Best hard drives for a NAS & Plex server

Updated June 2026

Home media servers eat storage, and shucked CMR drives are the cheapest way to feed them. Here's how to size your build, why CMR matters for an array, and which drives give you the most terabytes per dollar right now.

Why shucked drives run most home servers

A Plex or Jellyfin library, a Synology or TrueNAS box, an unRAID server — they all want lots of cheap, reliable spinning storage. Shucking external desktop drives gets you NAS-class CMR disks for far less than buying them bare, which is why shucked WD Elements and Seagate Expansion drives are everywhere in the home-server community.

CMR is non-negotiable for an array

The single most important rule: use CMR drives in any RAID, ZFS or unRAID array. SMR (shingled) drives overlap tracks to save cost, but they stall under the sustained random writes of a parity rebuild — and a stalled rebuild can take down the array. Desktop externals at 12 TB and up are CMR, which is exactly why those are the sizes to shuck. See CMR vs SMR for the details.

How much storage do you actually need?

Estimate your library, then add headroom and redundancy:

Data drives — enough capacity for your media plus ~30% growth room.
Parity/redundancy — at least one drive's worth (RAID5/RAIDZ1 or an unRAID parity disk) so a single failure doesn't lose data.
Fewer, bigger drives — using larger shucked drives means fewer bays, lower power draw and less heat for the same capacity.

Most home builds land at 3–5 drives. Larger capacities (16–22 TB) keep bay count down; mid sizes (14–18 TB) usually win on $/TB.

Cheapest CMR drives to shuck right now

Ranked by live $/TB — buy when a capacity drops into the green:

Shuckable HDDs ranked by $/TB, lowest first
Rank	Product	TB	$/TB	90 days	Amazon
1	WD Elements · 16TB Lowest price we have tracked	16	unit price$31.25per TB, good value	90-day price	Amazon $499.99 seen Nov 3, 6:08 PM CT View on Amazon
2	Seagate Expansion Desktop · 20TB	20	unit price$32.80per TB, good value	90-day price	Amazon $655.99 seen Nov 3, 6:08 PM CT View on Amazon
3	Seagate Expansion Desktop · 22TB	22	unit price$39.54per TB, typical price	90-day price	Amazon $869.91 seen Nov 3, 6:08 PM CT View on Amazon
4	WD Elements · 18TB	18	unit price$39.72per TB, typical price	90-day price	Amazon $715.00 seen Nov 3, 6:08 PM CT View on Amazon
5	WD My Book · 16TB Lowest price we have tracked	16	unit price$41.25per TB, expensive	90-day price	Amazon $659.99 seen Nov 3, 6:08 PM CT View on Amazon
6	WD Elements · 20TB	20	unit price$41.50per TB, expensive	90-day price	Amazon $829.99 seen Nov 3, 6:08 PM CT View on Amazon
7	WD My Book · 14TB	14	unit price$42.84per TB, expensive	90-day price	Amazon $599.75 seen Nov 3, 6:08 PM CT View on Amazon
8	WD My Book · 12TB	12	unit price$43.12per TB, expensive	90-day price	Amazon $517.40 seen Nov 3, 6:08 PM CT View on Amazon
9	WD My Book · 18TB	18	unit price$43.33per TB, expensive	90-day price	Amazon $780.00 seen Nov 3, 6:08 PM CT View on Amazon
10	WD Elements · 14TB	14	unit price$49.99per TB, very expensive	90-day price	Amazon $699.90 seen Nov 3, 6:08 PM CT View on Amazon
11	WD Elements · 24TB	24	unit price$52.85per TB, very expensive	90-day price	Amazon $1268.30 seen Nov 3, 6:08 PM CT View on Amazon
	Seagate Expansion Desktop · 12TB	12	unit price—no current price		Amazon live price at Amazon See price on Amazon
	Seagate Expansion Desktop · 16TB	16	unit price—no current price		Amazon live price at Amazon See price on Amazon
	WD Elements · 12TB	12	unit price—no current price		Amazon live price at Amazon See price on Amazon
	WD Elements · 22TB	22	unit price—no current price		Amazon live price at Amazon See price on Amazon

Prices checked Nov 3, 6:08 PM CT. Anything older than 24 hours is hidden, and the retailer's page always has the live price.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. The retailer buttons are paid affiliate links, so we may earn a commission on a qualifying purchase at no extra cost to you. Prices and availability are accurate only as of the date/time shown and are subject to change; the price and availability on the retailer's own site at the time of purchase is the one that applies.

Build considerations

The 3.3V pin. Many WD shucks need a Molex-to-SATA adapter or Kapton tape on SATA power pin 3 to spin up. Keep one handy.
Heat & noise. Helium drives (typical at higher capacities) run cooler and quieter than air-filled units; give any array decent airflow.
Power & a UPS. Spinning rust plus a sudden power loss is how arrays get corrupted — a small UPS is cheap insurance.
Burn-in. Test every shucked drive's SMART health and run a quick read/write pass before trusting it with data.

RAID is not a backup. Parity protects against a dead drive, not against deletion, ransomware or a flooded closet. Keep a separate copy of anything you can't re-rip — and shucking makes that backup drive cheap too.

NAS & Plex storage FAQ

Are shucked drives good for a NAS or Plex server?

Yes, as long as you use CMR drives (12 TB+ desktop externals are CMR). A shucked drive is a standard 3.5-inch SATA disk; thousands of home servers run on shucked WD Elements and Seagate Expansion drives. Confirm CMR, check SMART health, and handle the 3.3V pin on first boot.

How many drives do I need for a Plex server?

Start with your library size plus headroom and a parity/redundancy drive. Many home setups run 3–5 drives: enough data drives for the library plus at least one for parity (e.g. RAID5/RAIDZ1 or unRAID parity). Fewer, larger shucked drives keep bay count and power down.

Do I need CMR or is SMR fine for media storage?

Use CMR for any array. SMR can be tolerable for a single cold-archive disk, but it stalls during RAID/ZFS rebuilds and parity writes, which risks the whole array. Sticking to 12 TB+ shuckables keeps you on CMR.

Is RAID a backup?

No. RAID and unRAID parity protect against a drive failure, not against deletion, corruption or disaster. Keep a separate backup of anything irreplaceable — the 3-2-1 rule. Shucking makes that backup drive cheap.