NetApp StorageGRID vs Qumulo comparison

NetApp and Qumulo are both solutions in the File and Object Storage category. NetApp is ranked #9 with an average rating of 8.0, while Qumulo is ranked #22. NetApp holds a 5.8% mindshare in FaOS, compared to Qumulo’s 4.0% mindshare. Additionally, 88% of NetApp users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Qumulo users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 4, 2024

Qumulo and NetApp StorageGRID compete in the data storage market. Qumulo appears to have the upper hand in ease of use and customer support, while NetApp StorageGRID offers advanced features justifying its pricing model.

Features: Qumulo offers scalable file storage, real-time analytics, and seamless cloud integration. Their analytics provide insights into processes, users, and file interactions, enhancing overall management. NetApp StorageGRID provides robust object storage capabilities, flexibility, and reliable data management functions. It integrates well with backup platforms like Veeam and Veritas and supports data deduplication and compression, saving significant storage space.

Room for Improvement: Qumulo could enhance its data protection features and provide more detailed reporting capabilities. Their recovery options in disaster scenarios also need improvement and additional failover strategies should be integrated by default. NetApp StorageGRID could refine its interface to improve user experience further and simplify policy management for Information Lifecycle Management. Enhancing its integration with third-party tools could also benefit users.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Qumulo offers straightforward deployment with excellent customer support, efficiently guiding clients through setup processes. This focus on simplicity is contrasted with NetApp StorageGRID's more complex deployment, which is offset by strong technical support aiding in customization. The choice here often depends on whether clients prioritize ease or flexibility in deployment.

Pricing and ROI: Qumulo presents a competitive pricing model with quick ROI, thanks to lower initial setup costs. This makes it appealing for businesses seeking affordability and rapid returns. NetApp StorageGRID, while demanding a higher upfront investment, promises an impressive ROI over the long term through its rich set of features and scalable solutions. Businesses valuing durability and extended value tend to favor this option.

To learn more, read our detailed NetApp StorageGRID vs. Qumulo Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

NetApp StorageGRID vs. Qumulo

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

Pure Storage FlashBlade

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the File and Object Storage category, the mindshare of Pure Storage FlashBlade is 5.7%, down from 6.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NetApp StorageGRID is 5.8%, up from 4.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Qumulo is 4.0%, up from 3.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

File and Object Storage Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Pure Storage FlashBlade	5.7%
NetApp StorageGRID	5.8%
Qumulo	4.0%
Other	84.5%

File and Object Storage

Featured Reviews

Eric Black

Solutions Architect at Recovery Point Systems

The ability to leverage multi-tenancy along with immutability is a huge benefit for us

The only thing I feel FlashBlade is missing is the SOS API. If it had SOS API, that would put it well over the top. Veeam Backup specifically has started to streamline their API, and they are doing that with SOS API. They have optimized it. Any of the S3 devices out there that support this SOS API can have far more API calls at once. On our side, that translates to better restoration. With SOS API, it can leverage far more restorations at a single given time or read from the device in simple terms. That results in maximizing the output and throughput from the device itself.

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Mir Gulzar Ahmed

IT Manager at Synergy Computers

Object-based storage and offers intuitive management tools, making it easy to configure and maintain

The only thing missing is flexibility in configuration to cater to specific customer requirements. Another area of improvement is marketing. NetApp's marketing of StorageGRID isn't optimal. They should present it more effectively, especially in regions like Pakistan. Here, I haven't seen any marketing campaigns from NetApp for StorageGRID or the Solid State Platform (SSP). While StorageGRID is a globally recognized product, I haven't seen any marketing efforts from NetApp in Pakistan. Even competitors are promoting object storage solutions here, but NetApp seems less efficient in selling StorageGRID. There might be one or two customers, but even as a NetApp partner, I'm not aware of any major sales. I've been trained on StorageGRID, and it is a good product. I'm unsure why it hasn't gained traction in Pakistan compared to other countries. So, I just recommend improving the marketing campaigns in Pakistan. I'm pretty confident that if we have one example of successful StorageGRID implementation in Pakistan, other customers will follow suit.

