Side-by-side specifications of the Synology DS216J and DS216+, from official datasheets. Differences are highlighted.
| DS216J | DS216+ | |
| CPU | Marvell Armada 385 dual-core | Intel Celeron N3050/N3060 |
| Cores / threads | 2 | 2 cores |
| RAM (base) | 512MB DDR3 | 1GB DDR3 |
| RAM (max) | 512MB | 1GB |
| Drive bays | 2 | 2 |
| Expandable to | no | 0 |
| M.2 slots | 0 | 0 |
| Network | 1x 1GbE RJ-45 | 1x 1GbE RJ-45 |
| 10GbE | no | no |
| Max raw capacity | 16TB | 16TB |
| Hot-swap | yes | yes |
| Form factor | desktop | desktop |
| Released | 2015 | 2016 |
Choose the DS216+ if you want noticeably better performance: it has a faster Intel CPU and 1 GB RAM, versus the DS216J’s weaker ARM CPU and 512 MB RAM. Both are 2-bay units with no expansion, no 10GbE, and no M.2, so the DS216+ is the better pick for SMB use; the DS216J is only the budget option for very light file sharing and backups.