HDD|Hunt

NAS Storage Calculator

Figure out how much storage you actually need. Pick your use cases, choose a RAID level, and I'll show you the best-value drives to build it out. The URL updates as you go — share your setup with a link.

What are you storing?

Adjust the sliders for each use case. Leave at 0 for categories you don't need.

📷
Photos
RAW + JPEG photo library
00 thousands of photos500
🎥
4K Video
Edited 4K video projects
00 hours of 4K footage2,000
🎬
Plex / Media
Movies & TV shows (1080p avg)
00 movies / TV seasons5,000
💾
PC Backups
Full system + data backups
00 machines to back up50
📹
Surveillance
IP camera 24/7 recording
00 cameras (30 days retention)64

Redundancy / RAID

Your Storage Estimate

Move the sliders above to estimate your storage needs.

How these estimates work: Photos assume a mix of RAW + JPEG (~15 GB per 1,000 photos). 4K video assumes edited footage at ~45 GB/hour. Plex/media uses ~5 GB per movie at 1080p average. Backups assume ~500 GB per full system image. Surveillance assumes 1080p H.265 continuous recording at ~30 GB/day per camera with 30-day retention.

RAID overhead is approximate. Actual usable capacity depends on drive count, vdev layout, and filesystem overhead. Add 10-20% headroom beyond these estimates for growth.