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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.

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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

"Speed and ease of use are the two most valuable features."

"The most valuable features are the Metro clustering, and disaster recovery."

"The initial setup is pretty easy and simple."

"It has absolutely simplified our storage because the dashboards on the consoles show a clear understanding of where you are, and it is also very easy to provision. This been a big help for our teams."

"The ease of deployment and management has helped us simplify our storage. We also do not have to worry about capacity management as much. A lot of these things are native to Pure Storage."

"The tool's most valuable features are data warehousing, speedy recovery, and analytics. Its latest release is cost-effective."

"Among its most appealing features are its ease of handling and minimal maintenance requirements."

"It's very easy-to-use."

More Pure Storage FlashBlade pros

"Duplication, interface and the manageability is good and simple."

"The speed of the disks removed the bottleneck from our storage."

"It has awesome scalability. We consume it with storage appliance nodes, then we just plug and play as we need more."

"NetApp StorageGRID is a great alternative to AWS S3 buckets."

"The most valuable feature is tiering."

"Right now, we have an older StorageGRID. I like that we can grow it."

"The ability to get to the StorageGRID from anywhere on my network. The solution is remote. You don't have to be at a physical location."

"It has improved our operational efficiency through time consumption and logistics by 40 to 50 percent. Everything that had to do with our legacy tape solution has been improved and is now more efficient."

More NetApp StorageGRID pros

"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 most valuable feature is real-time analytics."

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

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

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

"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."

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

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

Cons

"The speed could be improved."

"They need better integration with public clouds along with a better hybrid solution."

"I would also like to see better support for CIFS workloads."

"Its configuration should be easier."

"It would be beneficial if the layer could support the S3 protocol and be container ready in the next release."

"We haven't been able to use much of the cloud area of Pure Storage. We have a storage server and it would be better if it could integrate with other cloud features of this solution."

"To improve FlashBlade, some analysts suggest enhancing its handling of relational database management systems and SQL queries."

"Compared to, for example, Hitachi NAS, the solution is not mature at all. It's just in its infancy as far as technology goes."

More Pure Storage FlashBlade cons

"The integration with more apps has room for improvement."

"Data retrieval speed could be better."

"The price is something that NetApp could improve, as with most companies. NetApp is known for not being the cheapest storage option, which is also valid for StorageGRID. There are other storage options on the market which we are aware of and have done proofs of concept for, but you cannot really compare the list prices because, as a big user of NetApp storages, we have totally different prices than some list prices. Still, the price information we got for other options are almost always less expensive than StorageGRID."

"I just recommend improving the marketing campaigns in Pakistan."

"The processes around installation and upgrade need improvement."

"The redundancy and reliability are great, but I also see room for improvement there. I would like to see more efficiency in the storage and dedupe/compression solutions."

"The user interface of NetApp StorageGRID might need some tweaks, and configuration is maybe a little bit confusing for those who are not so experienced."

"It has its quirks here and there, but it is an older NetApp system."

More NetApp StorageGRID cons

"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."

"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."

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

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

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

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

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

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Support is a separate line item. Support is a different cost, but whatever your support is now, that's what you're going to pay forever. If your support's $100 today, six years from now it's $100. It doesn't fluctuate unless you upgrade it, or change it, etc."

"I rate the tool's pricing a seven to eight out of ten."

"Our licensing is renewed annually."

"The product is very expensive."

"The price of this solution could be made more affordable."

"Pure Storage FlashBlade is a hardware appliance, and it's very expensive if you compare its price with other solutions. You can get the same features and benefits from its competitor, VAST Data, but for half the price of Pure Storage FlashBlade."

"The price could be cheaper."

"In my opinion, we have paid the right price for the product. I don't think that it is too much or too little."

