{
  "slug": "photo-storage-cost",
  "title": "Photo & Video Storage Cost Calculator",
  "heading": "Media Storage Cost Calculator",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/photo-storage-cost",
  "summary": "Yearly archive growth and what it costs across drives and cloud.",
  "description": "Shoot volume compounds. A photographer adding 2 TB a year needs a plan for three copies of everything — local, backup, and offsite — and the cost curve of each option diverges fast after year three.",
  "formula": "Annual TB = shoots × GB per shoot ÷ 1024; cost = TB × (cloud rate) or drives needed × drive price.",
  "dateModified": "2026-09-30",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=photo-storage-cost",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "shoots",
      "label": "Shoots per year",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 90,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "gbShoot",
      "label": "Storage per shoot",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 22,
      "unit": "GB",
      "min": 0.1,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "copies",
      "label": "Copies kept (3-2-1 rule = 3)",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 3,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 1,
      "max": 5
    },
    {
      "id": "cloudRate",
      "label": "Cloud cost per TB per month",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 6,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "driveTb",
      "label": "Drive capacity",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 8,
      "unit": "TB",
      "min": 1,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "drivePrice",
      "label": "Drive price",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 145,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "years",
      "label": "Planning horizon",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 5,
      "unit": "years",
      "min": 1,
      "max": 20
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "totalTb",
      "label": "Total storage needed (TB)",
      "format": "decimal",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "tbYear",
      "label": "New data per year (TB)",
      "format": "decimal",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "drives",
      "label": "Drives required",
      "format": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "driveCost",
      "label": "Drive hardware cost",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "cloudYear",
      "label": "Cloud cost in final year",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "cloudTotal",
      "label": "Cumulative cloud cost",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Shoots per year: 90",
      "Storage per shoot: 22 GB",
      "Copies kept (3-2-1 rule = 3): 3",
      "Cloud cost per TB per month: 6 $",
      "Drive capacity: 8 TB",
      "Drive price: 145 $",
      "Planning horizon: 5 years"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Total storage needed (TB): 29",
      "New data per year (TB): 1.93",
      "Drives required: 4",
      "Drive hardware cost: $580",
      "Cloud cost in final year: $418",
      "Cumulative cloud cost: $1,253"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter shoots per year.",
      "Enter storage per shoot (GB).",
      "Enter copies kept (3-2-1 rule = 3).",
      "Enter cloud cost per tb per month ($).",
      "Enter drive capacity (TB).",
      "Enter drive price ($).",
      "Enter planning horizon (years).",
      "Read your total storage needed (tb) on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Conservative",
      "description": "Lower-end numbers — what if things land soft?",
      "values": {
        "shoots": 54,
        "gbShoot": 13,
        "copies": 2,
        "cloudRate": 3.5999999999999996,
        "driveTb": 5,
        "drivePrice": 85,
        "years": 3
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "shoots": 90,
        "gbShoot": 22,
        "copies": 3,
        "cloudRate": 6,
        "driveTb": 8,
        "drivePrice": 145,
        "years": 5
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "shoots": 144,
        "gbShoot": 35,
        "copies": 5,
        "cloudRate": 9.600000000000001,
        "driveTb": 13,
        "drivePrice": 230,
        "years": 8
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.",
    "Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.",
    "This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "What is the 3-2-1 backup rule?",
      "a": "Three copies of the data, on two different media types, with one offsite. For working photographers that usually means a working drive, a local NAS or backup drive, and cloud archive storage."
    },
    {
      "q": "When does cloud beat buying drives?",
      "a": "Cloud wins on small, slow-growing archives and on offsite copies. Once you are adding several terabytes a year, local drives plus a cheap cold-storage tier is almost always cheaper over five years."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/video-file-size",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/photography-day-rate"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Photo & Video Storage Cost Calculator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/photo-storage-cost)"
}