Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

FreeNAS vs HPE 3PAR StoreServ comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 7, 2024

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
14th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
HPE 3PAR StoreServ
Ranking in NAS
8th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
304
Ranking in other categories
Modular SAN (Storage Area Network) (2nd), All-Flash Storage (11th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the NAS category, the mindshare of FreeNAS is 3.1%, up from 2.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of HPE 3PAR StoreServ is 3.3%, down from 3.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
NAS Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
HPE 3PAR StoreServ3.3%
FreeNAS3.1%
Other93.6%
NAS
 

Featured Reviews

Vincenzo D'Aniello - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
CO
Information Systems & Security Administrator at a government with 501-1,000 employees
Ease of use in data center boosts resilience and infrastructure efficiency
I find the HPE 3PAR StoreServ valuable for its ease of use and resilience, which is beneficial. The main benefits I have seen from having HPE 3PAR StoreServ include its use at a small branch I managed for about three years with around 60 users. It operates effectively because it is an HPE product we use there. I have not experienced any significant issues besides occasional IT-related ones, such as local database problems. Since handing over the administration of the system to someone else and moving to another department, there have not been any issues. There are many features that exist but I haven't needed to try. Before moving out of that role in my organization, I knew it was a product I enjoyed working with for infrastructure purposes. After completing my new role, I intend to return to infrastructure.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It has the best storage capacity."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"The program is fast, fun to work on and easy."
"The solution has been very stable so far."
"The fact that no data are lost when a hard drive fails is extremely reassuring, as I have had two of five drives fail at one time and no data were lost."
"Its stability is the most valuable. It is reliable, and we don't have to worry too much about it."
"It is easy to scale, easy to manage, and easy to configure."
"Provides High-Availability, security, and high performance"
"We have our backups set up to replicate between two sites, then we also have our storage set up to replicate between two sites."
"It runs. I don't have a problem with it. If it needs an update, I can do it in the middle of the day with nobody being the wiser. It is phenomenal in that respect. As a hospital, I get two hours every quarter to reboot things, so it is imperative that nothing goes down."
"The service and support are far better than any other service and support I've had."
"The solution has been working perfectly, we have not had any issues since we purchased it, and HPE 3PAR StoreServ is highly reliable."
"They give us high availability and real-time access to data in both locations."
"We switched because of the performance and cost of 3PAR was better than our previous solution."
 

Cons

"They can improve the integration with PSA systems. This functionality could be better."
"The support for S3 needs to be improved."
"Make it easier to find out how to fix things when something goes wrong."
"The latest version of the dashboard doesn't work as good as the previous version."
"One of my hard drives has failed and the documentation that I've been able to find has not helped."
"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 can improve the integration with PSA systems. This functionality could be better."
"If you find the documentation, it is always incomplete and fragmented."
"For the amount of downtime that we have had, I do not know if it was a good option. We might have been better to spend the extra money and stay with EMC, therefore not experiencing any downtime."
"I would like to see more fast storage and more inside support."
"This product has come to the end of its lifecycle."
"Sadly, the support from HPE has not been all that great. It is tough to get a tech out or get a response from some of the techs that we have."
"Its price is a bit high for adding another tree."
"This solution should be easier to use."
"I would like to see them lower costs."
"Maybe they could have better alerting. We've had an issue where we had a flapping network link, and it didn't tell us that was happening."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"For our configuration, we pay a little bit less than €10,000 ($12,000 USD) per year."
"Its licensing cost is based on the hardware capacity."
"We use the free version of the program."
"Its price is okay. It suits our needs."
"The price of the solution could be reduced for the license and for support."
"As a school, we always have​ low budgets. We are a nonprofit organization. We do not have too much budget, so we care about prices, discounts, and especially about the product quality. The last 16 years, we have been an HPE customer. We are very much happy with HPE products."
"We are going to buy eight nodes this year and eight nodes next year. Eventually, we are not going to want to buy large storage devices and probably utilize just storage, but in a different manner going forward."
"Making the decisions to buy it can be complex."
"The SSD is a little bit expensive."
"The solution's price is reasonable."
"For the price that we were able to acquire it, we have seen it give us the performance and stability that we require to run our enterprise."
"The main issue with 3PAR right now is its cost problem. Right now, there are some other storage cabinets that can do what 3PAR can do. Now, they can do it as well with a more revised budget."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which NAS solutions are best for your needs.
885,264 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Comparison Review

it_user182013 - PeerSpot reviewer
Federal Civ/Intel Engineering Lead at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees
May 1, 2015
Measuring Up: EMC XtremIO and HP 3PAR
Leading up to EMC World 2015, IT Central Station asked how I would compare EMC XtremIO and HP 3PAR. Until recently, the flash storage conversation in my organization and many others has centered on XtremIO and Pure Storage, the leaders of the all-flash array (AFA) space. To that end, I've written a…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
13%
Performing Arts
12%
Computer Software Company
9%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Marketing Services Firm
9%
Financial Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Large Enterprise2
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business73
Midsize Enterprise74
Large Enterprise170
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
What's the difference between HPE 3PAR StoreServ and HPE Primera?
HPE Primera has many great features but one of the best is that it is very easy to deploy. From an overall perspective, it is reliable, easy to set up, stable, and offers quality block storage. All...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for HPE 3PAR StoreServ?
As a customer, I always prefer to have a lower price. Any customer will always ask for the cheaper price.
 

Also Known As

No data available
HPE 3PAR Flash Storage, InServ, Storeserv, 3PAR Flash Storage, HP Enterprise Storage, 3PAR Flash Array, HP 3PAR Flash Storage
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Morroni Technologies Inc., Creative Integrations
Just Energy, Latisys, team AG, DreamWorks, BlueShore Financial, Erasmus MC
Find out what your peers are saying about FreeNAS vs. HPE 3PAR StoreServ and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
885,264 professionals have used our research since 2012.