Synology BeeStation Plus Review: A B+ Personal Cloud-Based Storage Solution

The BeeStation Plus, Synology’s second iteration of its user-friendly approach to personal cloud storage, is an unusual network-attached storage (NAS) server.

If you have used a Synology NAS server before, keep in mind that the BeeStation lineup offers a fraction of the capabilities of a standard Synology DiskStation. In return, it’s more straightforward to set up and use. It’s not as easy as plug-and-play, but close.

Here’s the bottom line: If you’ve been happy with the BeeStation, this BeeStation Plus is a good upgrade thanks to the larger storage space and, most significantly, the support for the Plex Media Server—you can even use both side by side for additional redundancy. The new server serves its purpose for those with simple personal cloud-based storage needs.

However, if you’re into network-based storage, you’ll find its $410 suggested retail cost—the street price varies—a bit too high. For that price, it’s a better idea to get a real Synology NAS server, as all of them can do what the BeeStation Plus has to offer and much more. Alternatively, you can obtain a reliable router with a fast USB port and convert it into a mini NAS server for a similar experience.

Dong’s note: I first published this piece on May 20, 2025, when the BeeStation Plus was unveiled in the US, and updated it to an in-depth review on May 27 after thorough hands-on testing.

Synology BeeStation Plus: Double the storage, yet still far from enough

Synology started the “Bee” family in mid-2023 with the BeeDrive. After that, it released the original BeeStation in 2024, and now the BeeStation Plus is the continuation of the ecosystem.

The new server now has double the storage space by housing a single non-replaceable 8TB hard drive on the inside. (The actual capacity users have access to is 6.98GB). The table below compares the hardware specifications of the BeeStation Plus with those of the previous BeeStation.

BeeStation Plus vs. BeeStation: The hardware specifications of Synology’s simplified NAS servers

	BeeStation Plus	BeeStation
Model	BST170-8T	BST150-4T
Capacity	8TB	4TB
CPU	Intel Celeron J4125	Realtek RTD1619B
Memory	4GB DDR4	1GB DDR4
Dimentions	148.0 x 62.6 x 196.3 mm
Weight	2.65 lbs (1.2 kg)
LAN Port	1 x 1GbE RJ-45
USB Port	1 x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 1 x USB-C 3.2 Gen 1
Power Input	100V to 240V AC
Package Content	1 x BeeStation main unit 1 x AC power adapter 1 x RJ-45 Ethernet cable 1 x Quick start guide
Supported Browsers	Google Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Safari 14 and above
Platform Support	Windows 10 64-bit newer, macOS 12.3 or newer, iOS 15 or newer, Android 8 or newer
Real-World Power Consumption (per 24 hours)	≈ 300 Wh	not tested
Warranty	3 years
US Launch Price (Check street prices!)	$409.99	$220

Similar to Synology NAS servers, known as DiskStation, the BeeStation is a network-attached storage (NAS) device that attaches itself to a network to provide data to multiple devices simultaneously.

However, if you have used a Synology NAS server before, you’ll notice that it’s much simpler, as it runs a new BeeStation Manager (BSM) operating system, which is a stripped-down version of DSM. Stripped-down, how you might ask? Well, the Linux-based OS is built around the Synology Drive and Photo Station packages, two of the over 100 packages offered by DSM.

In a way, while entirely different in functionality, the BeeStation lineup is similar to the Chromebook, which is built around the Chrome browser—it’s far less capable than a standard laptop that can run Chrome and many other applications.

With that, let’s start with the setup process.

Live Internet and a Synllogy account are required

The first thing to note right away is that, unlike all NAS servers, the BeeStation Plus doesn’t have a local web user interface. To set it up, simply connect it to power and the network via a network cable (one included). After that, from a connected computer within the network, open a browser and go to:

portal.bee.synology.com

You’ll be asked to create and log in with an account with Synology. After that, the Synology-connected web page will locate the BeeStations Plus and prompt you to add it to your account by entering its serial number, which is printed on its underside. Then, after a few self-explanatory steps, the server will be up and running with you as the sole user (the owner).

From then on, you can sign in at the same web address from anywhere in the world and access the System Settings to manage the server, such as changing settings, adding users, and more, via a relatively simple user interface.

This remote access management is based on Synology’s QuickConnect that’s been used for this standard server for years.

