Best HBA and RAID cards for home labs, ZFS and TrueNAS

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The SAS and SATA host bus adapters (HBAs) and RAID cards in the catalogue Argusic tracks, in one table you can filter by what the storage server needs: drives handed straight to ZFS, TrueNAS or unRAID, many drives on one card, hardware RAID, or a 12Gb/s SAS link. Filter by type, IT mode, drive ports, SAS speed, PCIe and price, then read the buying guide below the table for what each choice changes.

Nothing here was tested hands-on. Specs are what the seller states, and the Use for rules are Argusic's, printed beside the filter.

Right now: 200 cards, each with a price read in the store's window, 199 in stock. Latest price read 10/19/2026 05:37 PDT.

Top picks

Three popular picks from the table below, one per brand, refreshed with the prices; commissions never change the order.

  1. SAS HBA Card Compatible

    Sold in IT mode: drives pass straight to ZFS or unRAID

    89.80 USD (as of 10/19/2026 05:37 PDT - Details)

    View on Amazon

  2. IO CREST 10 Port SATA III to PCIe 3.0 x1 Non-RAID Expansion Card JMB582

    Controller chip named: JMB582

    39.81 USD (as of 10/19/2026 05:36 PDT - Details)

    View on Amazon

  3. LSI Broadcom SAS 9300-8i 8-port 12Gb/s SATA+SAS PCI-Express 3.0 Low

    12Gb/s SAS

    84.99 USD (as of 10/19/2026 05:36 PDT - Details)

    View on Amazon

Listing 200 cards priced from $20. Colours of one product share a row.

Use for
The rules
  • ZFS & TrueNAS: Hands every drive straight to the system, as ZFS, TrueNAS and unRAID want: sold in IT mode, or sold as an HBA. A RAID card not stated to run in IT mode is left out. A listing that says neither is not judged.
  • 8 drives or more: 8 or more drive ports, from the maker's "-8i" or "-16i" in the model name or a stated port count (SAS breakout cables or a backplane give one drive per port). Cards with fewer are left out. The count has to be stated.
  • Hardware RAID: A RAID card: MegaRAID, PERC, Smart Array or ServeRAID, an on-card cache or battery, or RAID 5 or 6 stated. A card sold as an HBA or in IT mode is left out. A listing that says neither is not judged.
  • 12Gb/s SAS or faster: A SAS link of 12Gb/s or 24Gb/s stated, or a tri-mode card. A card whose stated SAS link is 6Gb/s is left out. A SATA-only card, or one that states no SAS speed, is not judged.
  • A card whose listing does not state what a rule needs is not counted as meeting it. Ticking two uses shows cards that meet both.
20 shown of 200 matching

Recommended: $75 to $140 first, popular first, one brand at a time; rows priced at another store take every third place while any are left. This is Argusic's editorial default, not a quality ranking. Commissions never change the order.

HBA and RAID cards

SAS HBA Card Compatible

LANPAN

Type: HBAPorts: 8SAS: 12Gb/sPCIe: PCIe 3.0

ZFS & TrueNAS: yes8 drives or more: yesHardware RAID: no12Gb/s SAS or faster: yes

  • Sold in IT mode: drives pass straight to ZFS or unRAID
  • 12Gb/s SAS
  • Controller chip named: SAS3008
  • Sold by a third-party seller (LANPAN), not by the store itself

89.80 USDsold by LANPANin stock(as of 10/19/2026 05:37 PDT - Details)

View on Amazon

LSI 9300-16i 16-Port 12Gb/s SAS Controller HBA Card

LSI

Type: HBAPorts: 16SAS: 12Gb/s

ZFS & TrueNAS: yes8 drives or more: yesHardware RAID: no12Gb/s SAS or faster: yes

  • Sold in IT mode: drives pass straight to ZFS or unRAID
  • 16 drive ports
  • 12Gb/s SAS
  • Sold by a third-party seller (Zurjy), not by the store itself

78.99 USDsold by Zurjyin stock(as of 10/19/2026 05:36 PDT - Details)

View on Amazon

Supermicro AOC-S3108L-H8IR-16DD Add-on Card

Supermicro

Type: RAIDSAS: 12Gb/sPCIe: PCIe 3.0

ZFS & TrueNAS: no8 drives or more: not statedHardware RAID: yes12Gb/s SAS or faster: yes

  • 12Gb/s SAS
  • Sold by a third-party seller (David & Ying store), not by the store itself

88.86 USDsold by David & Ying storein stock(as of 10/19/2026 05:37 PDT - Details)

View on Amazon

SAS HBA Card Compatible

LANPAN

Type: HBAPorts: 8SAS: 12Gb/sPCIe: PCIe 3.0

ZFS & TrueNAS: yes8 drives or more: yesHardware RAID: no12Gb/s SAS or faster: yes

