Best Software-Defined Storage Software in 2026
Updated
In short: Ceph is ranked #1 of 28 as of 4 October 2026, ahead of OpenEBS and SeaweedFS. The best-ranked option with a free plan is OpenEBS. The lowest first paid tier on this page is SeaweedFS at $1.67/mo.
Choosing software-defined storage involves comparing how platforms are deployed, connected, and scaled. Check deployment model, storage protocols, S3-compatible access, and Kubernetes support; replication and erasure coding offer further points of comparison for storage protection. Maximum nodes adds a scale-related detail, while free plans and paid-from pricing help frame cost. Ceph, MinIO AIStor, and SeaweedFS lead the ranking, with Gluster and StarWind Virtual SAN among the next entries shown. Weigh these capabilities against the environments and storage requirements you need to support.
28 software-defined storage software ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
Recognised 40% · Phone app 26% · Documented 20% · Free plan 14% of the score
- 1 Ceph No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 6.4Free
- 2 OpenEBS No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 6.4Free
- 3 SeaweedFS No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 6.4$1.67/mo
- 4 VMware Workstation Pro No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 6.4Free Deployment model: hybridStorage protocols: Block; NFSv3; NFSv4.1; SMB; S3-compatible object storageMaximum nodes: 64
- 5 Gluster No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 6.3Free Deployment model: hybridStorage protocols: Native GlusterFS, NFS, SMB/CIFS, iSCSI, Swift REST API
- 6 JuiceFS No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 6.3Free Deployment model: hybridStorage protocols: POSIX, HDFS, S3, WebDAV
- 7 MinIO AIStor No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 6.3Free
- 8 MooseFS No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 6.3Free Deployment model: on-premisesStorage protocols: POSIX filesystem; block device; C API
- 9 StarWind Virtual SAN No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 6.3Free Storage protocols: iSCSI, SMB3, NFSv4.1, NVMe-oF, iSER
- 10 Longhorn No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 6.2Free
- 11 DAOS No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.8 Deployment model: hybridStorage protocols: key-value, POSIX, HDF5, MPI-IO, S3 API
- 12 LINSTOR No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.7$83.33/mo
- 13 VAST Data Platform No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.7
- 14 WEKA Data Platform No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.6
- 15 DataCore SANsymphony No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.5
- 16 Huawei HiSecEngine USG6800G No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.5
- 17 Portworx Enterprise No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.5
- 18 Qumulo Cloud Data Platform No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.5 Deployment model: hybridStorage protocols: NFS, SMB, S3, REST, FTP, FTPS
- 19 Scality RING No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.4 Deployment model: hybridStorage protocols: S3-compatible API, NFS, SMB
- 20 StorPool Disaster Recovery Engine No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.4 Deployment model: on-premises
- 21 SUSE Multi-Linux Manager No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.4 Storage protocols: Object Gateway, RADOS Block Device, CephFS, librados
- 22 LizardFS No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.3 Deployment model: on-premisesStorage protocols: NFS 3.x, NFS 4.0, pNFS
- 23 Lightbits SDS No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.2 Deployment model: hybridStorage protocols: NVMe/TCP block storage
- 24 NetApp ONTAP Select No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.2 Deployment model: on-premisesStorage protocols: NFS, SMB/CIFS, iSCSI, NVMe over TCP, S3Maximum nodes: 12
- 25 StorMagic SvHCI No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.1 Deployment model: on-premisesStorage protocols: iSCSIMaximum nodes: 1
Is your app on this list?
Numbered spots on this list can be sponsored. They are labelled, and the editorial order and scores never change for payment.
Questions about this list
Which software-defined storage software is ranked first on Samsung Mobile US Press?
Ceph is ranked #1 of 28 with a score of 6.4. OpenEBS is second and SeaweedFS third.
How many of these have a free plan?
10 of the 25 on this page publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
Which is the cheapest paid option?
On this page, SeaweedFS has the lowest first paid tier we found: $1.67/mo.
How is this list ranked?
Ranked mobile-first: a phone app alongside the web or desktop product, a free tier and the depth of its documentation. Paid placements never change a rank.