WD Red Plus: the CMR WD NAS drive
By Amara Okonkwo · Data checked by Owen Nakamura · Updated WD Red Plus is Western Digital's standard CMR NAS drive — the one to buy, not the plain WD Red, which is SMR. It is 24/7-rated at 180 TB/yr with a 3-year warranty, in capacities up to about 14 TB. For a home NAS it is a direct alternative to Seagate IronWolf. For a busy or larger box, step up to WD Red Pro. The table shows current CA$/TB on Amazon.ca.
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Red vs Red Plus vs Red Pro — the trap
Western Digital's naming causes real mistakes. The plain WD Red in the WD20EFAX to WD60EFAX range is SMR, which does not belong in a RAID array. WD Red Plus is the CMR version — the one you want for a NAS. WD Red Pro is the 7200 rpm, higher-workload, 5-year line.
So on a WD NAS build the rule is simple: buy Red Plus or Red Pro, never plain Red. Every drive in the table below is Red Plus, and therefore CMR.
Where Red Plus fits
Red Plus is CMR, 180 TB/yr, 3-year warranty, 5400-class rpm, up to about 14 TB — the direct counterpart to standard Seagate IronWolf. For file storage, backups and media in a home or small-office NAS, it is right-sized and quiet.
Above 14 TB, or for a heavily used array, WD's answer is Red Pro (7200 rpm, 550 TB/yr, 5-year). The head-to-head with Seagate is in IronWolf vs WD Red.
WD Red Plus on Amazon.ca, by CA$/TB
WD Red Plus drives in stock on Amazon.ca, ranked by price per terabyte in CAD.
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Frequently asked questions
Is WD Red Plus CMR or SMR?
CMR — that is the whole point of the 'Plus'. The plain WD Red (WD20EFAX–WD60EFAX) is SMR and does not belong in a RAID array; WD Red Plus and WD Red Pro are both CMR. For a NAS, buy Plus or Pro, never plain Red.
What is the difference between WD Red and WD Red Plus?
Recording method. Plain WD Red is SMR (overlapping tracks, collapses during a rebuild); WD Red Plus is CMR and NAS-safe. They look similar on the shelf, so check for 'Plus' — it is the difference that matters.
WD Red Plus or Seagate IronWolf?
They are close: both CMR, 180 TB/yr, 3-year warranty, quiet. Buy whichever is cheaper per TB in the capacity you want — the live table ranks both. See IronWolf vs WD Red for the finer differences.
Amara Okonkwo works out what a NAS costs to run over a year on provincial Canadian hydro rates, and ranks drive prices by Canadian dollars per terabyte, using the site's Amazon.ca price sync.
Data checked by Owen Nakamura, Technical editor (data checking)