How Much Storage Do You Actually Need?
Published: 6 de julho de 2026
Pulling live prices…
Live data across PricePerGig listings. Prices may change; Updated every few hours.
📊 As of July 8, 2026, the typical HDD on Amazon.com is $130/TB or $0.13/GB across the 4,292 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around $38/TB or $0.038/GB. The best deals on Amazon.com start from about $260 for 8TB ($32.5/TB), $330 for 14TB ($23.6/TB) and $590 for 20TB ($29.5/TB). The current best value is 14TB at roughly $23.6 per TB.
📊 As of July 8, 2026, the typical HDD on eBay.com is $93.7/TB or $0.094/GB across the 9,953 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around $59.5/TB or $0.06/GB. The best deals on eBay.com start from about $180 for 8TB ($22.5/TB), $260 for 14TB ($18.6/TB) and $520 for 20TB ($26/TB). The current best value is 10TB at roughly $16.1 per TB.
📊 As of July 8, 2026, the typical HDD on Newegg.com is $123/TB or $0.123/GB across the 967 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around $52.9/TB or $0.053/GB. The best deals on Newegg.com start from about $300 for 8TB ($37.5/TB), $379 for 14TB ($27.1/TB) and $815 for 20TB ($40.7/TB). The current best value is 14TB at roughly $27.1 per TB.
📊 As of 8 July 2026, the typical HDD on Amazon.co.uk is £147/TB or £0.147/GB across the 3,326 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around £41.3/TB or £0.041/GB. The best deals on Amazon.co.uk start from about £243 for 8TB (£30.4/TB), £330 for 14TB (£23.6/TB) and £509 for 20TB (£25.4/TB). The current best value is 14TB at roughly £23.6 per TB.
📊 As of 8 July 2026, the typical HDD on eBay.co.uk is £79.8/TB or £0.08/GB across the 4,170 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around £28.4/TB or £0.028/GB. The best deals on eBay.co.uk start from about £139 for 8TB (£17.4/TB), £256 for 14TB (£18.3/TB) and £466 for 20TB (£23.3/TB). The current best value is 12TB at roughly £15.8 per TB.
📊 As of 8 July 2026, the typical HDD on Overclockers.co.uk is £47.5/TB or £0.048/GB across the 58 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around £38.8/TB or £0.039/GB. The best deals on Overclockers.co.uk start from about £110 for 2TB (£55/TB), £200 for 6TB (£33.3/TB) and £280 for 8TB (£35/TB). The current best value is 6TB at roughly £33.3 per TB.
📊 As of 8 July 2026, the typical HDD on Box.co.uk is £50.5/TB or £0.051/GB across the 50 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around £46/TB or £0.046/GB. The best deals on Box.co.uk start from about £102 for 2TB (£51/TB), £160 for 4TB (£40/TB) and £260 for 8TB (£32.5/TB). The current best value is 8TB at roughly £32.5 per TB.
📊 As of 8. Juli 2026, the typical HDD on Amazon.de is 211 €/TB or 0,211 €/GB across the 3,540 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around 50,8 €/TB or 0,051 €/GB. The best deals on Amazon.de start from about 305 € for 8TB (38,1 €/TB), 380 € for 14TB (27,1 €/TB) and 550 € for 20TB (27,5 €/TB). The current best value is 18TB at roughly 22,7 € per TB.
📊 As of 8. Juli 2026, the typical HDD on eBay.de is 106 €/TB or 0,106 €/GB across the 163 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around 25,5 €/TB or 0,026 €/GB. The best deals on eBay.de start from about 40,6 € for 2TB (20,3 €/TB), 150 € for 6TB (25 €/TB) and 85,5 € for 8TB (10,7 €/TB). The current best value is 4TB at roughly 10,2 € per TB.
