UGREEN’s NASync DXP4800 Plus carries a $656.99 sale price on the company’s US store, marked down from a $729.99 list price. Synology’s DS925+, the 4-bay model buyers most naturally weigh against it, was recorded at $771.39 on October 25 by a price tracker cited by ComputingForGeeks. That is a noticeably higher starting price before you buy a single drive, and it frames the whole Synology DS925+ vs UGREEN DXP4800 Plus decision.
Price is only the opening move. The DXP4800 Plus ships with a 10GbE port, Intel graphics and two M.2 slots. The DS925+ answers with DSM, widely regarded as the most polished NAS operating system on the market, plus a backup and security toolchain that Synology has refined for years. Two things changed this month and complicate the picture: Synology introduced a cheaper DiskStation neo+ family on October 21, and UGREEN now sells the DXP4800 Pro next to the Plus.
This guide compares the two boxes on specs, pricing, networking, software, security, transcoding and migration. If you want the brand-level view first, our Synology, QNAP and UGREEN LAN-speed comparison covers the wider field. Everything below is dated October 26, 2026, and I flag where a number comes from a single listing or a third-party tracker rather than an official price page.
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Synology DS925+ vs UGREEN DXP4800 Plus: The Short Verdict
The UGREEN NASync DXP4800 Plus wins on hardware per dollar. It costs less at today’s listed prices, adds 10GbE alongside a 2.5GbE port, and pairs an Intel processor with integrated graphics, which matters for Plex and Jellyfin. The Synology DS925+ wins on software maturity, the depth of its first-party backup tools and the confidence of a vendor that has shipped DSM for years.
Here is the quick scorecard before the detail. Each line names a clear edge, not a landslide.
- Lower price: UGREEN DXP4800 Plus ($656.99 sale vs $771.39 tracked for the DS925+).
- Faster built-in networking: UGREEN (10GbE plus 2.5GbE vs two 2.5GbE ports).
- Hardware video transcoding: UGREEN (Intel graphics vs an embedded AMD part with no integrated GPU).
- NAS software polish and ecosystem: Synology (DSM 7.4 and 7.3 branches, Hyper Backup and Snapshot Replication at no extra cost).
- Cheaper sibling to watch: Synology DS925neo+ on one side, UGREEN DXP4800 Pro on the other, so neither vendor is standing still.
- Lowest-effort ownership: Synology, if you value a conservative, well-documented platform over raw specs.
My pick for most home-lab, Plex and creator buyers is the DXP4800 Plus. My pick for a small office that wants to install the box, enable backups and forget it is the DS925+, or its neo+ sibling if the budget is tight. The sections below show the data behind both calls.
Specs Table: DS925+ vs DXP4800 Plus Side by Side
The table lists what Synology’s documentation, UGREEN’s official DXP4800 Plus product page and retailer listings show as of October 26. The last column tells you where each value comes from, because the Synology pages we could verify say less about DS925+ hardware than UGREEN’s say about the DXP4800 Plus.
