Expansion Slots: NA
    • Dimensions: 15” x 15” x 11.5”
Cheapest Case
  • Specs:
    • Drive Bays: 1 x 3.5" + 4 x 2.5" + 1 x Internal 2.5"
    • Expansion Slots: 1 x Full-Height
    • Dimensions: 7.87" x 10.63" x 7.68”
Smallest Case
Specs:
  • Drive Bays: 5 x Internal 3.5" + 1 x Internal 2.5"
  • Expansion Slots: 1 x Full-Height
  • Dimensions: 8.76" x 8.76" x 8.819
Best miniITX Case
Specs:
  • Drive Bays: 1 x Internal 3.5" + 1 x Internal 2.5"
  • Expansion Slots: 2 x Full-Height
  • Dimensions: 1.22" x 8.74" x 7.126"
Professional Use
Specs:
  • Drive Bays: 8 x Internal 3.5”
  • Expansion Slots: NA
  • Dimensions: 15” x 15” x 11.5”
Cheapest Case
Specs:
  • Drive Bays: 1 x 3.5" + 4 x 2.5" + 1 x Internal 2.5"
  • Expansion Slots: 1 x Full-Height
  • Dimensions: 7.87" x 10.63" x 7.68”

Without further ado, let’s review each one:

1. Silverstone SG13 V2: Best for Plex Server

If you are tight on space, this is a perfect match for you.

Smallest Case
Silverstone SG13 V2

SG13 V2 is an extremely compact, cube-style mini ITX case that can work well as a high-speed NAS for a Plex server or home entertainment hub.

Pros:
  • Looks good
  • USB-C on the front
  • Compact
Cons:
  • Limited room for cooling
  • SFX bracket not included
Check Price on Amazon

The Silverstone SG13 V2 is one of the smallest NAS cases out there. You have limited in the selection of components with one 3.5” HDD. So I’d recommend an all-SSD NAS if you’re looking for redundancy.

The tiny case size calls for less room for cooling because the PSU sits above the motherboard and there’s only one intake.

With that in mind, I opted for an older CPU — an Intel Core i3 10100F — primarily because it’s cheap, doesn’t get very hot, and supports hardware decoding for video. This was important as I wanted to set up a Plex server on the NAS.

Type
mini ITX
Airflow
Average
Design
Good
Window
No
Bays
2
Noise
No

For graphics, I tested the onboard GPU and opted for a 10 GB ethernet expansion card to max out the bandwidth on the build.

I also installed a 140 mm intake and low-profile Noctua CPU cooler to keep temperatures and noise levels in check on this home NAS case. As this is optimized for size and PSU sits directly above the motherboard, there wasn’t much room for anything else.

I tested this for a media hub so I went with a couple of 2 TB MX500s for storage and configured them in RAID for maximum throughput. I also installed an M.2 drive for the OS. There’s no data redundancy in this build of course, but I wanted to be sure before recommending this case for a media hub-style NAS.

I installed it in my TV cabinet and I must say, it does look good, especially with that diamond-pattern finish on the front.

It’s a great addition to my living room, but I would have loved to have a little more room for better cooling so I could set up a gaming hub alongside a NAS.

2. Jonsbo N2: Best with 5-Bays

The Jonsbo N2 is a great DIY NAS case under $200, just be sure to upgrade the cooling if noise is a concern.

Best Overall
JONSBO N2

The Jonsbo N2 is one of my favorite cabinets for a DIY NAS build, and that’s for two reasons. First, it’s one of the few 5-bay NAS cases available, and second, the design is simple and allows for hot-swapping HDDs.

Pros:
  • 5-bay NAS
  • Hot-swappable HDDs
  • Simple design
Cons:
  • Short power/reset cables
  • Little expensive
Check Price on Amazon

The Jonsbo N2 case itself is a no-frills, all-aluminum cube with a plastic front panel. It doesn’t look that great, but if you intend to stuff it into a cabinet later, it isn’t a problem.

To access the HDD bays, you simply push to pop open the front panel, install the included grommets and runners on the HDDs, and slot them in one after the other. Simple!

