TrueNAS vs ZimaOS
TrueNAS
truenas.comZimaOS
zimaspace.comSide by side
| Figure | TrueNAS | ZimaOS |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 2 | 2 |
| Spec score · NAS Software | 8.4 (#4) | 8.6 (#1) |
| API | Current releases use a versioned JSON-RPC 2.0 API over WebSocket; the former REST API was deprecated in 25.04 and removed in 26. | The OpenAPI exposes programmatic operations for files, users and system settings. |
| Company headquarters | The company lists 541 Division Street, Campbell, California 95008, USA as its address. | Crunchbase lists ZimaSpace headquarters in Shanghai, China. |
| Company legal name | The product footer identifies the maker as iXsystems, Inc. doing business as TrueNAS. | Crunchbase lists the maker's legal name as IceWhale Technology Limited. |
| Founded | 2002 | 2020 |
| Headquarters | Campbell, California, USA | Hong Kong, China |
| Integrations | The platform lists TrueNAS Connect, TrueCommand, CloudSync, Veeam, vCenter, OpenStack Cinder, Syncthing, Rsync and Fibre Channel integrations. | The maker highlights Immich, Emby, Jellyfin, Plex, Home Assistant, Nextcloud, Paperless-ngx, n8n, and Pi-hole among supported apps. |
| Rating on Google Play | 4.5 out of 5 from 44 reviews for the unofficial NASDeck app | 3.1 out of 5 from 231 reviews |
| What it does | TrueNAS is a self-hosted storage platform built on OpenZFS for unified file, block, object and application workloads. | ZimaOS is a NAS and personal-cloud operating system for storage, backups, applications, media and virtual machines. |
Plans
In their own words
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.
ZimaOS
ZimaOS is a NAS operating system for x86-64 hardware that combines file management, storage, backups, and apps. Users can manage, preview, and share files from phones, cloud storage, and external drives. Supported configurations include JBOD and RAID 0, 1, 5, and 6, while the backup system manages backup and sync across cloud, local, and LAN storage using a 3-2-1 strategy. Its App Store advertises more than 800 apps, with one-click installation and third-party Docker support; examples include Immich, Emby, Jellyfin, Plex, Home Assistant, and Nextcloud. It connects over LAN or WAN from PC and Mac and can connect with Synology and QNAP NAS devices. The maker says remote access uses encrypted peer-to-peer connections without internet ports open by default, and that local accounts collect no telemetry or user data. The free plan allows up to 4 disks and 3 members. ZimaOS+ costs 29.00 USD once for a lifetime license and allows unlimited disks and users. The license is bound to one device and may be transferred after at least one year of activation.