NovaNAS vs TrueNAS
NovaNAS
novanas.org
TrueNAS
truenas.comSide by side
| Figure | NovaNAS | TrueNAS |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 2 |
| Spec score · NAS Software | 8.5 (#3) | 8.4 (#4) |
| Product | NovaNAS is an open-source NAS operating system managed through a desktop-like web interface. | TrueNAS Community Edition is a free, open storage platform offering file, block, and object storage through one interface. |
| Security | The site lists UFW firewall controls, DynDNS, and automatic Let's Encrypt SSL/TLS certificate management. | The feature table lists self-encrypted drives, dataset encryption, encrypted replication, WireGuard, OpenVPN, ACLs, and IP filtering. |
Plans
In their own words
NovaNAS
NovaNAS is a free, open-source NAS operating system managed through a desktop-like web interface. Its browser file manager supports browsing, uploading, downloading, and previewing files. Storage features include ZFS and EXT4, RAID management, and SMB/CIFS and NFS shared folders with access controls. A community app store offers one-click deployment of Docker applications such as Plex, Nextcloud, and Pi-hole. The project describes automated backups to external drives or cloud storage, and network backups between NovaNAS systems using API key authentication. Security and network tools include UFW firewall management, DynDNS, automatic Let's Encrypt certificates, and WebAuthn/FIDO2 passkey login. The interface monitors CPU, memory, disk, and network activity in real time. NovaNAS currently supports Debian 13 only, and its installer is intended for a fresh system, not an existing one. Minimum requirements are 2 GB RAM, a 1-core CPU, and a 20 GB system drive, plus data drives. Virtualization, historical monitoring, and scheduled tasks are listed as coming soon.
TrueNAS
TrueNAS Community Edition is free storage software that provides file, block, and object storage through one interface. It uses ZFS capabilities including snapshots, replication, RAID-Z, and self-healing checksums. Listed services include SMB, NFS, iSCSI, S3 API compatibility, apps, Docker containers, and virtual machines. Administrators can manage it through a web UI or CLI and use SNMP, syslog, reporting, and the TrueNAS API. Security options include self-encrypted drives, dataset encryption, encrypted replication, WireGuard, OpenVPN, ACLs, and IP filtering. The maker lists integrations or certifications involving Kubernetes CSI, Proxmox, VMware, Veeam, Red Hat OpenShift, and others. The Community Edition is a free software download for x86 hardware, with support through forums, documentation, release notes, and bug ticketing. Professional support is described for Enterprise customers. TrueNAS publishes security advisories and recommends configuring systems according to its security best practices. Moving from TrueNAS CORE to Community Edition is a one-way upgrade.