The rest of the PC goes in a compartment above the drives and is accessed via a screwed-down top panel.

Type
mini ITX
Airflow
Good
Design
Average
Window
No
Bays
5
Noise
Yes

You can add one expansion card provided it’s a half-height one, and there’s also room for a single 2.5” SSD. There’s no cooling except for a low-profile rear fan behind the HDDs.

Given the limited cooling, my N2 is packing an Intel Core i5-7500 with a stock Intel cooler, and a SATA add-in card. The case only takes SFX PSUs but thankfully powers all the HDDs via Molex so you don’t have to worry about having enough power cables.

I also had to dig out angled SATA cables for the HDDs as there’s not much room on the HDD backplane – the circuit board the HDDs attach to – for regular SATA cables.

A word of warning, in my testing I discovered that the rear fan connects to a fan connector on the HDD backplane but operates at a noisy full power setting when connected thus. I’d recommend connecting it to a 4-pin motherboard header to keep noise levels in check.

Quick Tip

If you’re building your own NAS in a case, traditional rules apply.

To learn everything you need to know about choosing a good PC case, check out our complete guide.

Now back to NAS cases!

Having 5 HDD bays and a 2.5” mount point is, I think, an optimum arrangement for a NAS as you get to use RAID 5 for redundancy, and a single boot or cache drive as needed (mine is configured with OpenMediaVault).

If you’re looking for the best NAS case on the market (aside from a dedicated prebuilt NAS case), this is the one for you.

3. AUDHEID K7: Best for Business Use

Professional 8-bay NAS units cost a ton of money, and few cabinets offer more than 5 bays. For that reason alone the Audheid K7, despite its flaws, is worth investing in.

Professional Use
AUDHEID K7

The AUDHEID K7 is NOT a quiet NAS case, but if you’re a data hoarder or business owner who must have an 8-bay NAS at bargain-bin pricing, this is the one for you.

Pros:
  • Budget 8-bay NAS
  • micro-ATX support
Cons:
  • Runs hot
  • Requires noisy fans to stay cool
Check Price on Amazon

Like most NAS cases, the AUDHEID K7 is a 2-compartment NAS with one section for HDDs and another for the motherboard. Speaking of, the K7 supports larger micro-ATX boards. These are usually easier to find and cheaper, while also being more flexible, so this is a win in my book. There’s also room for up to eight, half-height add-in cards.

The HDDs themselves are mounted on sleds and installed from the front on this case for NAS build. However, the sleds are chunky and there’s almost no room for airflow.

Type
mATX
Airflow
Average
Design
Good
Window
No
Bays
8
Noise
Yes

You do get space for two 92 mm fans on the rear, but I found cooling to be a little inadequate for eight drives and an Intel Core i5 9600. I had to swap out my quiet Noctuas for noisy, high-performance fans just to keep drive temperatures under 40°C.

Even under normal operating conditions, I found this NAS so noisy that you’ll want to leave it in a garage or unused room and not inside of your home or workspace.

Pro Tip: Use extension cables with this one to use comfortably as there’s support for only Flex ATX 1U PSUs

Surprisingly, there’s a decent amount of room for cable management.

This micro ATX NAS case runs hot, uses a finicky PSU, and is okayish built, but it also happens to be one of the cheapest 8-bay NAS cases you can buy.

4. KCMconmey NAS-411: Best under $100

Given the specs, I honestly didn’t have many expectations from this case, but I must admit I was impressed by how basic yet functional this chassis was.

Cheapest Case
KCMconmey NAS-411

You’re getting support for 4x HDDs, USB 3.0, and even a hot-swappable HDD backplane. Given its price, I’d say that’s actually quite impressive.

Pros:
  • Value for money
  • Hot-swappable drive bay
  • Support for four HDDs
Cons:
  • Noisy cooling
  • Feels cheap
Check Price on Amazon

Another budget NAS case, the KCMconmey NAS-411 is just about as cheap as they come. Yet, I’m impressed by the value on offer here, and would strongly recommend this case for budget NAS builds.

The four drives slot in quite easily via the included drive rails, as long as you get the right motherboard and cooler. I used a low-power Intel Celeron G6900 with the stock cooler.

