Comparisons
Best NAS alternative for creative teams in 2026
Cloud drives that replace the office server without the maintenance
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Last updated September 2026
A NAS in the studio closet made sense when everyone was in the same building and cloud speeds were slow. It stopped making sense when the team went remote, the drives started filling, and someone had to drive to the office on a Sunday to restart the Synology. Creative teams are moving from NAS to cloud, not because NAS is bad technology, but because maintaining hardware, configuring VPNs for remote access, managing RAID rebuilds, and running firmware updates is work that has nothing to do with making things. Here is what replaces the NAS, what each option trades away, and what it gains.
Comparison table
Fabric | LucidLink | Dropbox Business | Google Workspace | Box | Egnyte | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Starting price | $8/mo (yearly) | $7/user/mo (Starter) | $18/user/mo (Business) | $14/user/mo (Business Starter) | $20/user/mo (Business) | $10/user/mo |
Storage model | Cloud drive, zero disk space, instant streaming | Virtual drive, block-level streaming | File sync with Smart Sync | File sync | Cloud storage with sync | Hybrid cloud + local storage |
Large file handling | Streams files of any size | Streams files of any size directly to apps | Smart Sync (selective download) | Standard sync, 5TB per file | Standard sync, 5GB per file (Business) | Standard sync with local cache |
AI search | Semantic, visual, colour, inside-document, inside-video | None | File name only | File name and basic content | File name, some content indexing | File name and metadata |
Remote access | Any device, any platform, no VPN needed | Desktop app, no VPN needed | Any device, no VPN needed | Any device, no VPN needed | Any device, no VPN needed | Any device with web app, local office NAS option |
Collaboration | Real-time co-editing, annotations, comments, shared drives | Shared filespace with permissions | File sharing, comments | Real-time editing in Workspace apps | File sharing, comments, workflow automation | File sharing, approvals, workflows |
Admin controls | Shared drives with permissions | User and group permissions | Admin console, device management | Admin console, DLP, Vault | Advanced security, compliance, retention | Granular permissions, compliance |
Workspace features | Notes, canvas, tasks, publishing, 30+ integrations | None | None | Workspace apps (Docs, Sheets, Slides) | Some workflow tools | Some content governance tools |
Why teams leave the NAS
The NAS itself is fine technology. A Synology or QNAP in the office, properly configured, serves files fast over a local network. The problem is everything around it.
Hardware maintenance. RAID rebuilds when a drive fails. Firmware updates that sometimes break things. Expansion bays that fill up and require new hardware. Backup the NAS to somewhere offsite, which is another system to manage.
Remote access. A VPN that everyone on the team needs to install and keep connected. Connection drops. Slow access over a home internet connection compared to gigabit in the office. New hires who need VPN credentials configured before they can access any files.
Scaling. Adding storage means buying drives, installing them, rebuilding arrays. Cloud storage scales instantly. If the project needs another terabyte tomorrow, it is there tomorrow.
Collaboration. A NAS serves files. It does not offer comments, annotations, version tracking beyond basic snapshots, or any way to collaborate on the content of those files. For creative teams that need feedback loops, the NAS is a file server without opinions.
For a deeper look at this trade-off, see NAS vs cloud for creative teams.
Fabric
Fabric replaces the NAS and adds the layer that the NAS never had: understanding.
The cloud drive streams files using zero disk space. No local drives to manage, no RAID arrays to rebuild, no firmware to update. Every team member accesses the same files from any device and platform without a VPN. Storage scales instantly.
What Fabric adds beyond NAS replacement is AI search that goes inside your files. A NAS serves files. Fabric understands them. Search by meaning across documents, videos, and images. Find footage by visual content. Find a passage in a PDF by describing it. Find reference images by colour palette. Automatic transcription makes video and audio searchable by timestamp.
