NAS electricity cost by model
By Devin Chua · Data checked by Owen Nakamura · Updated The most efficient tracked NAS boxes run for roughly CA$17.43 a year; the hungriest six-bay units around CA$52.52 — at a 13¢/kWh reference rate, with drives fitted. The table below estimates each model’s yearly cost; the calculator gives your exact figure at your province’s rate.
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Wattages are estimates of diskless system draw from CPU class (no maker publishes a verified diskless idle figure per model), plus each model’s bay count in 3.5″ drives at ~4 W idle / 6 W active. Annual cost is at a 13¢/kWh reference rate — set your own province and drive count in the calculator.
| Model | Idle W (est.) | Active W (est.) | Bays | ~Annual @ 13¢ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DH2300Rockchip RK3576, ARM 8-core (Cortex-A72 and A53) | 4 | 9 | 2 | CA$17.43 |
| TS-233ARM Cortex-A55 (4 cores, 2.0 GHz) | 4 | 9 | 2 | CA$17.43 |
| DXP2800Intel N100 (4 cores) | 6 | 12 | 2 | CA$20.23 |
| TS-264Intel Celeron N5095 (4 cores) | 6 | 12 | 2 | CA$20.23 |
| F2-425Intel N5095 (4 cores, 2.0 GHz) | 6 | 12 | 2 | CA$20.23 |
| DS224+Intel Celeron J4125 (4 cores) | 7 | 13 | 2 | CA$21.52 |
| DH4300 PlusARM 8-core (Cortex-A76 and A55, 2.4 GHz) | 4 | 9 | 4 | CA$28.63 |
| DXP4800Intel N100 (4 cores) | 6 | 12 | 4 | CA$31.42 |
| TS-464Intel Celeron N5095 (4 cores) | 6 | 12 | 4 | CA$31.42 |
| F4-425Intel N5095 (4 cores, 2.0 GHz) | 6 | 12 | 4 | CA$31.42 |
| DS423+Intel Celeron J4125 (4 cores) | 7 | 13 | 4 | CA$32.72 |
| DXP4800 PlusIntel Pentium Gold 8505 (5 cores, 6 threads) | 9 | 18 | 4 | CA$35.94 |
| DS925+AMD Ryzen V1500B (4 cores, 8 threads) | 10 | 20 | 4 | CA$37.45 |
| DS923+AMD Ryzen R1600 (2 cores, 4 threads) | 10 | 20 | 4 | CA$37.45 |
| DS1525+AMD Ryzen V1500B (4 cores, 8 threads) | 10 | 20 | 5 | CA$43.05 |
| DXP6800 ProIntel Core i5-1235U (10 cores, 12 threads) | 12 | 28 | 6 | CA$52.52 |
The ARM-vs-x86 idle story
Sort the table by wattage and the pattern is clear: ARM boxes idle lowest (a few watts), then Intel N100 and Celeron, then Pentium and Ryzen, with a Core-i6-bay at the top. But notice the annual column is driven far more by bay count than by CPU — a six-bay ARM box would still cost more to run than a two-bay Core-i one, because six spinning drives beat any CPU difference. Chase efficiency by fitting fewer, larger drives, not by fixating on the chip. The 2-bay vs 4-bay page quantifies the marginal drive.
The efficient picks (in stock on Amazon.ca)
Frequently asked questions
How much does the DH2300 cost to run per year?
About CA$17.43 a year with 2 drives at a 13¢/kWh reference rate (~1.45 CAD a month). That is an estimate of the DH2300's diskless draw (4–9 W) plus its drives; your figure depends on your province and drive count — use the operating-cost calculator for an exact number at your rate.
How much does the TS-233 cost to run per year?
About CA$17.43 a year with 2 drives at a 13¢/kWh reference rate (~1.45 CAD a month). That is an estimate of the TS-233's diskless draw (4–9 W) plus its drives; your figure depends on your province and drive count — use the operating-cost calculator for an exact number at your rate.
How much does the DXP2800 cost to run per year?
About CA$20.23 a year with 2 drives at a 13¢/kWh reference rate (~1.69 CAD a month). That is an estimate of the DXP2800's diskless draw (6–12 W) plus its drives; your figure depends on your province and drive count — use the operating-cost calculator for an exact number at your rate.
How much does the TS-264 cost to run per year?
About CA$20.23 a year with 2 drives at a 13¢/kWh reference rate (~1.69 CAD a month). That is an estimate of the TS-264's diskless draw (6–12 W) plus its drives; your figure depends on your province and drive count — use the operating-cost calculator for an exact number at your rate.
How much does the F2-425 cost to run per year?
About CA$20.23 a year with 2 drives at a 13¢/kWh reference rate (~1.69 CAD a month). That is an estimate of the F2-425's diskless draw (6–12 W) plus its drives; your figure depends on your province and drive count — use the operating-cost calculator for an exact number at your rate.
How much does the DS224+ cost to run per year?
About CA$21.52 a year with 2 drives at a 13¢/kWh reference rate (~1.79 CAD a month). That is an estimate of the DS224+'s diskless draw (7–13 W) plus its drives; your figure depends on your province and drive count — use the operating-cost calculator for an exact number at your rate.
How much does the DH4300 Plus cost to run per year?
About CA$28.63 a year with 4 drives at a 13¢/kWh reference rate (~2.39 CAD a month). That is an estimate of the DH4300 Plus's diskless draw (4–9 W) plus its drives; your figure depends on your province and drive count — use the operating-cost calculator for an exact number at your rate.
How much does the DXP4800 cost to run per year?
About CA$31.42 a year with 4 drives at a 13¢/kWh reference rate (~2.62 CAD a month). That is an estimate of the DXP4800's diskless draw (6–12 W) plus its drives; your figure depends on your province and drive count — use the operating-cost calculator for an exact number at your rate.
How much does the TS-464 cost to run per year?
About CA$31.42 a year with 4 drives at a 13¢/kWh reference rate (~2.62 CAD a month). That is an estimate of the TS-464's diskless draw (6–12 W) plus its drives; your figure depends on your province and drive count — use the operating-cost calculator for an exact number at your rate.
How much does the F4-425 cost to run per year?
About CA$31.42 a year with 4 drives at a 13¢/kWh reference rate (~2.62 CAD a month). That is an estimate of the F4-425's diskless draw (6–12 W) plus its drives; your figure depends on your province and drive count — use the operating-cost calculator for an exact number at your rate.
How much does the DS423+ cost to run per year?
About CA$32.72 a year with 4 drives at a 13¢/kWh reference rate (~2.73 CAD a month). That is an estimate of the DS423+'s diskless draw (7–13 W) plus its drives; your figure depends on your province and drive count — use the operating-cost calculator for an exact number at your rate.
How much does the DXP4800 Plus cost to run per year?
About CA$35.94 a year with 4 drives at a 13¢/kWh reference rate (~3.00 CAD a month). That is an estimate of the DXP4800 Plus's diskless draw (9–18 W) plus its drives; your figure depends on your province and drive count — use the operating-cost calculator for an exact number at your rate.
Which NAS is the cheapest to run in Canada?
Among tracked models, the lowest-power boxes are the ARM and Intel N100 units — an ARM two-bay can run for roughly CA$17.43 a year at 13¢/kWh, versus double that for a six-bay Core-i array. But drives dominate: a two-bay with two drives always beats a six-bay with six, whatever the CPU.
Devin Chua works out which drives, RAM and NVMe cache fit which NAS model at nasdrives.ca, and what the RAID choice means for usable capacity, checked against what is in stock on Amazon.ca.
Data checked by Owen Nakamura, Technical editor (data checking)