# How Many Photos Fit in 1TB? Storage Capacity Visualizer [Home](/)-[Tools](/tools/)-Storage Capacity Visualizer free storage calculator # How Many Photos Fit in 1TB?** Storage Capacity Visualizer Calculate exactly how many JPEG, RAW, HEIC photos or 4K videos fit on any drive -- 64GB to 8TB. Built with real camera file sizes, not guesses. PhotosVideosStorage Size1 TBPhoto FormatJPEG (Standard) Camera presets iPhone (12MP HEIC)iPhone Pro (ProRAW)Canon EOS R5 (RAW)Nikon Z7II (RAW)Sony A7R V (RAW)Entry DSLR / Mirrorless 1 TB holds approximately 196,000 photos Based on ~5 MB - 12-24MP consumer camera, high quality Drive fill98.0% 980 GB used of 1 TB Time to fill this drive At your daily shooting rate, how long until this drive is full? Photos/day5.4 years ## How Many Photos Fit on Any Drive? Quick reference for the most common storage sizes -- calculated at real-world file sizes, not marketing numbers. DriveJPEG (5 MB)RAW 24MP (27 MB)RAW 45MP (47 MB)HEIC iPhone (3 MB)4K H.26564 GB12,5442,3221,33420,9065h 58m128 GB25,0884,6452,66841,81311h 56m256 GB50,1769,2915,33783,62623h 53m512 GB100,35218,58310,675167,2531 days1 TB196,00036,29620,851326,6663 days2 TB392,00072,59241,702653,3337 days4 TB784,000145,18583,4041,306,66615 days8 TB1,568,000290,370166,8082,613,33331 days * Assumes 98% usable space after filesystem overhead. Video column shows total recording time at 175 MB/min (4K H.265 30fps). 01 ## HEIC vs JPEG: How Much Space You Actually Save HEIC (High Efficiency Image Container) files are typically 40-50% smaller than equivalent JPEG photos at the same visual quality. Switching your iPhone from "Most Compatible" (JPEG) to default HEIC mode effectively doubles how many photos you can store on any drive. At 1TB, that difference means 200,000 JPEG photos versus 310,000 HEIC photos -- an extra 110,000 shots from the same drive without any quality loss visible to the human eye. - HEIC enabled by default on all iPhones since iOS 11 - Android and Windows 11 now natively support HEIC - RAW files are unaffected -- always shoot RAW + JPEG for maximum flexibility Photos on 1TB JPEG (Standard) - 5 MB196,000iPhone HEIC (12MP default) - 3 MB326,666RAW (Entry / 18-24MP) - 27 MB36,296RAW (Pro / 45MP+) - 47 MB20,851 Recording time on 1TB 1080p H.264 (iPhone / GoPro) - 130 MB/min126h4K H.265 / HEVC - 175 MB/min93h4K H.264 - 375 MB/min44h4K ProRes (iPhone / BRAW) - 1.7 GB/min10h8K H.265 - 1.9 GB/min9h02 ## How Much 4K Video Fits on 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB? 4K video file sizes vary dramatically by codec. H.265 (HEVC) is twice as efficient as H.264 at the same quality level -- a crucial difference when you are filling a drive on a long shoot. 4K ProRes footage, used by filmmakers and iPhone Pro users, generates roughly 1.7 GB per minute** -- meaning a 1TB drive fills in under 10 hours of recording. For production work, 4TB or 8TB drives are the minimum recommended size. 03 ## Storage Recommendations by Photographer Type ### Casual Shooter 100-200 photos per week, JPEG or iPhone HEIC. A 256GB drive holds 2-3 years of casual shooting. 1TB is more than enough for a decade. Recommended: 256 GB - 1 TB ### Hobbyist / Travel Photographer 200-500 RAW + JPEG shots per outing, a few trips per year. At 30 MB per RAW, 500 shots per trip equals 15 GB. Plan for 2-3 backup copies. Recommended: 2 TB ### Wedding / Event Photographer 2,000-5,000 RAW files per wedding at 30-47 MB each equals 60-235 GB per event. With 20+ events per year plus backups, storage adds up fast. Recommended: 4 TB - 8 TB ### Filmmaker / Video Creator 4K ProRes at 1.7 GB/min fills 1TB in under 10 hours. Editors also need working space for project files, renders, and exports. Always plan for 2x. Recommended: 8 TB+ ## File Size Reference Table by Camera and Format Real-world file sizes measured from actual cameras -- not marketing specs. Format / CameraTypical File SizeNotesiPhone HEIC (12MP default)~3 MBiPhone 14 and earlieriPhone HEIC (48MP full res)~25-30 MBiPhone 15/16 ProiPhone ProRAW (48MP)~70-80 MBMaximum editing flexibilityJPEG (consumer, 12MP)~4-6 MBStandard quality settingJPEG (pro, 45MP)~13-15 MBCanon R5, highest qualityRAW (entry DSLR, 18-24MP)~24-30 MBCanon 4000D, Sony A7IIIRAW (pro mirrorless, 45MP+)~45-50 MBCanon R5, Nikon Z7II1080p H.264 (iPhone, 30fps)~130 