Unraid vs TrueNAS: which should you run?

The core difference: how they use drives

TrueNAS runs ZFS, which stripes across matched drives and sizes a RAID-Z vdev to the smallest member: mixed sizes waste capacity. In return you get end-to-end checksums, scrubs that repair silent corruption, and instant snapshots. It is the choice when data integrity is the priority.

Unraid does not stripe: each data drive holds whole files on its own filesystem, protected by one or two parity drives. Mixed drive sizes cost nothing, and you add a single larger drive whenever you like. The trade is speed (reads come from one drive, not the array) and no ZFS-style checksumming on the array by default (though Unraid now offers ZFS pools too).

Cost, in Canadian dollars

TrueNAS is free and open-source. Unraid is a one-time purchase (tiers by drive count, roughly CA$65 to CA$170 in CAD at current pricing) with no subscription for the base licence. For a build you will grow drive by drive, many Canadians find the Unraid licence pays for itself in the drives it lets them reuse.

Which builder each suits

• Pick Unraid if you have a pile of mismatched drives, plan to grow gradually, want easy Docker/VM management, and prefer a friendly UI.
• Pick TrueNAS if you are buying matched drives, want ZFS integrity and snapshots, run replication to another ZFS box, and are comfortable with a more technical setup.

Both are excellent; there is no wrong answer, only a better fit. Size either with the RAID-Z or Unraid calculator.