FreeNAS vs Hitachi NAS Platform comparison

FreeNAS and Hitachi Vantara are both solutions in the NAS category. FreeNAS is ranked #12 with an average rating of 9.0, while Hitachi Vantara is ranked #14 with an average rating of 7.0. FreeNAS holds a 2.0% mindshare in N, compared to Hitachi Vantara’s 2.5% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of FreeNAS users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Hitachi Vantara users who would recommend it.

FreeNAS

Read 9 FreeNAS reviews

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614 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Hitachi NAS Platform

Read 11 Hitachi NAS Platform reviews

840 Views
840 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

FreeNAS

Hitachi NAS Platform

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 7, 2024

Hitachi NAS Platform and FreeNAS compete in the network-attached storage market. While Hitachi's enterprise-level features cater to larger organizations, FreeNAS's affordability and flexibility appeal to budget-conscious, smaller businesses.

Features: Hitachi NAS Platform provides advanced data protection, easy integration with existing infrastructures, and scalable enterprise-level solutions. FreeNAS's open-source nature supports a flexible setup, the robust ZFS filesystem, and multiple plugin options.

Room for Improvement: Hitachi could improve by offering more flexible pricing options, expanding customization capabilities, and enhancing plugin support. FreeNAS might benefit from streamlined user interfaces, better official support, and improved documentation to assist less technical users.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Hitachi NAS Platform offers a straightforward deployment process and reliable customer service, perfect for large businesses preferring less setup hassle. In contrast, FreeNAS requires a more customized and knowledgeable installation process with community-driven support, suitable for tech-savvy users.

Pricing and ROI: Hitachi involves a significant initial investment, benefiting larger organizations seeking long-term ROI and professional support. FreeNAS's no licensing fees and open-source model make it a cost-effective choice with immediate savings, though relying on community support might lead to hidden management costs.

To learn more, read our detailed FreeNAS vs. Hitachi NAS Platform Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

FreeNAS vs. Hitachi NAS Platform

July 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

FreeNAS

Ranking in NAS

12th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Hitachi NAS Platform

Ranking in NAS

14th

Average Rating

6.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the NAS category, the mindshare of FreeNAS is 2.0%, down from 2.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Hitachi NAS Platform is 2.5%, down from 3.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

NAS

Featured Reviews

Vincenzo D'Aniello

Software developer at TREXON S.R.L.

Open-source with great disk management and task synchronization

The system itself allows you to add any feature. The only bad thing is that this maybe depends on FreeBSD, and sometimes finding documentation is difficult. For example, we knew that previous versions automatically enabled the Linux kernel, yet with the recent version, this was no longer the case. Now, there was the possibility of being able to create Debian-based jails, and finding the documentation was not easy or fast. That said, in the end, we succeeded. If you find the documentation, it is always incomplete and fragmented.

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Mir Gulzar Ahmed

IT Manager at Synergy Computers

Needs standalone functionality but provides a robust NAS solution for existing SAN environments

I would suggest that Hitachi make a NAS box that can work independently, without relying on SAN connectivity. The current solution only suits customers who already have a Hitachi SAN environment and want to add NAS protocols like NFS and CIFS. It's not suitable for customers without an existing SAN, as they would first need to acquire the SAN infrastructure before adding NAS functionality.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"FreeNAS is much simpler and easier to use than other solutions, but we don't have the complete range of features that come with the full version."

"Its stability is the most valuable. It is reliable, and we don't have to worry too much about it."

"What I like about it is that I can work on it from any computer or any device. The initial setup is very simple. The setup wizard is really helpful."

"The ease of use of the 'jail', the management of backups, and copies to easily create test and pre-production scenarios have speeded up the development and distribution of business apps."

"It has the best storage capacity."

"It integrates well into either Windows or Linux environments."

"The solution has been very stable so far."

"Hitachi NAS Platform is very stable."

"The product has valuable features for data migration."

"The pricing of this solution is good, which is an advantage that positions this product well."

"Hitachi NAS has improved my storage operations significantly."

"Hitachi is reliable with high availability and solid performance. It performs well regardless of the workload."

"It creates a NAS environment on top of Hitachi SAN, which facilitates customers who need NAS protocols along with their existing SAN portfolio."

"Hitachi NAS has improved my storage operations significantly."