| Spec | Synology DS925+ | UGREEN NASync DXP4800 Plus | Source basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drive bays | 4 x 3.5″ SATA HDD or 2.5″ SATA SSD | Four bays, diskless | Synology spec page, UGREEN listing |
| Processor | AMD Ryzen V1500B | Intel Pentium Gold 8505, five cores, 12th generation | Amazon listing title, UGREEN listing |
| Integrated graphics | None on the V1500B (embedded part) | Intel integrated graphics with Quick Sync | Processor family, editorial analysis |
| Memory shipped | 4 GB | 8 GB DDR5 | Amazon listing title, UGREEN listing |
| Memory ceiling | Check Synology’s page before buying | Expandable to 64 GB | UGREEN listing |
| Built-in network ports | 2 x 2.5GbE | 1 x 10GbE and 1 x 2.5GbE | Amazon listing title, UGREEN listing |
| M.2 NVMe slots | Check Synology’s page before buying | Two | UGREEN listing |
| Video output | Not confirmed in our sources | 4K HDMI | UGREEN listing |
| Capacity ceiling | 200 TB single volume (32 GB memory required) | Up to 144 TB advertised (136 TB in some regions) | Synology spec page, UGREEN listings |
| Operating system | DSM 7.x (7.4 and 7.3 branches current) | UGOS | Synology release notes, UGREEN product page |
| Bundled backup tools | Hyper Backup and Snapshot Replication at no extra cost | Backup and sync built into UGOS Pro | Synology blog, UGREEN announcement |
| Drive policy | Third-party drives reportedly accepted under DSM 7.3 | Buyer supplies HDDs and SSDs | Retailer listing, UGREEN listing |
| US price | $771.39 (tracker, Oct 25) | $656.99 sale, $729.99 list (Oct 23) | ComputingForGeeks, UGREEN store |
| Cheaper sibling | DS925neo+ (neo+ family, Oct 21) | DXP4800 Pro (Core i3-1315U) | Synology blog and news, UGREEN store |
| Lifecycle status | Current 25-series model, not retired | Current model, not retired | Synology docs, UGREEN support center |
Two rows deserve a closer look. The processor row tells you the product philosophy. Synology keeps using an embedded AMD chip that favors long-term stability and low power, while UGREEN pulls a mainstream Intel part into a NAS chassis and gets graphics, faster memory and headroom for containers as a result. The capacity row is less decisive than it looks. Neither ceiling is a practical limit for a four-bay home or office unit, and the 200 TB figure is a software limit that needs 32 GB of memory anyway.
CPU, memory and expansion headroom
Memory is the quiet differentiator. The DXP4800 Plus ships with 8 GB of DDR5 and UGREEN lists support up to 64 GB, so you can start cheap and add RAM when containers or virtual machines begin to crowd the box. The DS925+ listing shows 4 GB, which covers DSM’s core services, file sharing and snapshots. It gets tight once you stack Container Manager workloads, Active Backup for Business and a photo-indexing package at the same time. Synology’s spec pages also state that volumes over 108 TB require 32 GB of memory or more, so a very large pool on that side implies a RAM upgrade.
Expansion differs too. The two M.2 slots on the DXP4800 Plus let you add an NVMe pool or cache without giving up a bay, and the 4K HDMI port turns the chassis into a handy console for troubleshooting. UGREEN also lists the DXP480T Plus, an all-flash model, and advertises up to 208 TB across the NASync family, which signals where the company wants to take the line. Synology’s roadmap points in a different direction, toward ActiveProtect backup appliances and business data protection.
Processor choice cuts both ways. A mainstream Intel chip typically delivers more burst performance for containers and indexing, but it can also draw more power under load than a low-power embedded part. Synology’s embedded Ryzen is built for steady, predictable duty, which suits file serving and backup targets that run around the clock.
Power, noise and running costs
None of the vendor pages we reviewed gave a like-for-like idle wattage for both models, so I will not quote one. Measure it yourself. A plug-in power meter costs little, and the formula is simple: watts divided by 1,000, times 24 hours, times 365 days, times your electricity rate per kWh gives the yearly bill. Drive spin-down settings matter as much as the CPU, because four hard drives idling all day often draw more than the processor does. Synology’s spec pages publish a heat-output figure for HDD hibernation, so check the number for your exact model before you compare running costs.
Pricing: $656.99 vs $771.39 and What Moves the Gap
NAS pricing moved weekly in October. A fall promotion and a Halloween sale hit UGREEN’s store, and the tracker readings for Synology drifted upward from $756.49 on October 18 to $771.39 on October 25. The table below fixes the dated numbers we could verify and calculates the gap, so you can see how fragile any single price comparison is.
| Item | Price (USD) | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| UGREEN DXP4800 Plus, list | $729.99 | Oct 23, 2026 | Reference price on UGREEN’s US page |
| UGREEN DXP4800 Plus, sale | $656.99 | Oct 23, 2026 | Diskless unit |
| UGREEN DXP4800 Plus, fall promotion | $583.99 | Oct 6-9, 2026 | Temporary price, no longer current |
| Synology DS925+, tracked | $771.39 | Oct 25, 2026 | Third-party tracker, not an official Synology price |
| Synology DS925+, tracked | $756.49 | Oct 18, 2026 | Earlier tracker reading |
| Gap: DS925+ vs UGREEN sale price | Not listed | Calculated | DS925+ costs more |
| Gap: DS925+ vs UGREEN list price | Not listed | Calculated | DS925+ costs more |
| Gap: DS925+ vs UGREEN fall promotion | Not listed | Calculated | DS925+ costs more |
Read the table in layers. At list price the two boxes sit within $41.40 of each other, which makes the Synology premium look like a modest tax for DSM. At UGREEN’s current sale price the premium grows past $114. During the October 6 to 9 promotion it briefly exceeded $187. The honest summary: the DXP4800 Plus is cheaper in every dated snapshot we found, and the size of the discount depends on the week you buy.