More Pure Storage FlashBlade pricing and cost advice

"It is very cost-effective."

"I rate the product pricing around five out of ten—it's negotiable, depending on the circumstances."

"Our licensing is in INR it was around 25 lakhs, which is roughly two million."

"Buying the solution is expensive, but it saves you money down the line when you factor in the logistics of not having to buy tapes."

"While we have been able to save money on storage costs, it could be better."

"We save money on storage costs from this solution since it allows us to have a source of revenue from customers consuming the service."

"The pricing is quite flexible and depends on the specific customer requirements. The initial cost is primarily based on the desired capacity, so it's not a fixed price."

"The price is attractive."

More NetApp StorageGRID pricing and cost advice

"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

Computer Software Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Financial Services Firm

21%

Manufacturing Company

18%

Computer Software Company

14%

University

Computer Software Company

14%

Government

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	11
Midsize Enterprise	11
Large Enterprise	20

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	5
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	10

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

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Pure Storage FlashBlade?

The tool's most valuable feature is its fast performance, especially in handling snapshots. It helps during power out...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Pure Storage FlashBlade?

The pricing of Pure Storage FlashBlade is expensive compared to other products I used from other companies in the pas...

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What needs improvement with Pure Storage FlashBlade?

I believe there is not much improvement needed because they have everything we need, but the interface is a little bi...

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What do you like most about NetApp StorageGRID?

The management portals have most significantly improved our data retrieval times. They've made it much easier to rest...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NetApp StorageGRID?

It would definitely be more on the expensive side, especially if you compare it with open source solutions like Ceph.

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What needs improvement with NetApp StorageGRID?

If I could change anything in NetApp StorageGRID, that would be pricing. In terms of functionality, reliability, and ...

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Comparisons

Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs Pure Storage FlashBlade

Compared 20% of the time

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Compared 11% of the time

Pure Storage FlashArray vs Pure Storage FlashBlade

Compared 10% of the time

Red Hat Ceph Storage vs Pure Storage FlashBlade

Compared 10% of the time

Nutanix Unified Storage (NUS) vs Pure Storage FlashBlade

Compared 2% of the time

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MinIO vs NetApp StorageGRID

Compared 28% of the time

Red Hat Ceph Storage vs NetApp StorageGRID

Compared 23% of the time

Dell ObjectScale vs NetApp StorageGRID

Compared 23% of the time

Scality RING vs NetApp StorageGRID

Compared 6% of the time

Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs NetApp StorageGRID

Compared 3% of the time

More NetApp StorageGRID Competitors

Dell PowerScale (Isilon) vs Qumulo

Compared 24% of the time

VAST Data vs Qumulo

Compared 12% of the time

NetApp FAS Series vs Qumulo

Compared 10% of the time

Scality RING vs Qumulo

Compared 8% of the time

Red Hat Ceph Storage vs Qumulo

Compared 5% of the time

More Qumulo Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Pure Storage FlashBlade

August 2025

Download Pure Storage FlashBlade product report

Buyer's Guide

NetApp StorageGRID

August 2025

Download NetApp StorageGRID product report

Buyer's Guide

NAS

August 2025

Download Qumulo product report

Also Known As

No data available

Storage GRID

No data available

Overview

FlashBlade is the industry’s most advanced scale-out storage for unstructured data, powered by a modern, massively parallel architecture to consolidate complex data silos (like backup appliances and data lakes) and accelerate tomorrow’s discoveries and insights.

Pure Storage

Store and manage unstructured data at scale using NetApp StorageGRID for secure, durable object storage. Place content in the right location, at the right time, and on the right storage tier, optimizing workflows and reducing overall costs for globally distributed rich media.

NetApp

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

ServiceNow, Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, Dominos, Man AHL

ASE, DARZ GmbH

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

NetApp StorageGRID vs. Qumulo

July 2025

Free Report: NetApp StorageGRID vs. Qumulo

Find out what your peers are saying about NetApp StorageGRID vs. Qumulo and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.

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