DatacenterDisk

Seagate BarraCuda vs WD Ultrastar

Side-by-side spec and price comparison. Live data from Amazon US.

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Our Recommendation
👑
WD Ultrastar 24TB SATA WUH722424ALE604

WD Ultrastar 24TB SATA WUH722424ALE604 wins on both price ($27.88/TB) and warranty (5 years).

Best $/TB: WD
Best Warranty: WD
Best for RAID: Seagate
Full Specification Comparison
Spec
Seagate
BarraCuda 24TB ST24000DM001
$39.58/TB
WD
Ultrastar 24TB SATA WUH722424ALE604
$27.88/TB
Brand
Seagate
WD
Model
BarraCuda 24TB ST24000DM001
Ultrastar 24TB SATA WUH722424ALE604
Series
BarraCuda
Ultrastar HC580
Part Number
ST24000DM001
WUH722424ALE604
$/TB
$39.58
👑$27.88
Price
$949.99
$669.00
Condition
Refurb
Refurb
Capacity
24TB
24TB
Interface
SATA-6G
SATA-6G
Form Factor
3.5"
3.5"
Drive Type
HDD
HDD
Recording Tech
CMR
—
RPM
7,200
7,200
Cache
512MB
512MB
Sector Size
—
512e
Workload Rating
—
550TB/yr
DWPD
N/A
N/A
Warranty
—
5 years
Workload Tier
desktop
nearline
In Stock
Check
✓ In Stock
Buy
Out of stock
Buy on Amazon →
Workload Fit
Workload
Seagate
WD
NAS Storage
●●●
●●●
Backup Target
●●●
●●●
OLTP Database
●
●
Cold Archive
●●●
●●●
Virtualization
●
●
AI/ML Storage
●●
●●
Buying Recommendation
Choose Seagate BarraCuda 24TB ST24000DM001 if:
  • ✓ You're building a RAID array and need guaranteed CMR compatibility
  • ✓ You're comfortable with datacenter refurb to maximize savings
  • ✓ You need high-density storage for bulk/archive workloads
Choose WD Ultrastar 24TB SATA WUH722424ALE604 if:
  • ✓ You need maximum storage per dollar
  • ✓ You need 5-year warranty coverage for production
  • ✓ Your server runs 24/7 under heavy sustained load
  • ✓ You're comfortable with datacenter refurb to maximize savings
Buy WD →

Frequently Asked Questions

WD Ultrastar offers better value at $27.88/TB vs $39.58/TB - a 30% price difference. Factor in warranty length and workload rating when the price gap is small.

Mixing drives of different models in RAID is not recommended even if capacities match. Different firmware, error handling and seek patterns can cause rebuild issues. Use identical drives within the same RAID group for reliable operation.

WD Ultrastar carries a longer 5-year warranty vs unknown years for Seagate BarraCuda. Both are enterprise-grade drives built for 24/7 operation.

Seagate BarraCuda is the better fit for NAS storage. It uses CMR recording which is safe for all RAID levels. SATA interface is compatible with all NAS platforms including Synology, QNAP and TrueNAS.