Regional prices vary widely. Listings checked on October 24 and 25 showed the DXP4800 Plus at roughly €599.99 to €629.99 on UGREEN’s European stores against a €729.99 list price. These come from single listings, so confirm the checkout price in your own region. UGREEN also lists a bundle with a 120 W DC UPS that is marked as shipping on November 6, and bundle prices should never be compared with the standalone DS925+ figure.
Remember that both units arrive without drives. A four-bay NAS is really a drive purchase with a computer attached, so budget for the disks first. If you want a different hardware philosophy altogether, the Beelink ME Pro mini PC NAS shows what a compact x86 box costs against both brands.
The neo+ Twist: Synology’s Cheaper Family and UGREEN’s DXP4800 Pro
Two product moves landed in the last few weeks and both matter for anyone shopping this matchup. First, Synology America announced the DiskStation neo+ series on October 21, reportedly covering the DS725neo+, DS925neo+, DS1525neo+ and DS1825neo+. Thurrott framed the family as Synology’s answer to the component crisis, which fits Synology’s own German blog post from October 7 pointing to higher memory prices.
That blog post says the Neo models keep the same hardware and software performance as their Plus counterparts while costing about €200 less, and it says DSM and the applications are identical across both lines. Hyper Backup and Snapshot Replication come at no extra cost. One example price gives a sense of scale: Synology listed a German recommended price of €653.31 for the DS725neo+ against €890.12 for the DS725+, a difference of €236.81. The post also describes the Neo line as using non-ECC memory, which implies the Plus models keep ECC. That single point is the main reason to stay on the DS925+ if data integrity tops your list.
Second, UGREEN lists the DXP4800 Pro as a distinct model beside the Plus. It uses an Intel Core i3-1315U, keeps the 10GbE plus 2.5GbE pairing and 4K HDMI, and carried a European price of €719.99 (reduced from €799.99) in listings dated October 24 and 25. No official evidence says the Pro replaces the Plus. UGREEN still sells and supports the Plus, and its support center still offers manuals and software updates for it.
The practical takeaway: Synology no longer forces you to pay the full Plus premium if you only want DSM, and UGREEN gives you a step-up option if the Pentium Gold 8505 feels light. Neither shift changes the core trade between the original pair. It does mean you should price the DS925neo+ before committing to the DS925+ if you plan to run mainstream workloads without needing ECC.
Networking: 10GbE vs Dual 2.5GbE in Practice
Networking is where the two spec sheets diverge most. The DXP4800 Plus carries one 10GbE port and one 2.5GbE port. The DS925+ carries two 2.5GbE ports and, according to the comparisons we reviewed, no first-party route to 10GbE. For a single heavy user moving large files, that difference decides the day.
The arithmetic is simple. A 10 Gbit/s link tops out at 1,250 MB/s in theory, while a 2.5 Gbit/s link tops out far lower. Two 2.5GbE ports only help when several clients connect at once or when your switch supports link aggregation, because a single file copy still travels over one link. Protocol overhead trims all of these ceilings, so treat them as upper bounds.
| Link | Theoretical ceiling | Where it applies |
|---|---|---|
| 1 x 2.5GbE | Not listed | Single-client copy on the DS925+ |
| 2 x 2.5GbE (aggregated or multi-client) | Not listed | DS925+ with several users or an aggregating switch |
| 1 x 10GbE | 1,250 MB/s | Single-client copy on the DXP4800 Plus |
| 10GbE plus 2.5GbE | Not listed | DXP4800 Plus with parallel clients |
Whether you ever see those numbers depends on your drives and your network. Four mechanical hard drives in a RAID array may not saturate a 10GbE link on every workload, and many home switches offer no 10GbE ports at all. If your desk has a 2.5GbE adapter and your switch tops out at 2.5GbE, the DXP4800 Plus’s extra port gives you headroom for later rather than speed today. If you edit 4K footage straight off the NAS or you push NVMe caches, the 10GbE port earns its place immediately. Buy the faster port when you have the switch and the client adapter to use it.
