File Format
Single Session
Monthly Activity
Backup Strategy
Storage Estimates
Per Session
12.2 GB
500 photos
Per Month
29.3 GB
1,200 photos
Per Year
352 GB
14,400 photos
Yearly with 3× Backup
1055 GB
1.1 TB
Memory Card Capacity
32GB Card
~1,310 photos
Enough for session
64GB Card
~2,621 photos
Enough for session
128GB Card
~5,242 photos
Enough for session
256GB Card
~10,485 photos
Enough for session
512GB Card
~20,971 photos
Enough for session
Storage Recommendations
2TB External SSD
2TB
4TB NAS
4TB
8TB NAS/RAID
8TB
NAS RAID Calculator
Raw Capacity
16 TB
Usable
12 TB
75% efficient
Fault Tolerance
1 drive
Years of Storage
34.1 years
at current rate
Striped with parity - survives 1 drive failure
Cloud Storage Pricing
Cost to store 1.05 TB (your yearly needs with backups)
| Provider | $/TB/mo | Monthly | Yearly |
|---|---|---|---|
Google One Integration with Google Photos | $9.99 | $10.54 | $126.47 |
iCloud+ Apple ecosystem integration | $9.99 | $10.54 | $126.47 |
Dropbox Plus Smart sync, version history | $11.99 | $12.65 | $151.79 |
OneDrive Office 365 integration | $9.99 | $10.54 | $126.47 |
Backblaze B2 Low cost, pay per use | $6 | $6.33 | $75.96 |
Amazon S3 Glacier Cold storage, retrieval fees | $4 | $4.22 | $50.64 |
Wasabi No egress fees | $6.99 | $7.37 | $88.49 |
Growth Projection
Y1
Y2
Y3
Y4
Y5
| Year | Added | Cumulative |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 1.05 TB | 1.05 TB |
| Year 2 | 1.05 TB | 2.11 TB |
| Year 3 | 1.05 TB | 3.17 TB |
| Year 4 | 1.05 TB | 4.22 TB |
| Year 5 | 1.05 TB | 5.28 TB |
3-2-1 Backup Rule
- 3 copies of your data
- 2 different storage types (e.g., SSD + HDD)
- 1 copy offsite (cloud or physical)