Type
mini ITX
Airflow
Average
Design
Good
Window
No
Bays
4 + 1
Noise
Yes

In my test over a couple of weeks, I found that the Flex ATX PSU is also not that hard to get in, and cables can be managed quite comfortably around the HDD compartment. Cooling was also surprisingly decent via the included fan, but do note that the system can get noisy when in use.

Side Note: Speaking of cooling, if you’re considering the best options for keeping your system cool, see our guide on active vs passive cooling to understand which setup might be ideal for your needs.

I like the fact that there’s an additional SSD mount for the OS drive and the fact that the HDD door can be locked and swung open for easy access to the drives. In fact, if it was built a little bit better, this NAS case is one I’d have sitting on my desk beside my PC.

It’s built of the cheapest and thinnest aluminum, comes with no notable accessories, and has almost no room for expansion. And yet it is value for money option if you’re on a tight budget or if this is your first build.

Best Pre-Built NAS

I was on a budget so I was sacrificing time to build my own NAS with PC cases — if you’ve got some extra money to spend and want to buy a pre-built NAS, I’d recommend the following:

  1. QNAP TS-464-8G-US

    This one comes with a quad-core Intel Celeron, dual 2.5GbE ports for lightning-fast file sharing, and M.2 PCIe slots. A powerhouse for sure.

    Check Price on Amazon
  2. Synology DiskStation DS224+

    A sleek, 2-bay NAS for small but centralized data storage.

    Check Price on Amazon
  3. Asustor Drivestor 2 AS1102T

    Another 2-bay NAS with a 1.4GHz quad-core brain and fast speed for home use.

    Check Price on Amazon

Such cases are expensive but it’ll save you hours of your time.

Now, if you want to get your hands dirty and build your own NAS!

Why You Should Build Your Own NAS

Here’s why you should build your own NAS:

  • You’ll better understand your build and what’s going on. Should any issues arise, you’ll be better equipped to deal with them and get things back on track smoothly.
  • Customization is another huge benefit. You can customize your NAS to your liking, from the amount of storage to the case it’s sitting in, the options are endless.
  • Building your own NAS server will save you a lot of money, but remember, this is at the expense of your time.

NAS vs Cloud Storage

Building a NAS is like having a personal cloud storage center. Cloud storage is great, but you’re relying on someone else to access all of your data.

If you’re storing sensitive information and/or don’t like the idea of depending on a third party, using a NAS is a great way to eliminate that issue.

Moreover, NAS storage solutions may be a bit more costly to set up but will save you hundreds if not thousands of dollars in the long run.

Cloud storage solutions can get expensive, and the more you scale, the more money you’ve got to shell out just to store your data.

NAS vs External Hard Drive

Most people will initially buy an external hard drive or two after their PC starts filling up.

At first, external drives seem like a sound solution. They’re cheap, easy, and portable — perfect for taking with you on the go, too.

But if you’re editing massive amounts of 4K video or have a ton of data that needs to be stored, external drives aren’t going to cut it.

You’ll find them stacking in your office faster than you know what to do with them. Before you know it, you may find yourself owning a mount-everest-sized pile of them.

Worse still, they can only be accessed from one device at a time.

If you’ve got several computers/devices in your home or office, it can quickly become a pain to plug your drive into each computer over and over.

Instead, it’s far more convenient to access all of your data from one centralized location.

This way, you can access your files from a PC, laptop, Mac, or even a phone, as long as you’re connected to the network.

Again, external drives are a good solution and are easily portable, but can quickly become obsolete when you’ve got too much data to deal with.

Quick Note

For professionals working with large media files and data-intensive projects like 4K video editing or 3D rendering, choosing between a workstation or gaming PC architecture matters for your workflow. Learn which setup offers the right balance of storage, processing power, and memory for your specific needs.

Conclusion

NAS rigs are great mass storage replacements for external hard drives, and buying a good NAS case is a great way to save money too.

Building your own NAS is a bit more time-consuming than buying a prebuilt NAS, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it.

You’ll save money, learn how your NAS works, and hell, you may even have some fun.