Benchmarks: What the Published Evidence Actually Shows
Honest benchmark coverage matters here, because this matchup attracts a lot of confident but thin numbers. Within the material we could verify for this article, no independent lab published a throughput or transcoding test that runs both boxes through the same methodology. So rather than quote a figure I cannot trace, I will lay out the three kinds of evidence that do exist and how much weight each deserves.
Source 1: Synology’s own methodology
Synology’s spec pages describe SMB performance testing with the Microsoft File Server Capacity Tool, version 1.3, against a Windows Server 2022 domain controller. That is a sound, repeatable enterprise method, but it measures the vendor’s tested configuration, and you cannot compare it directly with a UGREEN figure produced by a different tool.
Source 2: Retailer and reviewer verdicts
Swiss retailer Galaxus tested the DS925+ and headlined its piece around the hardware being only mediocre, while calling DSM 7.2 well thought out, stable and versatile. That sums up the market view neatly: Synology sells the software, and the silicon is not the reason to buy. Several October comparisons reach the mirror-image conclusion for UGREEN, which is strong on hardware and weaker on software polish.
Source 3: Line-rate arithmetic and your own test
The most dependable benchmark is the one you run on your own network. Install iperf3 on the NAS (or run it in a container) and on a client, then test the network before you blame the storage. After that, copy a large file and a folder of small files, because small-file performance exposes CPU and memory differences that large copies hide. Our hardware coverage follows the same approach for other storage gear.
# On the NAS (or a container on it)
iperf3 -s
# On your client: 30-second test, then reverse direction
iperf3 -c NAS_IP_ADDRESS -t 30
iperf3 -c NAS_IP_ADDRESS -t 30 -R
# Run four parallel streams to see multi-client behavior
iperf3 -c NAS_IP_ADDRESS -t 30 -P 4If the iperf3 result already sits near your link ceiling, the network is not your bottleneck. If it falls far short, check cables, switch ports and adapter settings before you touch NAS configuration. This five-minute check settles more arguments than any spec sheet.
Software: DSM 7.4 vs UGOS Pro
Software is the single strongest argument for Synology. DSM has shipped through multiple major versions, and Synology’s release notes show both a DSM 7.4 branch and a DSM 7.3 branch in active maintenance, with updates for both listed in October. Synology positions the platform around AI-guided management and local AI search. The ecosystem includes Hyper Backup, Snapshot Replication and Active Backup for Business, which protects PCs, servers and virtual machines from one console.
UGOS is the younger platform, but UGREEN keeps it moving. Its product pages describe UGOS as UGREEN’s user-oriented NAS operating system, and the Support Center continues to offer manuals, software updates, applications and drivers for the DXP4800 Plus. UGREEN is also positioning its newer NASync products around private, local AI.
What does that mean for daily use? DSM gives you a long runway of documented features, a large catalog of first-party packages and an easy path for non-technical family members. UGOS Pro gives you modern container support, a current kernel and a vendor that ships updates quickly, but you will find fewer polished first-party apps and a thinner pool of community guides. If you are comfortable in Docker, that gap shrinks. If you manage the NAS for relatives, it widens.
Drive policy used to be a sore point for Synology. A retailer listing states that DSM 7.3 made the DS925+ compatible with third-party hard drives, but the date and scope of that policy change were not independently confirmed, so check Synology’s current compatibility notes before you buy non-Synology disks. UGREEN sells its NAS diskless and leaves the drive choice to you.
Support, warranty and ecosystem direction
Support is where a younger brand and an established one part ways. Synology described four Synology Care support tiers on September 28, with Essential and Mission Critical available, a Pro tier planned for Q4 2026 and a Core tier planned for Q1 2027, according to a post on its blog. That tiered structure targets businesses that need defined response commitments. UGREEN’s support center hosts manuals, firmware and drivers for the DXP4800 Plus, its store offers installment payments, and its pages were still serving that support as of the week of October 19.
