No. 24 of 29 ·Software-Defined Storage Software

NetApp ONTAP Select

Self-hosted · API

Freedom report

One barScore 4.9

Free tierNo free tier on record
Open codeNo open-source code on record
Runs widely0 of 6 device platforms
DocumentedPlans, terms and facts published

NetApp ONTAP Select is ranked #24 of 29 in software-defined storage software on Freedom251. It runs on API, Self-hosted. There is no free plan. A free trial is offered.

NetApp ONTAP Select plans and pricing

All plans

Capacity Tier — Standard, Premium, or Premium XL Not published Production license required · capacity sold per node · minimum 1 TB · perpetual capacity docs.netapp.com · 5 Oct 2026

Capacity Pool — Standard, Premium, or Premium XL Not published Production license required · capacity sold per shared pool · minimum 2 TB · term-based capacity requiring renewal docs.netapp.com · 5 Oct 2026

Compared on software-defined storage software

Free plan: No
Deployment model: on-premises
Storage protocols: NFS, SMB/CIFS, iSCSI, NVMe over TCP, S3
Maximum nodes: 12
Replication: Yes
Kubernetes support: Yes
S3-compatible access: Yes

Best NetApp ONTAP Select alternatives

See all 20

Two bars JuiceFS Free tier No. 1Free6.6 Two bars MinIO AIStor Free tier No. 2Free6.6 Two bars MooseFS Free tier No. 3Free6.6 Two bars SeaweedFS Free tier No. 4$1.67/mo6.6 One bar Ceph Free tier No. 5Free6.5 Two bars StarWind Virtual SAN Free tier No. 6Free6.5

The record

Product: ONTAP Select is a software-only version of ONTAP deployed as virtual machines on hypervisor hosts.
Use cases: NetApp positions it for remote and branch offices, edge environments, mobile data centers, and tactical deployments.
Hypervisors: ONTAP Select can run on VMware ESXi or KVM on supported commodity hardware.
Cluster sizing: Clusters can contain 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, or 12 nodes, with up to 400 TB raw capacity per node.
Data protection: Included ONTAP capabilities include Snapshot copies, SnapMirror, SnapRestore, SnapVault, and Storage VM disaster recovery.
Efficiency: Deduplication and compression are supported and licensed by default.
Management and integrations: ONTAP Select uses a separate Linux virtual machine running the Deploy administration utility, and the license page lists Active IQ Unified Manager and optional SnapCenter as management software.
REST API: NetApp provides documentation for using the ONTAP Select REST API.
Encryption: NetApp Volume Encryption is supported in non-restricted countries; the product documentation says hardware-specific ONTAP features are generally unsupported.
Compliance limitation: SnapLock Select includes SnapLock Enterprise, but SnapLock Compliance is not supported for ONTAP Select.
Other licensing limits: FabricPool, MetroCluster SDS, and SnapMirror Cloud require separate licenses.
Trial: An evaluation license is included with Deploy, lasts up to 90 days, and is restricted to evaluation use rather than production.
Downloads and support: Downloading the Deploy utility requires a registered NetApp Support Site account, and NetApp directs users to contact Technical Support for recovery of a lost node.
Founded: 1992

Where it ranks on Freedom251

Best Software-Defined Storage Software in 2026#24 of 29

Is NetApp ONTAP Select yours?

Claim it for free: prove the domain, then correct facts, plans and screenshots. An editor reviews every change.

Claim it free Promote NetApp ONTAP Select

Sources

docs.netapp.com/us-en/ontap-select/concept_ots_overview· checked 5 Oct 2026
netapp.com/ontap-data-management-software/select/· checked 5 Oct 2026
docs.netapp.com/us-en/ontap-select/· checked 5 Oct 2026
docs.netapp.com/us-en/ontap-select/concept_lic_platform· checked 5 Oct 2026
docs.netapp.com/us-en/ontap-select/reference_lic_ontap_· checked 5 Oct 2026
docs.netapp.com/us-en/ontap-select/concept_lic_evaluati· checked 5 Oct 2026
netapp.com/data-storage/ontap-select/· checked 28 Sept 2026
docs.netapp.com/us-en/ontap-select/concept_lic_tiers.ht· checked 5 Oct 2026
docs.netapp.com/us-en/ontap-select/concept_lic_pools.ht· checked 5 Oct 2026