The workspace connects files to the work around them. Notes and documents for briefs and project documentation. A spatial canvas for visual planning and moodboarding. Annotations for pinning feedback on any file type. Publishing with analytics for sharing work with clients and stakeholders. And 30+ app connections including Slack, Google Drive, Figma, and Notion so the cloud drive is part of your existing tool stack, not a silo.
Fabric does not offer a local NAS-like cache for office-speed access the way Egnyte does, and it does not offer block-level streaming to NLE applications the way LucidLink does. For teams where local speed in the office is essential, Egnyte's hybrid model or LucidLink's streaming is better suited. For everything else, Fabric replaces the NAS with a cloud that does more than serve files.
Pricing starts at $8/mo billed yearly, with a free tier that includes limited storage and AI.
LucidLink
LucidLink is the closest thing to a NAS that lives in the cloud. It presents cloud storage as a virtual drive in Finder or Explorer, streaming file data block by block to applications. For video teams editing Premiere projects or architecture firms opening Revit models, the experience is similar to working from a fast local server. Zero-knowledge encryption and customer-managed keys provide strong security.
Starter is $7/user/month with 100GB included. Business is $32/user/month with higher throughput. Storage beyond the included amount costs extra. LucidLink is excellent at replacing the NAS for file access but does not add anything the NAS did not have. There is no search beyond the OS file browser, no collaboration tools, no mobile app, and no workspace features. It replaces the hardware and the VPN. It does not replace the limitation of files sitting in folders with no way to search inside them. See Fabric vs LucidLink.
Dropbox Business
Dropbox is the familiar option. Most creative teams have used it at some point. Smart Sync handles selective file syncing. The admin console provides device management and user controls. Integrations with Slack, Asana, and Adobe tools connect it to existing workflows.
Dropbox Business starts at $18/user/month, and per-seat pricing scales up for larger teams. For a ten-person creative team, that is $180/month before accounting for additional storage. File search is by name only. There is no AI that understands the contents of your files. The NAS replacement value is reliable sync and remote access, but Dropbox adds the same limitation: files in folders, searchable only by what you named them. See Dropbox is too expensive.
Google Workspace
Google Workspace bundles Drive storage with Docs, Sheets, Slides, Gmail, and Calendar. For teams that already live in Google's ecosystem, the integration is seamless. Real-time collaborative editing is mature. Admin controls include data loss prevention and Vault for retention.
For creative teams specifically, Google Drive's limitations with large files are a real problem. Video footage, RAW photography, and design files are not what Drive was built for. Upload speeds are inconsistent for large files, the web interface slows with large folders, and search does not go inside media files. Workspace is a productivity suite that happens to include storage, not a storage solution built for creative work.
Box
Box positions itself as a content cloud for enterprise. Advanced security controls, compliance features (HIPAA, FedRAMP, SOC 2), workflow automation, and a broad integration ecosystem. For teams in regulated industries, Box's governance features are its main draw.
Box's 5GB per-file limit on the Business plan is a hard ceiling for creative teams working with video, RAW photography, or 3D assets. Enterprise plans raise the limit but raise the cost. Content search is basic. There are no creative-workflow tools, no AI search inside media files, and no canvas or annotation features. Box is built for document-heavy enterprise workflows, not for teams pushing large creative files. See Fabric vs Box.
Egnyte
Egnyte is the hybrid option: cloud storage with the ability to keep a local NAS-like cache in the office for fast access. For teams that want cloud remote access but also want local-speed access in the office, this is a genuine differentiator. Granular permissions, compliance tools, and content governance make it suitable for regulated industries.
At $10/user/month, Egnyte is competitive. The trade-off is that it is a storage and governance platform, not a workspace. No AI search, no creative collaboration tools, no annotations or canvas. For teams migrating from NAS who want to keep the local-speed experience while gaining remote access, Egnyte's hybrid model is worth evaluating. For teams who want the migration to also improve how they search, organise, and collaborate on their files, Egnyte solves half the problem.