Both vendors are also stretching beyond the classic NAS. Synology announced the ActiveProtect 5000 Series on June 30 for mid-sized organizations. UGREEN announced the iDX6011 and iDX6011 Pro at CES in January with introductory prices from $999, and in September it launched HomeAgent products built on UGOS Pro. A buyer today is therefore choosing a direction as much as a box: Synology leans toward business data protection, UGREEN toward local AI and the connected home.
Plex, Jellyfin and Hardware Transcoding
Media serving is the clearest hardware win for UGREEN. The DXP4800 Plus uses an Intel processor with integrated graphics, which gives it access to Quick Sync for hardware video transcoding. The DS925+ uses an embedded Ryzen V1500B, which has no integrated graphics engine, so any transcoding runs on the CPU cores. A guide such as Starry Hope’s best NAS for Plex with Quick Sync explains why that single feature separates NAS boxes for media servers from NAS boxes for files.
Direct play changes the story. If every device in your home plays your files natively, the server just streams bytes and either NAS handles several clients comfortably. Transcoding enters the picture when a phone, a hotel TV or a remote friend needs a lower bitrate or a different codec. On the DXP4800 Plus, the iGPU absorbs that job. On the DS925+, the CPU absorbs it, and several simultaneous 4K transcodes are likely to strain an embedded processor.
The practical rule: if you stream to people outside your home network, or you keep a library in formats your living-room devices do not play, choose the DXP4800 Plus. If you play media locally with direct play and use the NAS mainly for files and backups, the DS925+ is fine. If you want Synology and Plex together, plan on clients that decode everything natively.
Security and Patching: The PHP2Shell Test
A NAS holds your most important data, so patch speed matters as much as features. The PHP2Shell flaw gave this comparison a live test. Synology published security advisory Synology-SA-26:14 on October 22 and updated it through October 25, releasing PHP 8.1.34-0120 and a Mail Station update for the affected package paths on DSM 7.4, 7.3 and 7.2. RackTop’s PHP2Shell status page for Synology, QNAP and NetApp ONTAP tracks how the wider NAS market responded.
Synology also published a critical DSM advisory on September 18, with fixed DSM releases listed in the bulletin. The pattern shows a vendor with a formal advisory process, numbered bulletins and staged DSM rollouts. UGREEN’s cadence looks quick, though we found no comparable numbered advisory archive for it. Either approach works if you apply updates, but Synology’s published advisory trail makes audits and compliance paperwork easier.
Whichever box you pick, apply the same baseline. Keep the NAS off the public internet, use a VPN or the vendor’s relay service for remote access, turn on two-factor authentication, enable snapshots, and keep a copy of critical data somewhere else. A NAS is not a backup by itself. It is a place where backups live, and it needs its own backup.
Real-World Scenarios: Six Buyer Profiles
The following scenarios use the verified specs and prices above to show how each box behaves in realistic setups. They are modeled profiles, not lab results, so adjust them to your own network and drives.
1. The Plex household with remote viewers
A family keeps a 4K movie library and shares it with relatives on slower connections. Transcoding is constant. The DXP4800 Plus handles it through Quick Sync, while the DS925+ would push those streams through CPU cores that have no graphics assist. Winner: UGREEN, clearly.
2. The video editor with a 10GbE workstation
A freelancer edits footage over the network and already owns a 10GbE adapter and switch. The DXP4800 Plus connects at up to the 1,250 MB/s ceiling, with M.2 slots available for a fast cache or scratch pool. Winner: UGREEN.
3. The five-person office that needs PC and server backup
A small business wants nightly image backups of five laptops and a file server, with versioning and a restore tool. Synology’s Active Backup for Business covers exactly that, and its Recovery Wizard handles the restore side. Winner: Synology.
4. The home-lab tinkerer running containers
Someone runs Docker stacks, a reverse proxy and a few self-hosted apps. The DXP4800 Plus offers 8 GB of DDR5 expandable to 64 GB and a current Linux kernel in recent UGOS Pro builds. The DS925+ ships with 4 GB and relies on Container Manager. Winner: UGREEN, with Synology as a respectable second.