  • Sold in IT mode: drives pass straight to ZFS or unRAID
  • 12Gb/s SAS
  • Controller chip named: SAS3008
  • Sold by a third-party seller (LANPAN), not by the store itself

95.00 USDsold by LANPANin stock(as of 10/19/2026 05:37 PDT - Details)

View on Amazon

YiBaoTong 9300-8i SAS3008 AOC-S3008L-L8E HBA

YiBaoTong

Type: HBAPorts: 8SAS: 12Gb/sPCIe: PCIe 3.0

ZFS & TrueNAS: yes8 drives or more: yesHardware RAID: no12Gb/s SAS or faster: yes

  • Sold in IT mode: drives pass straight to ZFS or unRAID
  • 12Gb/s SAS
  • Controller chip named: SAS3008
  • Sold by a third-party seller (YiBaoTong), not by the store itself

79.88 USDsold by YiBaoTongin stock(as of 10/19/2026 05:37 PDT - Details)

View on Amazon

SAS HBA Card Compatible

LANPAN

Type: HBAPorts: 8SAS: 12Gb/sPCIe: PCIe 3.0

ZFS & TrueNAS: yes8 drives or more: yesHardware RAID: no12Gb/s SAS or faster: yes

  • Sold in IT mode: drives pass straight to ZFS or unRAID
  • 12Gb/s SAS
  • Controller chip named: SAS3008
  • Sold by a third-party seller (LANPAN), not by the store itself

95.00 USDsold by LANPANin stock(as of 10/19/2026 05:37 PDT - Details)

View on Amazon

SAS HBA Card Compatible

Lemon tree

Type: HBAPorts: 16SAS: 12Gb/sPCIe: PCIe 3.0

ZFS & TrueNAS: yes8 drives or more: yesHardware RAID: no12Gb/s SAS or faster: yes

  • Sold in IT mode: drives pass straight to ZFS or unRAID
  • 16 drive ports
  • 12Gb/s SAS
  • Sold by a third-party seller (i Lemon tree), not by the store itself

111.00 USDsold by i Lemon treein stock(as of 10/19/2026 05:37 PDT - Details)

View on Amazon

LSI HBA Raid Controllers

Dpofirs

Type: HBAPorts: 16SAS: 12Gb/sPCIe: PCIe 3.0

ZFS & TrueNAS: yes8 drives or more: yesHardware RAID: no12Gb/s SAS or faster: yes

  • 16 drive ports
  • 12Gb/s SAS
  • Sold by a third-party seller (Xinxakk), not by the store itself

105.49 USDsold by Xinxakkin stock(as of 10/19/2026 05:36 PDT - Details)

View on Amazon

Dell PERC H740P Mini-Card RAID Controller

Dell

Type: RAIDSAS: 12Gb/sPCIe: PCIe 3.0

ZFS & TrueNAS: no8 drives or more: not statedHardware RAID: yes12Gb/s SAS or faster: yes

  • 12Gb/s SAS
  • Sold by a third-party seller (ConfigureSystem), not by the store itself

88.00 USDsold by ConfigureSystemin stock(as of 10/19/2026 05:36 PDT - Details)

View on Amazon

SAS HBA Card Compatible

Lemon tree

Type: HBAPorts: 8SAS: 12Gb/sPCIe: PCIe 3.0

ZFS & TrueNAS: yes8 drives or more: yesHardware RAID: no12Gb/s SAS or faster: yes

  • Sold in IT mode: drives pass straight to ZFS or unRAID
  • 12Gb/s SAS
  • Controller chip named: SAS3008
  • Sold by a third-party seller (i Lemon tree), not by the store itself

111.15 USDsold by i Lemon treein stock(as of 10/19/2026 05:37 PDT - Details)

View on Amazon

YiBaoTong LSI SAS3008 9300-8I IT-Mode HBA JBOD

YiBaoTong

Type: HBAPorts: 8SAS: 12Gb/sPCIe: PCIe 3.0

ZFS & TrueNAS: yes8 drives or more: yesHardware RAID: no12Gb/s SAS or faster: yes

  • Sold in IT mode: drives pass straight to ZFS or unRAID
  • 12Gb/s SAS
  • Controller chip named: SAS3008
  • Sold by a third-party seller (YiBaoTong), not by the store itself

76.99 USDsold by YiBaoTongin stock(as of 10/19/2026 05:37 PDT - Details)

View on Amazon

Best HBA cards for ZFS and TrueNAS

ZFS manages the drives itself: it checks every block it reads and repairs what it can from the other copies, so it wants to see each drive directly. Per the OpenZFS documentation, it is best to use an HBA instead of a RAID controller, for both performance and reliability, and hardware RAID controllers should not be used with ZFS. TrueNAS and unRAID home servers follow the same advice.

