What month has the cheapest NAS prices?

November consistently offers the lowest NAS prices of the year. Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals on Synology and QNAP units typically run 15-25% off retail. July Prime Day is the second-best window, with 10-20% discounts on most models.

Does Synology ever go on sale?

Synology rarely discounts throughout the year, but Black Friday is the exception. In 2025, the entire Synology Plus lineup including the DS925+, DS1525+, and DS225+ saw meaningful price cuts on Amazon and B&H Photo — some of the deepest discounts in years.

Should I buy a NAS or wait for the next model?

Synology releases new Plus-series models between March and June each year. If you are within two months of a likely refresh, wait — previous-generation units drop 10-15% once the successor ships. Outside that window, buy on the next major sale event.

Are refurbished NAS units worth buying?

Yes, if you buy from the right source. QNAP sells certified refurbished units through its own store with the same warranty as new. Synology refurbished units appear through authorized resellers like Newegg at roughly 40% off retail. Amazon Renewed NAS units carry a 90-day return window but no manufacturer warranty.

Best Time to Buy a NAS: Seasonal Pricing Guide

NAS prices are not random. They follow predictable annual cycles driven by Amazon sale events, manufacturer product launches, and seasonal retail patterns. If you time your purchase correctly, you can save $50-150 on a Synology or QNAP enclosure — and sometimes more on drives.

This guide breaks down exactly when to buy, when to wait, and how to avoid the most common timing mistakes. I track NAS pricing year-round for this site, and the patterns are remarkably consistent.

The Annual NAS Pricing Calendar

Here is what a typical year looks like for NAS pricing, month by month.

January-February: Prices are at or near full retail. CES announcements may hint at upcoming models, but nothing ships yet. This is the worst time to buy unless you find leftover Black Friday inventory.

March-April: Synology typically unveils its new Plus-series models at its annual Solution Exhibition. Announcements start hitting tech press, but shipping dates are still weeks away. Previous-generation models begin showing occasional discounts as retailers anticipate the refresh.

May-June: New Synology models begin shipping. The Synology DS225+ and DS925+ both launched in this window in 2025. Previous-generation units like the Synology DS224+ and Synology DS923+ start dropping 10-15% as retailers clear inventory. This is a solid buying window for last-gen hardware.

July: Amazon Prime Day. The single best mid-year opportunity. NAS enclosures typically see 10-20% discounts, and NAS drives often hit their lowest prices of the year outside Black Friday. TerraMaster and UGREEN discount aggressively (up to 30% off), while Synology and QNAP discounts are more modest but still meaningful.

August-September: Prices recover to normal. QNAP tends to release new models in this period. Not a great buying window unless you catch a back-to-school adjacent sale.

October: Amazon sometimes runs a second Prime Day event (Prime Big Deal Days). Discounts are typically smaller than July but still worth watching. NAS drives in particular can see good price cuts.

November: Black Friday and Cyber Monday. This is the best time to buy a NAS, period. Synology hardware rarely discounts — Black Friday is the exception. In November 2025, the entire Synology 2025 lineup took unusually deep price cuts on Amazon and B&H Photo.

December: Post-Cyber Monday prices creep back up. Some deals linger through mid-December but selection narrows. By the holidays, most NAS deals are gone.

Prime Day: The Mid-Year Window

Amazon Prime Day typically falls in mid-July. For NAS buyers, it is the second-best buying event of the year behind Black Friday.

What to Expect

Synology: Modest but real discounts. Expect $30-60 off Plus-series models. The Synology DS224+ has historically dropped from ~$300 to ~$260 during Prime Day events. The DS923+ has seen similar percentage cuts from ~$570 to ~$500.

QNAP: More aggressive discounting than Synology. The QNAP TS-464 and similar models typically see 15-20% off during Prime Day. QNAP uses Amazon sale events more actively as a channel.

TerraMaster and UGREEN: These brands discount the most aggressively — up to 30% off their full NAS lineup. If you are considering a budget NAS, Prime Day is when these brands become genuinely compelling on price.

NAS drives: This is often the best time to buy drives. Seagate IronWolf 8TB and WD Red Plus 8TB units frequently hit their yearly lows during Prime Day, sometimes even beating Black Friday drive prices.

