Are WD Red drives compatible with Synology?

Yes — WD Red Plus and WD Red Pro are among the most common drives people run in Synology units, and Western Digital's NAS Reds appear on Synology's compatibility lists for many models.

Which WD Red

• WD Red Plus (CMR): the mainstream choice — works across Synology models, rebuilds cleanly.
• WD Red Pro (CMR): 7200 rpm, higher workload, for busier or larger units.
• Plain WD Red (SMR, 2–6 TB EFAX): avoid for RAID — the SMR recording can stall rebuilds.

Compatibility lists and the 2025 caveat

Synology publishes a compatibility list per model; WD Red Plus/Pro capacities are widely listed. On the 2025 DiskStation Plus models that briefly required Synology-listed drives, DSM 7.3 restored unlisted HDD and 2.5-inch SATA-SSD support, so WD Red Plus works there again — just confirm your DSM version. Note that RackStation Plus and enterprise-series models still require listed HDDs for new storage pools (unlisted HDDs migrate only). On all older models there was never a restriction.

Bottom line

Buy WD Red Plus or Red Pro (CMR), match or exceed your existing drive size, and you are on safe, well-trodden ground. The table lists in-stock WD Red Plus/Pro drives by price per terabyte.