116 cards of the 200 in this table meet the ZFS & TrueNAS rule printed beside the filter, from $27.59 to $614.33 at the last price check. 36 cards do not state enough to judge and are never counted as meeting it.

IT mode

IT mode is the firmware that turns a card into a plain HBA: no arrays, every drive passed through as it is. Many cards built as RAID controllers are sold already flashed to IT mode for home servers; the listing has to say so for this table to count it.

84 cards in this table state IT mode. 116 cards in this table state an HBA.

Controller chip

The chip decides the drive link and the driver the system uses; cards sold under different names often carry the same chip. This table shows a chip only where the listing names it, never from the model number.

Named chips in this table: SAS3008, 32; SAS2008, 15; SAS2308, 7; SAS3216, 4; SAS3224, 3; Marvell 88SE9215, 2; SAS3416, 2; ASM1166, 1; JMB582, 1; ASM1061, 1; ASM1064, 1.

Cards for many drives

The number in a model name such as 9300-8i or 9305-16e is the maker's count of drive lanes, and the letter says where they are: i for internal connectors, e for external ones that reach a disk shelf. A breakout cable or a backplane gives one drive per lane.

138 cards of the 200 in this table meet the 8 drives or more rule printed beside the filter, from $20.00 to $1,318.00 at the last price check. 40 cards do not state enough to judge and are never counted as meeting it.

138 cards in this table state 8 or more drive ports. The most stated is 24. 40 cards do not state a port count.

Hardware RAID cards

A RAID card builds the array itself and shows the system one disk; a cache with a battery or flash backup lets it finish writes after a power cut. It suits Windows servers and file systems without their own RAID. For ZFS, use an HBA or a card in IT mode instead.

48 cards of the 200 in this table meet the Hardware RAID rule printed beside the filter, from $20.00 to $900.00 at the last price check. 36 cards do not state enough to judge and are never counted as meeting it.

48 cards in this table state a RAID card. 36 cards do not state whether it is an HBA or a RAID card.

12Gb/s SAS and tri-mode cards

SAS cards are sold as 6Gb/s, 12Gb/s or 24Gb/s per lane. A faster lane matters most for SSDs and for many drives sharing one lane through a SAS expander. A tri-mode card also takes NVMe drives on the same ports.

102 cards of the 200 in this table meet the 12Gb/s SAS or faster rule printed beside the filter, from $20.00 to $1,318.00 at the last price check. 45 cards do not state enough to judge and are never counted as meeting it.

Stated SAS speeds in this table: 12Gb/s, 102; 6Gb/s, 53. 45 cards do not state a SAS speed. Stated PCIe generations: PCIe 4.0, 5; PCIe 3.0, 90; PCIe 2.0, 23. 82 cards do not state one.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

HBA or RAID card for ZFS and TrueNAS?

An HBA. The OpenZFS documentation says it is best to use an HBA instead of a RAID controller, and that hardware RAID controllers should not be used with ZFS. Source: the OpenZFS documentation

What is IT mode?

Firmware that makes the card a plain HBA: every drive is passed straight to the system, with no arrays on the card. 84 cards in this table state IT mode.

What do 8i and 16e mean?

The number is the maker's count of drive lanes and the letter where the connectors are: i inside the case, e outside it, for a disk shelf. 138 cards in this table state 8 or more drive ports.

What does 12Gb/s SAS add over 6Gb/s?

A faster link per lane, which matters most for SSDs and for many drives sharing one lane through a SAS expander. 102 cards in this table state 12Gb/s SAS or faster.

Can a SATA expansion card replace an HBA?

For a few SATA drives in a home server, yes: it also passes each drive straight to the system. SAS cards add SAS drives, more drives per card and disk shelves.

How this page is built

Prices come from the stores Argusic tracks. An Amazon price counts when it was read in the last 24 hours, another store's price when it was read in the last 48 hours, because those feeds arrive once a day. Each price shows the store and the time it was read. Cards priced under $20 are not listed, and neither are listings priced far above cards of the same type (more than 15 times their median), brackets, batteries, cables, drive adapters and NVMe riser cards. 200 cards are listed now.

Specs are what each seller states on its listing title and bullets; Argusic has not tested these cards hands-on and measured no speed. The Use for rules are Argusic's and printed beside the filter, and a card whose listing does not state what a rule needs is never counted as meeting it.

The default order, Recommended, puts a middle price band first, then the bands on either side, then the rest; within each band popular models come first and brands take turns. The Top picks block shows one model per brand. The order is an editorial default, not a quality ranking, and commissions never change the order or any number.

This build: 2026-10-19 18:08 UTC.

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon.com at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.

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Comments never affect rankings or any number on this page.

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