📊 As of 8. Juli 2026, the typical HDD on getgoods.de is 67,1 €/TB or 0,067 €/GB across the 87 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around 44,2 €/TB or 0,044 €/GB. The best deals on getgoods.de start from about 108 € for 2TB (56,1 €/TB), 161 € for 4TB (40,2 €/TB) and 270 € for 8TB (33,7 €/TB). The current best value is 8TB at roughly 33,7 € per TB.
📊 As of 8. Juli 2026, the typical HDD on Alternate.de is 54,3 €/TB or 0,054 €/GB across the 141 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around 45,1 €/TB or 0,045 €/GB. The best deals on Alternate.de start from about 234 € for 8TB (29,2 €/TB), 411 € for 10TB (41,1 €/TB) and 535 € for 12TB (44,6 €/TB). The current best value is 8TB at roughly 29,2 € per TB.
📊 As of 8 July 2026, the typical HDD on eBay.com.au is $110/TB or $0.11/GB across the 1,060 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around $96.2/TB or $0.096/GB. The best deals on eBay.com.au start from about $430 for 8TB ($53.7/TB), $638 for 12TB ($53.2/TB) and $589 for 16TB ($36.8/TB). The current best value is 16TB at roughly $36.8 per TB.
📊 As of 8 juillet 2026, the typical HDD on Amazon.fr is 164 €/TB or 0,164 €/GB across the 2,858 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around 48,7 €/TB or 0,049 €/GB. The best deals on Amazon.fr start from about 288 € for 8TB (36 €/TB), 453 € for 14TB (32,3 €/TB) and 550 € for 20TB (27,5 €/TB). The current best value is 18TB at roughly 23,8 € per TB.
📊 As of 8 de julio de 2026, the typical HDD on Amazon.es is 206 €/TB or 0,206 €/GB across the 2,883 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around 50,9 €/TB or 0,051 €/GB. The best deals on Amazon.es start from about 320 € for 8TB (40 €/TB), 469 € for 14TB (33,5 €/TB) and 550 € for 20TB (27,5 €/TB). The current best value is 18TB at roughly 23,8 € per TB.
📊 As of July 8, 2026, the typical HDD on Amazon.ca is $247/TB or $0.247/GB across the 1,754 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around $70.1/TB or $0.07/GB. The best deals on Amazon.ca start from about $405 for 8TB ($50.6/TB), $686 for 14TB ($49/TB) and $995 for 20TB ($49.7/TB). The current best value is 18TB at roughly $46 per TB.
📊 As of July 8, 2026, the typical HDD on eBay.ca is $75.9/TB or $0.076/GB across the 205 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around $29.4/TB or $0.029/GB. The best deals on eBay.ca start from about $40 for 2TB ($23.5/TB), $49 for 4TB ($12.3/TB) and $180 for 8TB ($22.5/TB). The current best value is 4TB at roughly $12.3 per TB.
📊 As of July 8, 2026, the typical HDD on Newegg.ca is $161/TB or $0.161/GB across the 418 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around $57.5/TB or $0.058/GB. The best deals on Newegg.ca start from about $390 for 8TB ($48.7/TB), $800 for 14TB ($57.1/TB) and $982 for 20TB ($49.1/TB). The current best value is 8TB at roughly $48.7 per TB.
📊 As of 8 juli 2026, the typical HDD on Amazon.nl is € 119/TB or € 0,119/GB across the 1,592 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around € 58,5/TB or € 0,059/GB. The best deals on Amazon.nl start from about € 263 for 8TB (€ 32,9/TB), € 486 for 14TB (€ 34,7/TB) and € 457 for 20TB (€ 22,9/TB). The current best value is 20TB at roughly € 22,9 per TB.
📊 As of 8 luglio 2026, the typical HDD on Amazon.it is 196 €/TB or 0,196 €/GB across the 4,607 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around 50 €/TB or 0,05 €/GB. The best deals on Amazon.it start from about 320 € for 8TB (40 €/TB), 417 € for 14TB (29,8 €/TB) and 550 € for 20TB (27,5 €/TB). The current best value is 16TB at roughly 27,5 € per TB.