5. The family photo archive with a non-technical administrator
One person sets up the NAS and then wants years of calm operation, with mobile photo backup for four phones and a monthly snapshot. DSM’s maturity and documentation reduce support calls. Winner: Synology, and the DS925neo+ deserves a look if the saved euros matter more than ECC memory.
6. The budget buyer waiting for a sale
Someone with $650 to spend on the whole system, drives included, should watch UGREEN’s campaigns. The fall promotion price of $583.99 showed how low the DXP4800 Plus can go, and the Halloween and early Black Friday listings suggest more discounts ahead. Winner: UGREEN on price, though Synology’s neo+ models narrow the gap if they land at street prices close to the Plus.
Use-Case Recommendations at a Glance
| Use case | Best pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Plex or Jellyfin with transcoding | UGREEN DXP4800 Plus | Intel graphics with Quick Sync |
| 4K video editing over the network | UGREEN DXP4800 Plus | 10GbE port and two M.2 slots |
| Business PC and server backup | Synology DS925+ | Active Backup for Business and Hyper Backup |
| Set-and-forget family photo vault | Synology DS925+ or DS925neo+ | DSM maturity, documented update path |
| Docker-heavy home lab | UGREEN DXP4800 Plus | More memory headroom, current kernel |
| Tightest budget for a 4-bay | UGREEN DXP4800 Plus (on sale) | $656.99 vs $771.39 tracked |
| ECC memory priority | Synology DS925+ | Neo+ line reportedly uses non-ECC memory |
| Compliance paperwork and advisories | Synology DS925+ | Numbered security advisories |
Migration Guide: Moving Between Synology and UGREEN
Switching vendors is easier than most buyers fear, provided you treat it as a data migration rather than a drive swap. Do not move disks between a Synology and a UGREEN unit and hope for the best. Different operating systems build their storage pools differently, and a mistake can cost you the array. Copy the data across the network instead and keep the old box online until the new one is verified.
Moving from Synology to UGREEN
- Inventory your shared folders, users, groups and permissions, and note package settings you need to recreate.
- Run a final Hyper Backup job to an external drive or cloud target as a safety copy.
- Set up the DXP4800 Plus, create a storage pool and volume, and create the same shares.
- Enable SSH on the Synology and pull the data across the network (example below).
- Recreate users and map permissions, then test with a real client before removing anything.
- Rebuild Docker containers from your compose files and restore their config folders.
- Keep the Synology online and read-only for at least two weeks before you wipe it.
# Run on the new UGREEN NAS (or any Linux client), pulling from the Synology
rsync -avh --progress --partial \
admin@SYNOLOGY_IP:/volume1/photos/ /volume1/photos/
# Verify with a dry-run checksum pass before cutting over
rsync -avhn --checksum \
admin@SYNOLOGY_IP:/volume1/photos/ /volume1/photos/Moving from UGREEN to Synology
The route mirrors the one above. Set up DSM, create shares with the same names, and push or pull data with rsync or SMB copy tools. Synology also lists a Migration Assistant package for moves between Synology units, so keep that in mind if you later upgrade from the DS925+ to another DiskStation. If you would rather avoid vendor lock-in on both sides, you can build a DIY NAS server and keep the data on open filesystems.
Pros and Cons of Each NAS
Synology DS925+
- Pro: DSM is mature, documented and actively maintained on two branches.
- Pro: Hyper Backup, Snapshot Replication and Active Backup for Business cover most backup needs.
- Pro: A formal security advisory process, shown again during PHP2Shell.
- Con: Costs more in every dated snapshot we found.
- Con: Two 2.5GbE ports and no integrated graphics limit speed and transcoding.
- Con: At least one configuration was listed as backordered, and prices differ by region.
UGREEN NASync DXP4800 Plus
- Pro: 10GbE plus 2.5GbE, two M.2 slots and 4K HDMI at a lower price.
- Pro: Intel graphics with Quick Sync for Plex and Jellyfin.
- Pro: Memory that grows to 64 GB and a fast firmware cadence.