The interface is simple because, as mentioned, the BeeStation revolves around the two apps:

1. BeeFiles: This app works with BeeStation (for a computer) or the BeeFiles app (for a mobile device) and is essentially a rebranded version of the Synology Drive. It enables syncing a folder of your choice on your devices to another folder on the BeeStation Plus. Additionally, BeeFiles also works similarly to Google Drive when you need to access data via a browser.
2. BeePhotos: This is the rebranded “Photos” app of Synology NAS, which syncs photos with the Photo Station package. On the BeeStation (Plus), BeePhotos automatically syncs photos from the device to a folder on the server.

That said, the BeeStation Plus is first and foremost a personal Internet-connected server that keeps a copy of your data or photos. You can sync those between multiple devices using the same Synology account mentioned above. After that, you can invite up to eight more people, regardless of their location, each with their own Synology account, to do the same thing. Each user has their own storage space within the server.

Up to this point, the BeeStation Plus is not a network-attached storage (NAS) server. That’s because the very first notion of such a server requires that you can create network-shared folders, allowing multiple local computers to access the same data in real-time via the popular SMB protocol.

A simple NAS, now with Plex Media Server

As it turns out, the BeeStation can function as a NAS server, but you’ll need to first enable this feature by navigating to the Advanced Settings section of its web user interface and turning on Local Access. I tried that and found out that this function turned out to be very limited.

For the SMB file sharing function to work, I needed to create a new local user account, separate from the account associated with my Synology login account mentioned above. Additionally, I could create only one local account. Therefore, if you want to create a shared folder accessible to the entire network with multiple users, all of them must use the same account to access it. Needless to say, there’s no advanced user management or access audit. In other words, there is no way to determine who makes what changes to a file or a subfolder within a shared folder.

However, this option to enable proper network storage is crucial if you want to use the Plex Media Server app, which is one of the key improvements the Plus offers over the original BeeStation. You need an easy way to transfer content to the server, instead of the awkward web-based uploads, before Plex can host it for your streaming needs.

I briefly tried Plex on the BeeStation Plus, and it worked pretty well, likely thanks to the CPU’s hardware transcoding capabilities. So, this is definitely a welcome capability.

Multiple data protection features

As a single-drive server, the BeeStation Plus cannot create redundancy on its own, as it has no RAID support. In other words, if the drive fails, your data, especially the files that are not synced to multiple devices, is lost.

To overcome this, the server supports USB backup. Plug an external drive into this port, and you can use it as the backup destination for the server’s internal drive content.

Additionally, you can also back up the BeeStation Plus to a standard Synology NAS server using Hyper Backup Vault, to the Synology C2 online storage service, or use BeeProtect, a new online backup service specifically designed for the Bee lineup. BeeProtect is not free and costs $120 per year after a 3-month trial.

Most interestingly, the BeeStation Plus features Snapshot, which automatically creates restore points (a.k.a. versions or snapshots) for folders that house BeeFiles and BeePhotos data, allowing for recovery in case of accidental or malicious deletion or alteration.

That said, despite being a single-volume server, the BeeStation Plus has enough to give you the peace of mind in terms of data integrity.

Synology BeeStation Plus: Excellent Gigabit-class performance

I tested the BeeStaton Plus for a bout a week and was generally happy with it. As a server with a single Gigabit port, the server’s real-world throughput is capped at 1 Gbps, often slightly less due to overhead. But that’s generally enough in most cases.

The BeeStation Plus features an internal fan that operates continuously. However, this fan is quiet. I had to put my ear next to it to hear a subtle humming sound. Fans are generally standard for storage servers, which often have other moving parts, too, like the internal hard drives. In any case, the server remained relatively cool, and it only felt slightly warm to the touch after days of non-stop operation.

Overall, there’s nothing to be concerned bout the server’s longevity as long as you leave it alone—generally, you don’t want to move a storage server around, and when you have to, make sure you do that after it’s already been turned off for a few minutes or longer, and handle it with care.

Conclusion

The BeeStation Plus is a gateway device to the world of network-attached storage (NAS) servers. If you only care about syncing your data across multiple devices and have casual local network data sharing needs, it’ll work out well as long as you’re happy with around 7TB of storage space. After that, the support for Plex Media Server is a bonus. So, it’s safe to get one today!

However, if you want to experience all that the BeeStation Plus can do, plus much more, for a similar cost, I’d recommend getting a two-bay Synology server from the 2020 model year or newer. After that, spend a bit of time figuring things out, and you’ll end up with a much more satisfying personal storage solution.