Choosing the right cloud storage plan requires understanding how much space your files actually use. A single 4K video can consume more storage than 100,000 text documents. This guide helps you estimate your storage needs accurately.
File Size Reference Chart
- Plain text file: 1–100 KB
- Word document (with images): 500 KB – 5 MB
- Photo (JPEG, 12 MP): 3–8 MB
- Photo (RAW, 24 MP): 25–50 MB
- 1080p video (1 minute, 30 fps): 100–200 MB
- 4K video (1 minute, 30 fps): 300–750 MB
- Song (MP3, 320 kbps): 8–12 MB
- Song (lossless FLAC): 30–50 MB
- Movie (4K Blu-ray quality): 20–50 GB
- Game installation: 50–150 GB
Estimating Your Storage Needs
Photo collection: 10,000 photos at 5 MB average = 50 GB. At 12 MP JPEG, one year of daily photos (365 photos) = ~1.8 GB.
Video collection: 1 hour of 4K video per week at 500 MB/min = 30 GB/week = 1.5 TB/year.
Document archive: 10,000 documents at 1 MB average = 10 GB. Even a lifetime of documents rarely exceeds 50 GB.
Cloud Storage Cost Comparison
- Google Drive: 100 GB free, 2 TB for $9.99/month, 10 TB for $49.99/month
- iCloud: 5 GB free, 2 TB for $9.99/month, 6 TB for $29.99/month
- Dropbox: 2 GB free, 2 TB for $9.99/month, 3 TB for $16.58/month
- OneDrive: 5 GB free, 1 TB for $6.99/month (includes Office 365)
- Backblaze B2: $6/TB/month for large backups
For most users, 2 TB is sufficient. Power users with large video collections should consider 5–10 TB or dedicated backup services.
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