"The most valuable feature is its ability to handle a high number of users while maintaining both stability and performance."

More Hitachi NAS Platform pros

Cons

"The latest version of the dashboard doesn't work as good as the previous version."

"If you find the documentation, it is always incomplete and fragmented."

"The support for S3 needs to be improved."

"They can improve the integration with PSA systems. This functionality could be better."

"FreeNAS should be better prepared for clustering."

"The one thing that I find difficult to do which is very time-consuming is that I like to have a backup of the important files."

"They should include clustering for the solution."

"I rated Hitachi NAS a seven out of ten, primarily due to the interface or insufficient improvements in certain areas."

"There are insufficient improvements in certain areas."

"I encounter challenges while installing the upgrades for the product."

"I would like to see the inclusion of support for cloud-connectivity to providers like AWS."

"Hitachi NAS Platform needs to improve by offering a unified storage solution. Due to budget constraints in regions like Southeast Asia, customers prefer a single machine that can handle all problems, which the current platform does not provide."

"I would suggest that Hitachi make a NAS box that can work independently, without relying on SAN connectivity."

"The monitoring tool is not well developed."

"I do not like Hitachi NAS because it's an old-school NAS solution, compared to the other, newer-type solutions such as Isilon from Dell or Qumulo."

More Hitachi NAS Platform cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Its price is okay. It suits our needs."

"For our configuration, we pay a little bit less than €10,000 ($12,000 USD) per year."

"We use the free version of the program."

"Its licensing cost is based on the hardware capacity."

"It is a highly-priced product."

"I would rate the solution's pricing six to seven out of ten."

"Hitachi NAS Platform’s price is high and depends on SCSI disc capacity."

"This solution is priced well and there are no costs in addition to the standard licensing fees."

"Costs are based on the features and it is a considerable amount."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Comms Service Provider

13%

Performing Arts

13%

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

16%

Computer Software Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

Educational Organization

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about FreeNAS?

The ease of use of the 'jail', the management of backups, and copies to easily create test and pre-production scenarios have speeded up the development and distribution of business apps.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for FreeNAS?

The core version is free and open-source.

See all answers

What needs improvement with FreeNAS?

See all answers

What do you like most about Hiachi NAS Platform?

The product has valuable features for data migration.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Hiachi NAS Platform?

The pricing for the Hitachi NAS is higher compared to other NAS solutions since the NAS protocol is provided on top of the existing SAN environment, requiring an additional device for NAS functiona...

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What needs improvement with Hiachi NAS Platform?

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Comparisons

Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs FreeNAS

Compared 23% of the time

StarWind Storage Appliance vs FreeNAS

Compared 19% of the time

Qumulo vs FreeNAS

Compared 18% of the time

HPE StoreEasy vs FreeNAS

Compared 15% of the time

QNAP NAS Storage vs FreeNAS

Compared 13% of the time

More FreeNAS Competitors

Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs Hitachi NAS Platform

Compared 40% of the time

NetApp FAS Series vs Hitachi NAS Platform

Compared 21% of the time

Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform vs Hitachi NAS Platform

Compared 20% of the time

IBM FlashSystem vs Hitachi NAS Platform

Compared 10% of the time

NetApp Private Storage vs Hitachi NAS Platform

Compared 9% of the time

More Hitachi NAS Platform Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

FreeNAS

August 2025

Download FreeNAS product report

Buyer's Guide

NAS

August 2025

Download Hitachi NAS Platform product report

Also Known As

No data available

Hitachi NAS

Overview

FreeNAS is an operating system that can be installed on virtually any hardware platform to share data over a network. FreeNAS is the simplest way to create a centralized and easily accessible place for your data. Use FreeNAS with ZFS to protect, store, backup, all of your data. FreeNAS is used everywhere, for the home, small business, and the enterprise.

FreeNAS

Hitachi NAS Platforms help you with file sharing, file server consolidation and application storage for Oracle, Microsoft and virtual environments. Deploy the highest performance per node in the industry. Apply capacity efficiencies that let you actually do more, but with a lot less. Realize significant cost savings for your organization.

Hitachi Vantara

Sample Customers

Morroni Technologies Inc., Creative Integrations

Intersect Australia

Buyer's Guide

FreeNAS vs. Hitachi NAS Platform

July 2025

Free Report: FreeNAS vs. Hitachi NAS Platform

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