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 September 28, 2026, the typical SSD on Amazon.com is $346/TB or $0.346/GB across the 4,300 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around $161/TB or $0.161/GB. The best deals on Amazon.com start from about $155 for 1TB ($155/TB), $278 for 2TB ($139/TB) and $519 for 4TB ($130/TB). The current best value is 4TB at roughly $130 per TB.
📊 As of September 28, 2026, the typical SSD on eBay.com is $217/TB or $0.217/GB across the 382 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around $131/TB or $0.131/GB. The best deals on eBay.com start from about $123 for 1TB ($125/TB), $210 for 2TB ($105/TB) and $353 for 4TB ($88.4/TB). The current best value is 4TB at roughly $88.4 per TB.
📊 As of September 28, 2026, the typical SSD on Newegg.com is $313/TB or $0.313/GB across the 372 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around $257/TB or $0.257/GB. The best deals on Newegg.com start from about $135 for 1TB ($135/TB), $260 for 2TB ($130/TB) and $650 for 4TB ($162/TB). The current best value is 2TB at roughly $130 per TB.
📊 As of 28 September 2026, the typical SSD on Amazon.co.uk is £305/TB or £0.305/GB across the 2,387 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 £140 for 1TB (£140/TB), £228 for 2TB (£114/TB) and £430 for 4TB (£107/TB). The current best value is 4TB at roughly £107 per TB.
📊 As of 28 September 2026, the typical SSD on eBay.co.uk is £262/TB or £0.262/GB across the 330 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around £192/TB or £0.192/GB. The best deals on eBay.co.uk start from about £126 for 1TB (£126/TB), £269 for 2TB (£135/TB) and £374 for 4TB (£93.5/TB). The current best value is 4TB at roughly £93.5 per TB.
📊 As of 28 September 2026, the typical SSD on Box.co.uk is £178/TB or £0.178/GB across the 113 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around £158/TB or £0.158/GB. The best deals on Box.co.uk start from about £128 for 1TB (£131/TB), £247 for 2TB (£124/TB) and £495 for 4TB (£124/TB). The current best value is 2TB at roughly £124 per TB.
📊 As of 28. September 2026, the typical SSD on Amazon.de is 241 €/TB or 0,241 €/GB across the 4,916 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 166 € for 1TB (166 €/TB), 344 € for 2TB (172 €/TB) and 460 € for 4TB (115 €/TB). The current best value is 4TB at roughly 115 € per TB.
📊 As of 28. September 2026, the typical SSD on eBay.de is 303 €/TB or 0,303 €/GB across the 1,457 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around 200 €/TB or 0,20 €/GB. The best deals on eBay.de start from about 139 € for 1TB (139 €/TB), 270 € for 2TB (135 €/TB) and 444 € for 4TB (111 €/TB). The current best value is 4TB at roughly 111 € per TB.
📊 As of 28. September 2026, the typical SSD on Alternate.de is 206 €/TB or 0,206 €/GB across the 245 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around 161 €/TB or 0,161 €/GB. The best deals on Alternate.de start from about 150 € for 1TB (150 €/TB), 243 € for 2TB (121 €/TB) and 600 € for 4TB (150 €/TB). The current best value is 2TB at roughly 121 € per TB.
📊 As of 28 September 2026, the typical SSD on eBay.com.au is $337/TB or $0.337/GB across the 169 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around $306/TB or $0.306/GB. The best deals on eBay.com.au start from about $113 for 1TB ($113/TB), $150 for 2TB ($75/TB) and $51 for 4TB ($12.7/TB). The current best value is 4TB at roughly $12.7 per TB.
📊 As of 28 septembre 2026, the typical SSD on Amazon.fr is 282 €/TB or 0,282 €/GB across the 2,368 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 162 € for 1TB (162 €/TB), 344 € for 2TB (172 €/TB) and 480 € for 4TB (120 €/TB). The current best value is 4TB at roughly 120 € per TB.
📊 As of 28 de septiembre de 2026, the typical SSD on Amazon.es is 331 €/TB or 0,331 €/GB across the 2,141 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around 152 €/TB or 0,152 €/GB. The best deals on Amazon.es start from about 153 € for 1TB (153 €/TB), 250 € for 2TB (125 €/TB) and 443 € for 4TB (111 €/TB). The current best value is 4TB at roughly 111 € per TB.
📊 As of September 28, 2026, the typical SSD on Amazon.ca is $476/TB or $0.476/GB across the 1,874 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around $227/TB or $0.227/GB. The best deals on Amazon.ca start from about $230 for 1TB ($230/TB), $396 for 2TB ($198/TB) and $665 for 4TB ($166/TB). The current best value is 4TB at roughly $166 per TB.
📊 As of September 28, 2026, the typical SSD on eBay.ca is $395/TB or $0.395/GB across the 105 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around $186/TB or $0.186/GB. The best deals on eBay.ca start from about $66.5 for 0.5TB ($131/TB), $172 for 1TB ($180/TB) and $360 for 2TB ($180/TB). The current best value is 0.5TB at roughly $131 per TB.
📊 As of September 28, 2026, the typical SSD on Newegg.ca is $542/TB or $0.542/GB across the 376 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around $263/TB or $0.263/GB. The best deals on Newegg.ca start from about $210 for 1TB ($210/TB), $388 for 2TB ($194/TB) and $700 for 4TB ($175/TB). The current best value is 4TB at roughly $175 per TB.
📊 As of 28 september 2026, the typical SSD on Amazon.nl is € 243/TB or € 0,243/GB across the 2,446 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around € 177/TB or € 0,177/GB. The best deals on Amazon.nl start from about € 160 for 1TB (€ 160/TB), € 299 for 2TB (€ 150/TB) and € 470 for 4TB (€ 117/TB). The current best value is 4TB at roughly € 117 per TB.
📊 As of 28 settembre 2026, the typical SSD on Amazon.it is 238 €/TB or 0,238 €/GB across the 5,446 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around 215 €/TB or 0,215 €/GB. The best deals on Amazon.it start from about 156 € for 1TB (157 €/TB), 344 € for 2TB (172 €/TB) and 473 € for 4TB (118 €/TB). The current best value is 4TB at roughly 118 € per TB.
📊 As of 28 settembre 2026, the typical SSD on eBay.it is 485 €/TB or 0,485 €/GB across the 559 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around 218 €/TB or 0,218 €/GB. The best deals on eBay.it start from about 219 € for 1TB (219 €/TB), 348 € for 2TB (174 €/TB) and 598 € for 4TB (149 €/TB). The current best value is 4TB at roughly 149 € per TB.
📊 As of 28 september 2026, the typical SSD on Amazon.se is 3 101 kr/TB or 3,101 kr/GB across the 787 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around 1 791 kr/TB or 1,791 kr/GB. The best deals on Amazon.se start from about 940 kr for 0.5TB (1 836 kr/TB), 1 546 kr for 1TB (1 546 kr/TB) and 2 499 kr for 2TB (1 250 kr/TB). The current best value is 2TB at roughly 1 250 kr per TB.
📊 As of 28 września 2026, the typical SSD on Amazon.pl is 1172 zł/TB or 1,172 zł/GB across the 516 live listings we track, with the widest choice of drives priced around 623 zł/TB or 0,623 zł/GB. The best deals on Amazon.pl start from about 436 zł for 1TB (436 zł/TB), 1027 zł for 2TB (514 zł/TB) and 931 zł for 4TB (233 zł/TB). The current best value is 4TB at roughly 233 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.