Prime Day Strategy

You need an Amazon Prime membership to access Prime Day pricing. If you do not have one, sign up for the 30-day free trial before the event, make your purchases, and cancel before the trial ends. Student Prime costs half as much if you qualify.

Set up price alerts on CamelCamelCamel for the specific NAS models you want. This lets you verify whether a Prime Day “deal” is actually a meaningful discount or just the normal street price with a sale tag.

For a broader look at what is currently on sale, see our home lab deals page.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday: Best Deals of the Year

November is when NAS prices reach their absolute lowest. If you can wait until Black Friday, you almost always should.

Typical Savings

Synology Plus-series models: 15-25% off. In Black Friday 2025, the DS925+, DS1525+, DS225+, and DS1825+ all saw their deepest discounts since launch. This is unusual for Synology, which maintains tight pricing control the rest of the year.

QNAP x64 series: 15-25% off. The TS-464 and similar models see some of the sharpest percentage cuts during Black Friday.

NAS drives: 20-30% off on Seagate IronWolf and WD Red Plus models is common. An 8TB IronWolf that normally sells for ~$180 might drop to ~$140.

What Makes Black Friday Different

Black Friday NAS discounts tend to be deeper and more broadly applied than Prime Day. In 2025, NAS Compares documented an average saving of 20% across a wide range of storage products during Black Friday. The key difference is that Synology participates more actively in Black Friday than Prime Day — if you specifically want a Synology unit, Black Friday is your best opportunity.

Amazon Black Friday deal pricing typically requires a Prime membership. The same free trial strategy from Prime Day applies here.

For details on Black Friday home lab deals across all categories, see our home lab Black Friday guide.

Product Launch Cycles: When Old Models Get Cheap

Understanding when Synology and QNAP release new hardware helps you time purchases of both current and previous-generation units.

Synology Release Pattern

Synology follows a roughly annual refresh cycle with a consistent naming convention. Models end in the last two digits of the release year: the DS923+ (2022 release) was succeeded by the DS925+ (2025 release). Not every model gets refreshed every year — Synology sometimes skips a generation.

The typical Synology release timeline:

March-April: New models announced at Synology Solution Exhibition or via press releases.
May-June: New models begin shipping to retailers. In 2025, the DS925+ was unveiled in April and became widely available by early June.
June-August: Previous-generation models start discounting as retailers clear stock.

This creates a predictable buying opportunity. When Synology announces a new Plus-series model, start watching prices on the outgoing model. You can often save 10-15% off the previous-generation unit within 4-8 weeks of the successor shipping.

The catch: Synology’s latest models sometimes carry higher MSRPs than their predecessors. The new model is not always the better value play. A discounted DS923+ can outperform the value proposition of a launch-priced DS925+ depending on your needs. See best NAS for home lab for current recommendations.

QNAP Release Pattern

QNAP releases hardware more frequently than Synology and across a wider product range. New models tend to appear at CES (January) and Computex (May-June), with shipping dates following 2-4 months later. QNAP is also more willing to discount current-generation models during sale events, so the “wait for the next model” calculus matters less.

QNAP’s aggressive pricing strategy means you can often find good deals on current-generation hardware without waiting for a successor launch.

The Overlap Sweet Spot

The best possible timing: buy a previous-generation Synology or QNAP unit during Black Friday after the successor has already launched. You get both the generational discount and the seasonal discount stacked together. In practice, this means buying outgoing Synology models in November of their final year — the DS923+ during Black Friday 2025 was a prime example.

Refurbished and Renewed NAS Units

Buying refurbished can save 25-40% off retail, but the source matters enormously.

Where Refurbished NAS Units Come From

QNAP Certified Refurbished: QNAP sells refurbished units directly through its own online store. These carry the same limited warranty as brand-new products and ship free on orders over $99. This is the safest refurbished option in the NAS market.

Synology Certified Refurbished: Synology does not sell refurbished units directly, but authorized resellers like Newegg (via the Synology America Corp Marketplace) offer refurbished units with a 6-month warranty at roughly 60% of retail price. These are factory-inspected units with known-good components.

