Alternatives to Unraid

A paid home server operating system combining NAS storage, Docker containers and virtual machines. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.

  • Unraid

    A paid home server operating system combining NAS storage, Docker containers and virtual machines.

    PaidProprietarySelf-hosted

Replacements

Listings that take over the same core job as Unraid.

  • TrueNAS Community Edition

    A free Linux-based storage operating system built on OpenZFS, with Docker apps and virtualization.

    FreeOpen sourceSelf-hosted

    TrueNAS Community Edition is free and open source, built on OpenZFS with Docker apps and virtual machines, though some features are reserved for Enterprise appliances and support is community only.

Also worth comparing

These listings name Unraid as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.

  • Proxmox VE

    A bare-metal server platform that runs KVM virtual machines and LXC containers from one web interface.

    FreemiumOpen sourceLinuxSelf-hosted

    Unraid is a paid closed-source home server system combining mixed-drive NAS storage, Docker apps and virtual machines with graphics card passthrough.

  • Sandstorm

    Self-hosting platform that runs web apps in per-app sandboxes.

    FreeOpen sourceSelf-hosted

    Unraid combines NAS storage, Docker Community Apps templates and virtual machines, but requires a paid licence and is not open source.

  • SnapRAID

    Parity-based backup tool that protects JBOD disk arrays from drive failure.

    FreeOpen sourceLinuxCommand line

    Unraid is a paid, closed-source server operating system that also mixes drives of any size, adding Docker containers and virtual machines on top of storage.

  • VMware ESXi Free

    Industry-standard bare-metal hypervisor with a free tier for small setups.

    FreemiumProprietarySelf-hosted

    Unraid combines NAS storage, Docker containers and virtual machines with graphics card passthrough, and requires a paid licence after the trial rather than offering a free tier.

Similar software

Related functionality, not a direct replacement.