HexOS: Simplified NAS OS built on TrueNAS
HexOS installs TrueNAS underneath and hides most of its options behind a guided setup and a dashboard you reach at deck.hexos.com. You keep ZFS, apps and virtual machines, with fewer knobs to get wrong. It is paid software with a one-off licence per server: $199 during early access, $299 after.
Is HexOS right for you?
Choose HexOS if: You want TrueNAS and ZFS without learning ZFS, and don't mind a one-off licence.
Pros
- Guided setup and dashboard hide most TrueNAS options
- Keeps ZFS, apps and virtual machines
- One-off licence, no subscription
Cons
- $199 during early access, $299 after
- Proprietary layer on top of TrueNAS
- Same drive-size limits as ZFS
Compare with other NAS OS
See how HexOS differs on storage, licensing and what it runs on.
| Spec | HexOS | Unraid | TrueNAS | ZimaOS | openmediavault | FygoOS | MOS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $199 lifetime | From $49 | Free | Free, $29 Plus | Free | Free, $199 lifetime | Free |
| Licence | Proprietary | Proprietary | GPL-3.0 / LGPL-3.0 | Proprietary | GPL-3.0 | Proprietary | AGPL-3.0 |
| Based on | TrueNAS | Slackware | Debian | Buildroot | Debian | Linux | Devuan |
| Boots from | SSD / NVMe | USB / SSD / NVMe | SSD / NVMe | SSD / NVMe | USB / SSD / NVMe | SSD / NVMe | USB / SSD / NVMe |
| Storage | ZFS | Parity array or ZFS | ZFS | RAID, ZFS or JBOD | RAID, mergerfs, SnapRAID | ext4, Btrfs or ZFS | XFS, Btrfs, mergerfs, SnapRAID, parity array |
| Mixed drive sizes | Each vdev uses its smallest drive | Yes | Each vdev uses its smallest drive | Via JBOD, without redundancy | With mergerfs | Not documented | Yes |
| Virtual machines | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (ZVM) | Via plugin (KVM) | Yes (best on x86) | Yes (QEMU/KVM) |
| Apps | Curated one-click apps | Community Apps (Docker) | TrueNAS Apps (Docker) | One-click store (Docker) | Docker Compose plugin | App Center and Docker | MOS Hub (Docker templates), LXC |
| Architecture | x86 only | x86 only | x86 only | x86 only | x86 and ARM | x86 and ARM | x86 and ARM |
| Min RAM | 8 GB | 4 GB | 8 GB | 4 GB | 1 GB | 2 GB | 4 GB |
| Best for | TrueNAS without the learning curve | Growing a pool from mismatched drives | Data integrity, snapshots and replication | Simple app hosting with little setup | Low-power ARM boards and old PCs | Photo backup and file sharing with little setup | Unraid-style storage without a licence fee |