Amazon Renewed: Amazon’s Renewed program includes NAS devices from both brands. These come with a 90-day return window but no manufacturer warranty. The discount is typically 15-25% off retail. This is the riskiest option — you are relying on a third-party refurbisher rather than the manufacturer.

When Refurbished Units Appear

Refurbished inventory spikes about 3-6 months after a new model generation ships. When the DS925+ launched in mid-2025, refurbished DS923+ units started appearing in greater numbers by late 2025. The same pattern holds for QNAP.

Holiday return season (January-February) also produces a wave of renewed units on Amazon, though these are often open-box rather than truly refurbished.

What to Watch For

NAS enclosures are relatively safe to buy refurbished because they have few moving parts — the drives are the wear items, and those are sold separately. The main risks are cosmetic damage, degraded thermal paste, and reduced remaining warranty.

Avoid Amazon Renewed NAS units from sellers with limited review histories. Stick to QNAP’s own refurbishment program or Synology-authorized resellers when possible.

Drives Follow Different Cycles

NAS enclosures and NAS hard drives do not always hit their lowest prices at the same time. Smart buyers separate the two purchases.

Drive Pricing Patterns

NAS hard drives like the Seagate IronWolf 8TB and WD Red Plus 8TB follow commodity pricing more than NAS enclosures. Drive prices are influenced by manufacturing capacity, NAND/platter supply, and seasonal retail demand.

In general:

Prime Day (July) often produces the lowest drive prices of the year. Seagate and WD both use Prime Day aggressively to move volume.
Black Friday is close behind, with 20-30% off common. An 8TB IronWolf Pro that lists at ~$180 might drop to ~$140. Larger capacity drives (16TB+) see proportionally bigger dollar savings.
Spring (March-May) is typically the worst time to buy drives. No major sale events and manufacturers have little incentive to discount.

Buy Strategy

If you find a great NAS enclosure deal in May or June (during a product launch clearance), do not feel obligated to buy drives at the same time. Buy the enclosure, wait for Prime Day or Black Friday, and buy drives then. A NAS without drives is just a box on a shelf — it is not costing you anything to wait.

For drive recommendations at any time of year, see best hard drive for NAS.

Common Mistakes

Buying in January. Post-holiday prices are at full retail. There is no meaningful sale event until Prime Day in July (or occasionally a spring Amazon event in March). If you can wait even a few months, you will save money.

Ignoring the product cycle. Buying a current-generation Synology unit two weeks before its successor launches means you paid full price for hardware that is about to become last-gen. Check NAS Compares or Synology’s press page for announcements before pulling the trigger.

Treating every Amazon “deal” as real. Amazon frequently shows inflated “list prices” with percentage-off badges that make mediocre discounts look impressive. Always check CamelCamelCamel price history before assuming a sale price is actually good. If the item has been at that price for weeks, it is not a deal.

Buying drives and enclosure together at full price. NAS enclosures and drives hit their price floors at different times. Splitting the purchases across two sale events can save $100+ on a 4-bay setup.

Skipping the free Prime trial. Both Prime Day and Black Friday NAS deals on Amazon require Prime membership. A 30-day free trial costs nothing and gives you access to the full range of discounts. Cancel after the sale if you do not need Prime year-round.

Overlooking refurbished options. A QNAP certified refurbished unit with full warranty at 60% of retail is objectively better value than a new unit — if you can handle cosmetic imperfections. Most people dismiss refurbished NAS without realizing the warranty coverage is often identical to new.

Wrap-Up

The two best times to buy a NAS are Black Friday (November) and Prime Day (July). Between them, Black Friday wins — especially for Synology hardware, which rarely discounts outside that window.

If you are not buying during a sale event, the next best window is May-June, when previous-generation models start clearing out after new launches ship.

The worst time to buy is January through April — no major sales, no product cycle clearances, and full retail pricing across the board.

Set price alerts, separate your enclosure and drive purchases, and check whether a model refresh is imminent before buying. These three habits alone will save you more than any single sale event.

For current pricing on recommended NAS units, see best NAS for home lab. For the broader home lab deal landscape, check our weekly home lab deals roundup.