- Con: UGOS Pro has a smaller app catalog and thinner community documentation.
- Con: Prices and promotions swing by region and week.
- Con: A younger NAS brand with a shorter track record on long-term support.
Final Verdict: Which NAS Should You Buy?
Pick the UGREEN NASync DXP4800 Plus if you want the strongest hardware for the money. At $656.99 it costs less than the $771.39 third-party tracker reading for the DS925+, and it adds a 10GbE port, Intel graphics, two M.2 slots and up to 64 GB of memory. For Plex, 4K editing, containers and anyone comfortable learning a newer operating system, it is the better 4-bay buy today.
Pick the Synology DS925+ if software and support trump specs. DSM, Active Backup for Business and a documented advisory process still set the standard for people who want the NAS to disappear into their routine. If budget is the only obstacle, compare the DS925neo+ before you give up on Synology, and remember its reported non-ECC memory.
One caution applies to both: prices moved weekly in October, the DXP4800 Pro and the neo+ family are new variables, and our fact check could not confirm every DS925+ hardware detail from Synology’s own pages. Confirm the checkout price, the memory configuration and the stock status on the day you order.
When neither box is the right buy
A four-bay NAS is overkill for plenty of households. If you only need to back up two laptops and share a folder, a two-bay model or a single external drive with cloud sync costs far less and breaks less often. If you want a media server above all else, a small x86 mini PC with Quick Sync and a couple of large disks can beat both boxes on price. And if you need enterprise-grade support, look at Synology’s business lineup rather than a home model. Match the tool to the job, and let the 4-bay decision wait until your storage needs justify it.
Pre-purchase checklist
- Check your switch and client adapters. Without 10GbE on both ends, the DXP4800 Plus’s fastest port sits idle.
- List your must-have software. If it is Active Backup for Business or Synology Photos, buy Synology. If it is Plex with transcoding, buy UGREEN.
- Price the DS925neo+ and the DXP4800 Pro on the day you order, since both are new and prices move.
- Budget for drives, a UPS and a second backup target. The NAS price is only part of the bill.
- Confirm drive compatibility, especially if you plan to reuse non-Synology disks with DSM.
- Decide who maintains the box. A shared family NAS rewards the platform with the smoother daily experience.
- Put the box behind a VPN, enable two-factor authentication and apply the latest security update on day one.
FAQ: Synology DS925+ vs UGREEN DXP4800 Plus
Is the UGREEN DXP4800 Plus better than the Synology DS925+?
On hardware and price, yes. It costs less at the dated prices we found, adds 10GbE and Intel graphics, and accepts up to 64 GB of memory. On software maturity and backup tools, the DS925+ is ahead. The better box depends on whether you value specs or the operating system.
How much does the UGREEN DXP4800 Plus cost right now?
UGREEN’s US page listed $656.99 on October 23, reduced from $729.99. Regional listings showed roughly €599.99 to €629.99 in Europe. A fall promotion in early October briefly reached $583.99, and that price has ended.
Does the Synology DS925+ support hardware transcoding?
Not through an integrated GPU. The processor named in the listing is an embedded Ryzen V1500B without integrated graphics, so transcoding runs on the CPU. Choose the DXP4800 Plus if you need Quick Sync.
Is Synology’s new neo+ series a replacement for the DS925+?
No evidence says so. Synology presents the DS925neo+ as a lower-cost counterpart, and its documentation still lists the DS925+ among current 25-series models. Synology’s blog says the Neo models cost about €200 less than the matching Plus model.
Do both NAS units come with drives?
No. Both are sold diskless in the listings we checked. Bundles that include drives or a UPS carry different prices, so never compare them with the bare-unit figures above.
Can I move my drives from a Synology to a UGREEN NAS?
Do not rely on it. The two systems manage storage pools differently, so copy the data over the network with rsync or SMB and keep the old unit running until you verify the new one.
Which NAS is safer after the PHP2Shell disclosure?
Neither is safe if left unpatched or exposed to the internet. Synology published advisory Synology-SA-26:14 and shipped PHP updates this month. Apply current updates on either box, keep remote access behind a VPN and maintain a separate backup.
