How Much Storage Do You Need for Photography?
Published: August 25, 2026
Pulling live prices…
Live data across PricePerGig listings. Prices may change; Updated every few hours.
📊 As of October 23, 2026, the typical SSD on Amazon.com is $364/TB or $0.364/GB across the 4,524 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around $167/TB or $0.167/GB. The best deals on Amazon.com start from about $156 for 1TB ($157/TB), $280 for 2TB ($140/TB) and $530 for 4TB ($132/TB). The current best value is 4TB at roughly $132 per TB.
📊 As of October 23, 2026, the typical SSD on eBay.com is $193/TB or $0.193/GB across the 408 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around $209/TB or $0.209/GB. The best deals on eBay.com start from about $130 for 1TB ($130/TB), $210 for 2TB ($105/TB) and $110 for 4TB ($27.5/TB). The current best value is 4TB at roughly $27.5 per TB.
📊 As of October 23, 2026, the typical SSD on Newegg.com is $328/TB or $0.328/GB across the 368 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around $166/TB or $0.166/GB. The best deals on Newegg.com start from about $160 for 1TB ($160/TB), $290 for 2TB ($145/TB) and $600 for 4TB ($150/TB). The current best value is 2TB at roughly $145 per TB.
📊 As of 23 October 2026, the typical SSD on Amazon.co.uk is £297/TB or £0.297/GB across the 2,435 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around £134/TB or £0.134/GB. The best deals on Amazon.co.uk start from about £137 for 1TB (£137/TB), £225 for 2TB (£113/TB) and £426 for 4TB (£107/TB). The current best value is 4TB at roughly £107 per TB.
📊 As of 23 October 2026, the typical SSD on eBay.co.uk is £264/TB or £0.264/GB across the 222 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around £194/TB or £0.194/GB. The best deals on eBay.co.uk start from about £143 for 1TB (£143/TB), £215 for 2TB (£108/TB) and £24.6 for 4TB (£6.2/TB). The current best value is 4TB at roughly £6.2 per TB.
📊 As of 23 October 2026, the typical SSD on Overclockers.co.uk is £190/TB or £0.19/GB across the 72 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around £175/TB or £0.175/GB. The best deals on Overclockers.co.uk start from about £150 for 1TB (£150/TB), £240 for 2TB (£120/TB) and £460 for 4TB (£115/TB). The current best value is 4TB at roughly £115 per TB.
📊 As of 23 October 2026, the typical SSD on Box.co.uk is £182/TB or £0.182/GB across the 116 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around £142/TB or £0.142/GB. The best deals on Box.co.uk start from about £138 for 1TB (£138/TB), £252 for 2TB (£126/TB) and £443 for 4TB (£111/TB). The current best value is 4TB at roughly £111 per TB.
📊 As of 23. Oktober 2026, the typical SSD on Amazon.de is 248 €/TB or 0,248 €/GB across the 5,218 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around 217 €/TB or 0,217 €/GB. The best deals on Amazon.de start from about 170 € for 1TB (170 €/TB), 344 € for 2TB (172 €/TB) and 490 € for 4TB (122 €/TB). The current best value is 4TB at roughly 122 € per TB.
📊 As of 23. Oktober 2026, the typical SSD on eBay.de is 300 €/TB or 0,30 €/GB across the 1,522 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around 202 €/TB or 0,202 €/GB. The best deals on eBay.de start from about 155 € for 1TB (155 €/TB), 267 € for 2TB (134 €/TB) and 558 € for 4TB (139 €/TB). The current best value is 2TB at roughly 134 € per TB.
📊 As of 23. Oktober 2026, the typical SSD on getgoods.de is 517 €/TB or 0,517 €/GB across the 238 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around 193 €/TB or 0,193 €/GB. The best deals on getgoods.de start from about 165 € for 1TB (165 €/TB), 285 € for 2TB (143 €/TB) and 542 € for 4TB (135 €/TB). The current best value is 4TB at roughly 135 € per TB.
📊 As of 23. Oktober 2026, the typical SSD on Alternate.de is 216 €/TB or 0,216 €/GB across the 244 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around 199 €/TB or 0,199 €/GB. The best deals on Alternate.de start from about 150 € for 1TB (150 €/TB), 257 € for 2TB (129 €/TB) and 651 € for 4TB (163 €/TB). The current best value is 2TB at roughly 129 € per TB.
📊 As of 23 October 2026, the typical SSD on eBay.com.au is $410/TB or $0.41/GB across the 137 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around $298/TB or $0.298/GB. The best deals on eBay.com.au start from about $176 for 1TB ($190/TB), $499 for 2TB ($258/TB) and $999 for 4TB ($250/TB). The current best value is 1TB at roughly $190 per TB.
📊 As of 23 octobre 2026, the typical SSD on Amazon.fr is 297 €/TB or 0,297 €/GB across the 2,124 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around 217 €/TB or 0,217 €/GB. The best deals on Amazon.fr start from about 161 € for 1TB (162 €/TB), 344 € for 2TB (172 €/TB) and 500 € for 4TB (125 €/TB). The current best value is 4TB at roughly 125 € per TB.
📊 As of 23 de octubre de 2026, the typical SSD on Amazon.es is 323 €/TB or 0,323 €/GB across the 2,386 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around 154 €/TB or 0,154 €/GB. The best deals on Amazon.es start from about 155 € for 1TB (155 €/TB), 253 € for 2TB (127 €/TB) and 486 € for 4TB (121 €/TB). The current best value is 4TB at roughly 121 € per TB.
