Seagate Exos Enterprise Hard Drives — Prices & Deals 2026

Yes, Exos is excellent for home NAS and often the best value option. Despite being "enterprise" drives, they work perfectly in consumer NAS systems like Synology and QNAP. Benefits: better $/TB than IronWolf, 5-year warranty, higher workload rating, proven reliability. The main trade-offs are slightly higher noise levels and lack of IronWolf Health Management. Many r/DataHoarder enthusiasts specifically recommend Exos for home use.

Exos offers better specs and often better pricing. Exos advantages: 5-year warranty (vs 3), 550TB/year workload (vs 180TB), 2.5M hour MTBF (vs 1M), often lower $/TB. IronWolf advantages: quieter operation, IronWolf Health Management software, designed specifically for consumer NAS. For value-focused buyers, Exos wins. For those prioritizing quiet operation or IHM features, IronWolf is better. Both are highly reliable.

Exos drives are louder than consumer NAS drives, but not dramatically so. They're designed for server rooms where noise isn't a concern. In a home environment, you'll notice more seek noise during active reads/writes. In a closet or dedicated NAS location, this typically isn't an issue. In a living room or bedroom, you might prefer IronWolf or WD Red Plus for quieter operation. Many users report Exos noise as "noticeable but not bothersome."

The number indicates maximum capacity in TB. X16 goes up to 16TB, X18 up to 18TB, X20 up to 20TB, and X24 up to 24TB. Each generation adds capacity through additional platters and improved density. Core specs (warranty, workload rating, reliability) are similar across the lineup. Choose based on your capacity needs and current $/TB pricing — often the "sweet spot" value is in the 16TB-18TB range.

For home use and consumer NAS, buy SATA. SAS (Serial Attached SCSI) is an enterprise interface that requires a SAS controller — your consumer NAS or motherboard won't have one. SATA Exos drives work with standard SATA ports found in all consumer devices. SAS offers dual-port capability and slightly better performance, but it's only relevant for enterprise servers with SAS infrastructure.

Exos drives are among the most reliable available. Backblaze's annual drive statistics consistently show Seagate enterprise drives with excellent reliability — often under 1% annualized failure rate. The 2.5 million hour MTBF rating, 5-year warranty, and data center pedigree all indicate exceptional expected reliability. For critical data, always use RAID redundancy regardless of drive choice, but Exos is an excellent foundation.

Both are excellent enterprise drives with similar specs. WD Ultrastar (formerly HGST) has a legendary reputation for lowest failure rates. Seagate Exos offers higher maximum capacities (24TB vs 22TB). Both have 5-year warranties and similar workload ratings. Reliability is comparable. Choose whichever offers better $/TB at purchase time — they're both excellent choices for bulk storage. See our Seagate vs WD comparison.

Amazon, Newegg, and B&H Photo carry Exos drives. You can also find them from enterprise resellers and occasionally on eBay (new or refurbished). The table above shows current Amazon prices sorted by $/TB. Watch for sales during Prime Day and Black Friday. Recertified/refurbished Exos drives can offer significant savings — just ensure they come with a warranty from a reputable seller.