Rex says
Money math without the spreadsheet headache. Plug in your numbers and I'll show you exactly where the dollars land.
Try a scenario
Click to load — tweak from there.Inputs
Result
Total storage needed (TB)
29.00
New data per year (TB)
1.93
Drives required
4
Drive hardware cost
$580
Cloud cost in final year
$418
Cumulative cloud cost
$1,253
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How to use this
- 1Enter shoots per year.
- 2Enter storage per shoot (GB).
- 3Enter copies kept (3-2-1 rule = 3).
- 4Enter cloud cost per tb per month ($).
- 5Enter drive capacity (TB).
- 6Enter drive price ($).
- 7Enter planning horizon (years).
- 8Read your total storage needed (tb) on the right — it updates as you type.
- 9Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone.
About this calculator
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.
Worked example
Using the values the calculator loads with:
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
Results
- 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: $1,253
What each field means
Inputs
- Shoots per year
- The shoots per year used in the calculation. Starts at 90 so you have a working example on load.
- Storage per shoot (GB)
- The storage per shoot used in the calculation, measured in GB. Starts at 22 GB so you have a working example on load.
- Copies kept (3-2-1 rule = 3)
- The copies kept (3-2-1 rule = 3) used in the calculation. Starts at 3 so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 1–5.
- Cloud cost per TB per month ($)
- The cloud cost per tb per month used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 6 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Drive capacity (TB)
- The drive capacity used in the calculation, measured in TB. Starts at 8 TB so you have a working example on load.
- Drive price ($)
- The drive price used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 145 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Planning horizon (years)
- The planning horizon used in the calculation, measured in years. Starts at 5 years so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 1–20 years.
Results
- Total storage needed (TB)
- Returned as a decimal number and shown as the headline result. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- New data per year (TB)
- Returned as a decimal number. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Drives required
- Returned as a whole number. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Drive hardware cost
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Cloud cost in final year
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Cumulative cloud cost
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
FAQ
What is the 3-2-1 backup rule?
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.
When does cloud beat buying drives?
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.
Accuracy and 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.
Related tools
Cite this calculator
Writing about this topic? Grab a citation — every link helps keep these tools free.
RevenueLab. (2026). Photo & Video Storage Cost Calculator. Retrieved from https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/photo-storage-cost
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/photo-storage-cost" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Photo & Video Storage Cost Calculator — RevenueLab</a> (2026).</p>
Source: [Photo & Video Storage Cost Calculator — RevenueLab](https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/photo-storage-cost) (2026).