📊 As of October 23, 2026, the typical SSD on Amazon.ca is $461/TB or $0.461/GB across the 1,902 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around $221/TB or $0.221/GB. The best deals on Amazon.ca start from about $227 for 1TB ($228/TB), $398 for 2TB ($199/TB) and $700 for 4TB ($175/TB). The current best value is 4TB at roughly $175 per TB.
📊 As of October 23, 2026, the typical SSD on eBay.ca is $341/TB or $0.341/GB across the 135 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around $194/TB or $0.194/GB. The best deals on eBay.ca start from about $69 for 0.5TB ($138/TB), $172 for 1TB ($180/TB) and $375 for 2TB ($188/TB). The current best value is 0.5TB at roughly $138 per TB.
📊 As of October 23, 2026, the typical SSD on Newegg.ca is $522/TB or $0.522/GB across the 323 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around $256/TB or $0.256/GB. The best deals on Newegg.ca start from about $229 for 1TB ($229/TB), $380 for 2TB ($190/TB) and $620 for 4TB ($155/TB). The current best value is 4TB at roughly $155 per TB.
📊 As of 23 oktober 2026, the typical SSD on Amazon.nl is € 240/TB or € 0,24/GB across the 2,969 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around € 212/TB or € 0,212/GB. The best deals on Amazon.nl start from about € 166 for 1TB (€ 166/TB), € 340 for 2TB (€ 170/TB) and € 489 for 4TB (€ 122/TB). The current best value is 4TB at roughly € 122 per TB.
📊 As of 23 ottobre 2026, the typical SSD on Amazon.it is 241 €/TB or 0,241 €/GB across the 5,952 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around 217 €/TB or 0,217 €/GB. The best deals on Amazon.it start from about 160 € for 1TB (160 €/TB), 344 € for 2TB (172 €/TB) and 510 € for 4TB (127 €/TB). The current best value is 4TB at roughly 127 € per TB.
📊 As of 23 ottobre 2026, the typical SSD on eBay.it is 483 €/TB or 0,483 €/GB across the 566 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around 220 €/TB or 0,22 €/GB. The best deals on eBay.it start from about 202 € for 1TB (202 €/TB), 355 € for 2TB (178 €/TB) and 648 € for 4TB (162 €/TB). The current best value is 4TB at roughly 162 € per TB.
📊 As of 23 oktober 2026, the typical SSD on Amazon.se is 3 161 kr/TB or 3,161 kr/GB across the 817 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around 2 345 kr/TB or 2,345 kr/GB. The best deals on Amazon.se start from about 980 kr for 0.5TB (1 913 kr/TB), 1 599 kr for 1TB (1 599 kr/TB) and 2 566 kr for 2TB (1 283 kr/TB). The current best value is 2TB at roughly 1 283 kr per TB.
📊 As of 23 października 2026, the typical SSD on Amazon.pl is 1179 zł/TB or 1,179 zł/GB across the 713 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around 658 zł/TB or 0,658 zł/GB. The best deals on Amazon.pl start from about 649 zł for 1TB (649 zł/TB), 956 zł for 2TB (478 zł/TB) and 2100 zł for 4TB (525 zł/TB). The current best value is 2TB at roughly 478 zł per TB.
Sourced from real discussions on r/photography and r/DataHoarder, cross-checked against live PricePerGig listings.
Photographers run out of storage faster than almost anyone, because RAW files are huge and they pile up forever. So how much do you actually need?
The honest answer is more than you think, and a sensible setup matters more than one big number.
The smart move is a fast drive for current work and a big cheap one for the archive. Plus backups, because photos are irreplaceable.
The table above shows the live SSD prices on your marketplace for the working drive that makes editing feel fast.
Why photography eats storage
A quick reality check on the numbers.
RAW files are large, often many times bigger than a JPEG, because they hold all the sensor data for editing. Shoot regularly and they stack up fast.
- A keen hobbyist can fill several terabytes over a few years.
- A working photographer shooting events or weddings can blow through that in months.
And most photographers keep their RAW files forever, because you never know when you will want to re-edit an old shoot. So the archive only ever grows.
The smart two-drive setup
Here is the setup that keeps editing fast and costs sane.
- A fast SSD for your current projects and your photo catalog. Browsing and editing large libraries feels far snappier off an SSD, so this is where the speed pays off.
- A big cheap hard drive as your archive for finished and older work you are not actively editing.
Work on the SSD, then move completed shoots to the hard drive archive. You get speed where you feel it and cheap capacity for the years of photos behind you.
How much of each
Rough sizing to plan around.
- Working SSD: 1TB to 2TB is comfortable for active catalogs and recent shoots.
- Archive hard drive: as big as you can sensibly afford, because it only fills up. Many photographers run multiple large drives here over time.
Check the live prices above. The SSD is the smaller, faster spend, the hard drive is where you buy cheap bulk for the growing archive.
Backups are not optional
This is the part that matters most, so I will be blunt.
Your photos are irreplaceable. You cannot reshoot last year. So one copy is never enough.
- Your working drive and archive are your main copies.
- Keep at least one more copy offsite or in the cloud.
A drive failure, theft or fire should never be able to erase your life’s work. Compared to that, the cost of an extra backup drive is nothing.
The bottom line
Photographers need a lot of storage and an ever-growing archive, because RAW files are big and you keep them forever. Run a fast SSD for current edits and a big cheap hard drive for the archive.
Size the SSD for active work, buy the hard drive for cheap bulk, and always keep an offsite backup. Use the live prices above to build it affordably, and never lose a shoot to a dead drive agian.
