FreeNAS vs Qumulo comparison

FreeNAS and Qumulo are both solutions in the NAS category. FreeNAS is ranked #15, while Qumulo is ranked #11. FreeNAS holds a 2.7% mindshare in N, compared to Qumulo’s 5.4% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of FreeNAS users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Qumulo users who would recommend it.

FreeNAS

Read 9 FreeNAS reviews

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762 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Qumulo

Read 8 Qumulo reviews

2,943 Views
1,442 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

FreeNAS

Qumulo

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 7, 2024

FreeNAS and Qumulo compete in the network-attached storage market, each offering unique advantages. Qumulo seems to have the upper hand due to its advanced features and scalability, which are well-suited for enterprise needs.

Features: FreeNAS supports the ZFS file system, ensuring data integrity, and offers various plugins and options for virtualization. It also integrates well with Windows and Linux environments for increased compatibility. Qumulo provides real-time analytics, high-performance data handling, massive scalability, and the ability to integrate with AWS and Google Cloud.

Room for Improvement: FreeNAS could enhance its customer support and streamline its interface for even better usability. It could also increase the range of features in its free version. Qumulo could improve by offering a more straightforward pricing model and default failover capabilities. Enhancing data recovery options would also be beneficial.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: FreeNAS is straightforward to install with robust community support, making it ideal for smaller setups. Qumulo offers enterprise-grade deployment support coupled with comprehensive customer service and custom support packages for complex environments.

Pricing and ROI: FreeNAS provides a cost-effective solution, particularly for smaller budgets, with an excellent ROI due to its minimal setup costs. Qumulo's pricing reflects its extensive feature set aimed at enterprises, offering significant ROI through its efficiency and scalability. Although FreeNAS offers immediate cost savings, Qumulo's investment is justified by long-term value in extensive data management setups.

To learn more, read our detailed FreeNAS vs. Qumulo Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

FreeNAS vs. Qumulo

December 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

15th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Qumulo

Ranking in NAS

11th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

File and Object Storage (21st)

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the NAS category, the mindshare of FreeNAS is 2.7%, up from 2.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Qumulo is 5.4%, down from 6.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

NAS Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Qumulo	5.4%
FreeNAS	2.7%
Other	91.9%

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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VinceVitro

Senior Storage Architect at a healthcare company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Useful data sharing, simple cluster scaling, and excellent support

One aspect of Qumulo that I hoped to see improved was its software upgrade process, which did see significant progress during my usage. Initially, upgrading the software resulted in several minutes of system downtime. However, by the time I departed last summer, the downtime had reduced to mere ten seconds. Although I am unsure if Qumulo has yet achieved a completely outage-free upgrade, I simply performed the upgrades early in the morning before the marketing department began its workday, so any downtime was inconsequential.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

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

"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."

"It has the best storage capacity."

"The solution has been very stable so far."

"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."

"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."

"The ratio of total operational cost to complexity versus feature set is very good."

"The most valuable features of Qumulo are its rolling updates and all-day availability."

"The most valuable feature is real-time analytics."

"The most valuable feature of Qumulo is the ability to share files and reliability."

"It is a very stable product. I never faced any issues."

"The most valuable features of Qumulo are the ease of management and special permissions that are quick to enable. The overall performance of the solution is good."

"The feature that I like most is the analytics part of the file system."

"The data protection algorithm to protect the data between the nodes has been the most valuable feature. The integration with backup platforms such as Veeam and Veritas has also been valuable."

Cons

"They should include clustering for the solution."

"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."

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

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

"FreeNAS should be better prepared for clustering."

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

"The support for S3 needs to be improved."

"The price of the software is a bit expensive, so a reduction in cost would make it more competitive."

"The solution could improve availability and improve data protection or data services such as compression of deduplication. In a future release, we'd like to have more cloud API integrations."

"In the future, I would like to see non-disruptive updates."

"Qumulo should continue to expand automation and orchestration capabilities."

"The support for iMac and protocols should be improved, not all features are available."

"In the next release, I would like to see the ability to have more control at a terminal level of the file system."

"Some anti-theft permissions do not transfer well to Qumulo."

"One aspect of Qumulo that I hoped to see improved was its software upgrade process, which did see significant progress during my usage. Initially, upgrading the software resulted in several minutes of system downtime. However, by the time I departed last summer, the downtime had reduced to mere ten seconds. Although I am unsure if Qumulo has yet achieved a completely outage-free upgrade, I simply performed the upgrades early in the morning before the marketing department began its workday, so any downtime was inconsequential."

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

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

"We use the free version of the program."

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

"The price of the solution is in the middle range compared to others. We look at the price per terabyte."

"The price of Qumulo is reasonable."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Comms Service Provider

16%

Performing Arts

12%

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

Government

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	7
Large Enterprise	2

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	4
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	2

Comparisons

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Compared 11% of the time

QNAP NAS Storage vs FreeNAS

Compared 11% of the time

Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs FreeNAS

Compared 10% of the time

StarWind Storage Appliance vs FreeNAS

Compared 10% of the time

NetApp Private Storage vs FreeNAS

Compared 5% of the time

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Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs Qumulo

Compared 22% of the time

NetApp FAS Series vs Qumulo

Compared 10% of the time

VAST Data vs Qumulo

Compared 9% of the time

Nasuni vs Qumulo

Compared 7% of the time

Pure Storage FlashBlade vs Qumulo

Compared 5% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

FreeNAS

January 2026

Download FreeNAS product report

Buyer's Guide

NAS

January 2026

Download Qumulo product report

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

Qumulo is a data storage and management platform that promotes object-based storage for users, backup archives, and surveillance. Its primary use case is to provide a cost-effective and feature-rich solution for managing large data.

Qumulo's data protection algorithm ensures the safety of node data, while its integration with backup platforms like Veeam and Veritas makes it easy to manage backups. The platform offers a good balance between operational cost and complexity versus feature set, making it an attractive option for businesses of all sizes.

Qumulo

Sample Customers

Morroni Technologies Inc., Creative Integrations

County of Riverside Sheriff Department, Hyundai Mobis Automotive North America, University of Arizona, UCSD - San Diego Supercomputer Center, Medical College of Wisconsin, Sinclair Oil, Royal Dutch Shell, Kaiser Permanente, Deluxe Creative, Vexcel Imaging, University of Florida, The Madison Square Garden Company, Arizona State University, Cinesite, San Diego Padres Baseball, Johns Hopkins University - School of Medicine, IHME, EllieMae, Washington State University.

Buyer's Guide

FreeNAS vs. Qumulo

December 2025

Free Report: FreeNAS vs. Qumulo

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