📊 As of 8 luglio 2026, the typical HDD on eBay.it is 99,5 €/TB or 0,10 €/GB across the 10,446 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around 96,5 €/TB or 0,097 €/GB. The best deals on eBay.it start from about 243 € for 8TB (30,4 €/TB), 389 € for 16TB (24,3 €/TB) and 479 € for 20TB (23,9 €/TB). The current best value is 10TB at roughly 16,1 € per TB.
📊 As of 8 juli 2026, the typical HDD on Amazon.se is 1 589 kr/TB or 1,589 kr/GB across the 1,084 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around 745 kr/TB or 0,745 kr/GB. The best deals on Amazon.se start from about 1 092 kr for 2TB (551 kr/TB), 1 350 kr for 4TB (338 kr/TB) and 331 kr for 6TB (55,1 kr/TB). The current best value is 6TB at roughly 55,1 kr per TB.
📊 As of 8 lipca 2026, the typical HDD on Amazon.pl is 613 zł/TB or 0,613 zł/GB across the 1,505 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around 199 zł/TB or 0,199 zł/GB. The best deals on Amazon.pl start from about 998 zł for 8TB (125 zł/TB), 1298 zł for 12TB (108 zł/TB) and 1643 zł for 16TB (103 zł/TB). The current best value is 16TB at roughly 103 zł per TB.
Sourced from real discussions on r/DataHoarder and r/buildapc, cross-checked against live PricePerGig listings.
The eternal buying question. How much storage do I actually need?
Here is the honest answer nobody likes: a bit more than you think.
Storage use only ever goes one direction, and that is up. So the goal is to buy enough headroom that you are not upgrading again in six months.
The table above shows live price per TB on your marketplace, because the smart move is to buy big once rather than small twice.
A rough guide by what you do
Let me give you real numbers to anchor on, not vague waffle.
- Everyday laptop, browsing and documents: 500GB to 1TB is plenty.
- Gaming PC: 2TB is the comfortable sweet spot, more if you keep a big library installed.
- Photos and personal files hoard: 4TB to 8TB covers most people for years.
- Serious media library or full backups: 20TB and up, and it will still fill.
Find your row, then add a chunk on top. You will use it.
Why you should buy bigger than today’s need
This is the bit that saves you money long term.
A drive that is bang on your current size today is full and annoying within a year.
Buying one size up costs surprisingly little extra, because bigger drives have a better price per TB. Meanwhile, upgrading later means buying a whole new drive and shuffling data around.
Headroom is cheaper than a do over. Glance at the live table and you will see the bigger capacity is barely more per terabyte.
One big drive or several small ones?
Short version: one big drive wins on value almost every time.
The fixed costs of a drive, the motor, the casing, the controller, get spread across more storage on a big drive. So the price per TB drops as capacity climbs.
The only reason to spread across several drives is redundancy, not value. And redundancy is about protecting data, not saving money.
So buy big for value, then add a second drive for safety if the data matters.
Do not forget the backup tax
Here is the number people forget to budget for.
If your data matters, you need more than one copy. That means your real storage need is roughly double the raw amount, because a backup is a second copy.
Want 8TB of irreplaceable files? Budget for 16TB of drives so you can keep a backup.
It feels like a lot until the day a drive dies and you are very glad you did.
The bottom line
How much storage you need comes down to your use case plus headroom plus a backup copy.
Pick the rough figure for what you do, round up because usage grows, buy big for the best price per TB using the live table above, and double it if the data is irreplaceable. Do that and you buy the right amount once, instead of upgrading again and again and waisting money each time.
Related questions
- What's the Best Way to Store Only Movies and TV Shows?
- What's the Cheapest High Capacity HDD With the Best Value?
- How Long Do Hard Drives Last (When to Replace)?
- Is It Worth Buying Hard Drives With Many Terabytes?
- Is Shucking External Hard Drives Worth It?
- Most Reliable HDD Brand: WD vs Seagate vs Toshiba?