How to choose
If you need a virtual drive that streams files directly to editing applications, LucidLink is the specialist. If you need a hybrid cloud-and-local setup for office-speed access with cloud remote access, Egnyte covers that. If you need enterprise compliance and governance, Box or Egnyte are built for that.
If you want the NAS migration to be more than trading one dumb file server for another, and you want your files searchable by meaning, your media transcribed, your creative work organised alongside notes and briefs, and your team collaborating in one workspace, Fabric is the alternative that makes the migration worth the effort. For creative teams, agencies, photographers, and videographers, the question is whether the new storage should also be the new workspace.
Frequently asked questions
Is cloud storage as fast as a local NAS?
For local network access in the same building, a well-configured NAS is still faster. Over the internet, a cloud drive with streaming (like Fabric or LucidLink) can match or exceed NAS-over-VPN performance because there is no VPN overhead and data centres have high-bandwidth connections. The practical speed difference depends on your internet connection and file sizes.
What happens to my files if the cloud provider has an outage?
Reputable cloud providers maintain multiple redundant copies of your data across data centres. Outages that prevent access are rare and temporary, typically minutes to hours. A NAS with a single RAID array in one location is technically more vulnerable to permanent data loss from fire, theft, or hardware failure. Most teams keep a backup regardless of storage method.
Can I migrate from Synology to cloud storage gradually?
Yes. Most teams migrate in stages: start by syncing the NAS to a cloud service as a backup, then shift active project access to the cloud, then retire the NAS when the team is comfortable. Fabric's desktop folder sync can sync from local folders to the cloud to facilitate the transition.
How much does it cost to replace a NAS with cloud storage?
A Synology NAS with 20TB of storage costs roughly $1,500-3,000 upfront for hardware, plus drive replacement every 3-5 years. Ongoing costs include electricity, internet bandwidth for remote access, and IT time for maintenance. Cloud alternatives range from Fabric at $8/mo per user to Egnyte at $10/user/mo to LucidLink at $7-32/user/mo. For a five-person team, cloud costs are roughly $40-160/month, comparable to the amortised cost of NAS hardware plus the IT time you no longer spend maintaining it.
Do I still need a backup if I use cloud storage?
Cloud providers maintain redundant copies of your data, so the risk of data loss is low. But a separate backup protects against accidental deletion, account compromise, and provider issues. Backblaze B2 at $6/TB/month is a common backup destination for cloud-stored files. Some teams keep a local backup drive as well.
Can creative teams collaborate through cloud storage the way they did on a NAS?
Better, in most cases. A NAS serves files with basic permissions. Cloud services like Fabric add real-time co-editing, annotations, threaded comments, and publishing with analytics. The collaboration layer that a NAS lacks is one of the main reasons teams migrate. See creative team workflow guide.
Does Fabric support the same folder structure as my NAS?
Fabric supports folders, Spaces, tags, and multiple views (grid, list, kanban, detail). You can recreate your NAS folder hierarchy in Fabric, or take the opportunity to reorganise with a more flexible structure. Tags and Spaces allow multiple organisational schemes on the same set of files, which a folder-only NAS cannot do.
What about teams with both office and remote workers?
This is where cloud storage has the clearest advantage over NAS. Office workers and remote workers access the same files at the same speed (or close to it, depending on the service). No VPN. No "you need to be on the office network" restriction. Fabric works from any device and platform, which means office, home, mobile, and travel access are all the same experience.
Can I keep some files local and some in the cloud?
Yes. Fabric's cloud drive and desktop folder sync let you decide what lives where. Most teams keep their full library in the cloud and use local storage only for active editing sessions that need maximum speed. Egnyte's hybrid model formalises this with a local NAS-like cache. The approach depends on your team's file sizes and speed requirements.
Is Fabric free?
Fabric does have a free tier with limited storage and AI. Paid plans start at $8/mo billed yearly.
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