MB/minGood quality, wide compat.4K H.265 / HEVC (30fps)~175 MB/minBest balance of size/quality4K H.264 (30fps)~375 MB/minWider compatibility4K ProRes (iPhone, 30fps)~1.7 GB/minProfessional editing8K H.265 (30fps)~1.9 GB/minCanon R5 Mark II, Sony A1 ## Store Your Photos Safely with DragBin Once you know how many photos your drive holds, the next step is keeping them safe. DragBin uses client-side, quantum-resistant encryption (ML-KEM + AES-256) so your photos are protected not just today, but against the computing threats of tomorrow. Unlike standard cloud storage, DragBin's zero-knowledge architecture means nobody -- not even DragBin -- can see your files, folder names, or metadata. Your photos are yours alone. - 25GB of quantum-resistant storage, free forever - Preview photos and 4K/8K video without downloading - Unlimited sharing with end-to-end encryption [Compare cloud storage prices across providers](/tools/cloud-storage-price-calculator/) ## Try DragBin Today Pair your storage plan with quantum-resistant, zero-knowledge cloud backup. 25GB free, forever. [Try DragBin Today (opens in new tab)](https://app.dragbin.com/signup) ## Frequently Asked Questions Everything you need to know about photo and video storage capacity. ### How many photos fit in 1TB? A 1TB drive holds approximately 200,000 standard JPEG photos (at 5 MB each), around 35,000 RAW files from a 24MP camera (at 27 MB each), or roughly 310,000 iPhone HEIC photos (at 3 MB each). The exact number depends on your camera model, resolution, and quality settings. ### How many hours of 4K video fit on 1TB? A 1TB drive holds approximately 97 hours of 4K H.265/HEVC video (at 175 MB per minute), about 44 hours of 4K H.264 video (at 375 MB per minute), or around 10 hours of 4K ProRes footage (at 1.7 GB per minute). H.265 is the most efficient codec for long recording sessions. ### How many photos fit in 2TB? A 2TB drive holds approximately 400,000 standard JPEG photos, 70,000 RAW files from a 24MP camera, or 620,000 iPhone HEIC photos. It is the recommended starting point for serious hobbyist photographers who shoot weekly. ### How many photos fit in 4TB? A 4TB drive holds approximately 800,000 standard JPEG photos, 140,000 RAW files, or 1.24 million iPhone HEIC photos. Wedding and event photographers typically choose 4TB drives to store a full year of shoots without running low on space. ### What is the average RAW file size for Canon, Nikon, and Sony cameras? Entry DSLRs and mirrorless cameras (18-24MP) like the Sony A7III or Nikon Z6 produce RAW files of about 24-30 MB. Professional high-resolution cameras (45MP+) like the Canon EOS R5, Nikon Z7II, or Sony A7R V produce RAW files of 45-50 MB each. Compressed RAW formats (Canon CR3, Nikon NRW) can be 20-30% smaller. ### How much space do iPhone photos take? iPhone photos shot in default HEIC mode take about 3 MB each on iPhone 14 and earlier (12MP sensor). On iPhone 15 Pro and 16 Pro shooting at 48MP full resolution, HEIC files are 25-30 MB. iPhone ProRAW files at 48MP are approximately 70-80 MB each. ### How much storage does a wedding photographer need per year? A wedding photographer shooting 2,000-5,000 RAW files per event at roughly 30 MB each needs 60-150 GB per wedding. With 20-30 weddings per year plus edits and backups, a 4TB to 8TB working drive plus an equal-size backup drive is a common recommendation. ### Does HEIC save space compared to JPEG? Yes. HEIC (High Efficiency Image Container) files are typically 40-50% smaller than equivalent JPEG files at the same visual quality. A 5 MB JPEG might become a 2.5-3 MB HEIC image, effectively doubling how many photos fit on any given storage device. More free tools ## Keep going with the DragBin toolbox [ ### Image File Size Calculator Go the other way: estimate one photo's size across 12 formats before you shoot. ](/tools/image-file-size-calculator/)[ ### Image Compressor Shrink JPEG, PNG, WebP and AVIF files in bulk to make the space last longer. ](/tools/image-compressor/)[ ### EXIF Remover Strip GPS coordinates and device details out of photos before sharing them. ](/tools/exif-remover-tool/)[ ### All free tools Browse the whole DragBin toolbox -- every one runs locally in your browser. ](/tools/) --- Canonical: https://www.dragbin.com/tools/storage-capacity-visualizer