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File Storage · head to head

Nasuni vs Scality RING

Nasuni logo

Nasuni

File Storage

Cloud file storage that keeps the authoritative copy in object storage and caches it at each site

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Scality RING logo

Scality RING

File Storage

Petabyte-scale object storage software on your own hardware

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Nasuni subscription is based on managed capacity, so cold data that would cost almost nothing in an archive tier keeps paying the full platform rate, and there is limited incentive structure to delete.; Scality RING hardware is bought separately, so the software quote understates total cost and the buyer carries the sizing risk if the drive and server specification is wrong.
  • They diverge on capability: Nasuni covers Edge caching appliances, Scality RING covers S3-compatible object storage.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Nasuni and Scality RING actually diverge.

Attributes where Nasuni and Scality RING differ
AttributeNasuniScality RING
PlatformsWeb, Windows, VMware, Hyper-V, AWS, AzureLinux

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (File Storage).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Nasuni

  • Edge caching appliances
  • Object storage back end
  • Continuous versioning
  • Global file lock
  • Rapid site recovery
  • Ransomware detection

Only in Scality RING

  • S3-compatible object storage
  • File and object access
  • Erasure coding
  • Object lock
  • Multi-site geodistribution
  • Hardware independence
  • ARTESCA

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Nasuni

  • Consolidating file servers across many branch offices onto one namespace without shipping data between sitesnot Scality RING
  • Replacing a NAS plus backup plus offsite replication stack with a single recovery modelnot Scality RING
  • Engineering or media teams in different regions who need to work on the same large project filesnot Scality RING
  • An organisation that has been hit by ransomware on file shares and needs version level rollback rather than tape restoresnot Scality RING

Scality RING

  • A broadcaster archiving decades of video where hyperscaler storage and egress costs would be prohibitivenot Nasuni
  • A hospital group holding medical imaging on premises for data residency and retention reasonsnot Nasuni
  • An enterprise building an immutable on premises backup target for Veeam or Commvault with object locknot Nasuni
  • A service provider offering S3-compatible storage to its own customers on hardware it controlsnot Nasuni

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Nasuni

  • Subscription is based on managed capacity, so cold data that would cost almost nothing in an archive tier keeps paying the full platform rate, and there is limited incentive structure to delete.
  • Every site needs an appliance, virtual or physical, which is a footprint and a patching obligation at locations that previously had only a file server or nothing.
  • A read that misses the local cache is fetched from object storage, so the first access to a cold large file is at cloud latency and users experience it as the system being slow at random.
  • Global file lock serialises access across regions, so genuinely collaborative editing of the same large files still involves waiting for another site to release the lock rather than merging.
  • The object storage underneath is your contract, so API transaction and egress charges from Azure or AWS land on your cloud bill and are not covered by the Nasuni subscription you were quoted against.

Scality RING

  • Hardware is bought separately, so the software quote understates total cost and the buyer carries the sizing risk if the drive and server specification is wrong.
  • Running distributed erasure coded storage requires operations skills, and organisations that expected appliance simplicity end up staffing a storage team they had not budgeted.
  • Rebuild times after a drive failure on large capacity disks are measured in hours or days, and capacity planning has to leave headroom for that degraded window.
  • Pricing is per usable terabyte and quoted, so cost comparisons against cloud object storage require modelling your own retrieval patterns rather than reading a rate card.
  • Small deployments carry a minimum viable node count for erasure coding to work sensibly, which makes the entry footprint larger and less economic than the per-terabyte price implies.

Pricing, plan by plan

Nasuni

On request
  • Nasuni File Data Platform$undefined/year
    • Subscription based on managed capacity
    • Edge appliances at each site
    • Continuous versioning and rapid recovery

Scality RING

On request
  • Scality RING$undefined/year
    • Priced per usable terabyte, subscription or perpetual
    • Server hardware purchased separately by the customer
    • Support tiers quoted separately
  • Scality ARTESCA$undefined/year
    • Lighter object store for smaller footprints
    • Priced per usable terabyte
    • Commonly deployed as an immutable backup target

Which should you pick?

Choose Nasuni if

  • You need edge caching appliances.
  • You work on Web, Windows, VMware, Hyper-V, AWS, Azure.
  • You also want object storage back end.
Nasuni review

Choose Scality RING if

  • You need s3-compatible object storage.
  • You work on Linux.
  • You also want file and object access.
Scality RING review

Questions people ask

Is Nasuni or Scality RING better?
Neither clearly leads. Nasuni starts at On request and Scality RING at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Nasuni or Scality RING?
Nasuni starts at On request and Scality RING at On request.
Does Nasuni or Scality RING run on more platforms?
Nasuni runs on Web, Windows, VMware, Hyper-V, AWS, Azure. Scality RING runs on Linux.
What is Nasuni best used for?
Nasuni is most often used for consolidating file servers across many branch offices onto one namespace without shipping data between sites, replacing a nas plus backup plus offsite replication stack with a single recovery model, engineering or media teams in different regions who need to work on the same large project files, an organisation that has been hit by ransomware on file shares and needs version level rollback rather than tape restores. Of those, consolidating file servers across many branch offices onto one namespace without shipping data between sites and replacing a nas plus backup plus offsite replication stack with a single recovery model are not what Scality RING is typically brought in for.
What can Nasuni do that Scality RING cannot?
Nasuni covers Edge caching appliances, Object storage back end, Continuous versioning, Global file lock. Scality RING covers S3-compatible object storage, File and object access, Erasure coding, Object lock.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Nasuni: Do I still need a backup product?

That is the pitch: continuous versioning in object storage replaces the backup schedule for file data. Databases and virtual machines still need their own tooling.

Scality RING: Do we buy hardware from Scality?

No. RING is software; you buy commodity servers and drives yourself, which is the point for buyers who want to rebid hardware at each refresh.

Nasuni: Who owns the storage account?

You do. Nasuni writes into object storage you contract for, which also means the cloud provider bills you directly for it.

Scality RING: Is it S3-compatible enough for backup software?

Yes, it is a common object lock target for Veeam, Commvault and Rubrik. Verify the specific S3 features your backup product needs during a proof of concept.

Nasuni: How fast is recovery of a whole site?

An appliance can be serving files within hours because data is pulled on demand, but performance stays degraded while the cache refills.

Scality RING: What is ARTESCA?

A lighter object store from the same company, aimed at smaller footprints and backup targets rather than multi-petabyte archives.

Nasuni: Is pricing published?

No. Nasuni sells through quotes based on managed capacity and site count, so comparisons need a real proposal rather than a list price.

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