SSD Storage Capacity Calculator
Video Storage & SSD Calculator
Estimate your video storage, add practical headroom, and find a compatible KingSpec SSD for your setup.
Enter your video details, then calculate your storage needs.
Estimates use decimal storage units, matching SSD labels. Actual formatted capacity is lower. Always confirm your device's connector, supported drive size, and maximum capacity before buying.
Use this SSD storage capacity calculator to find out exactly how many gigabytes or terabytes your video footage will need before you shoot, record, or archive a single frame. Built specifically as a video storage calculator by resolution and bitrate, it accounts for resolution, codec, frame rate, and recording length, then recommends a KingSpec SSD capacity that fits — with room to spare.
How to Use the Video Storage & SSD Capacity Calculator
Pick your video's resolution (480p up to 8K) and codec (H.264, H.265/HEVC, or ProRes/RAW).
The calculator auto-fills a typical bitrate for that combination, which you can overwrite if you already know your camera's exact bitrate from its spec sheet.
Enter your frame rate, recording duration, and how many cameras or streams you're recording simultaneously, then hit Calculate.
You'll get the total storage required and a recommended SSD capacity.
How the SSD Storage Capacity Calculator Works
Video file size is a direct function of bitrate and duration. Bitrate — measured in megabits per second (Mbps), describes how much data the codec writes to disk every second. The math is straightforward:
File Size (GB) = Bitrate (Mbps) × Duration (seconds) ÷ 8 ÷ 1024
The divide-by-8 converts megabits to megabytes (8 bits per byte), and dividing by 1024 converts megabytes to gigabytes.
For example, an 8 Mbps 1080p H.264 recording running for one full hour (3,600 seconds) works out to 8 × 3,600 ÷ 8 ÷ 1024 ≈ 3.52 GB.
Higher resolutions and higher frame rates raise the bitrate a codec needs to maintain quality, which is why 4K footage eats storage so much faster than 1080p: at a typical 40 Mbps, one hour of 4K H.264 runs about 17.6 GB — roughly five times the 1080p figure.
Frame rate matters too. Data rate scales close to linearly with fps: doubling from 30fps to 60fps roughly doubles the bitrate needed for the same visual quality, since the encoder is capturing twice as many frames per second.
Codec choice moves the needle the most. H.265/HEVC typically cuts file size by about 50% compared to H.264 at similar visual quality, while ProRes and RAW formats prioritize editing quality and color fidelity over compression, often running 10–50x larger than H.264 at the same resolution.
Typical Video Bitrates and Storage Use by Resolution
| Resolution | H.264 Bitrate | H.264 GB/Hour | H.265/HEVC Bitrate | H.265 GB/Hour |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 480p (SD) | 2.5 Mbps | ~1.1 GB | 1.25 Mbps | ~0.55 GB |
| 720p (HD) | 5 Mbps | ~2.2 GB | 2.5 Mbps | ~1.1 GB |
| 1080p (Full HD) | 8 Mbps | ~3.5 GB | 4 Mbps | ~1.8 GB |
| 1440p (2K/QHD) | 16 Mbps | ~7.0 GB | 8 Mbps | ~3.5 GB |
| 2160p (4K UHD) | 40 Mbps | ~17.6 GB | 20 Mbps | ~8.8 GB |
| 4320p (8K UHD) | 100 Mbps | ~44.0 GB | 50 Mbps | ~22.0 GB |
Figures above are mid-quality, 30fps estimates at bitrates commonly published for streaming and consumer camera encoding. Actual bitrate varies by encoder settings, motion complexity, and target quality — always check your specific camera or software for its real output bitrate when precision matters.
How Many Hours of 4K Footage Fit on Each SSD Capacity
| SSD Capacity | Hours of 4K H.264 (40 Mbps) | Hours of 1080p H.264 (8 Mbps) |
|---|---|---|
| 128 GB | ~7.3 hours | ~36.4 hours |
| 256 GB | ~14.6 hours | ~72.8 hours |
| 512 GB | ~29.1 hours | ~145.6 hours |
| 1 TB | ~58.3 hours | ~291.3 hours |
| 2 TB | ~116.5 hours | ~582.5 hours |
| 4 TB | ~233.0 hours | ~1,165.0 hours |
Frequently Asked Questions
How much storage does 1 hour of 4K video take?
At a typical 40 Mbps H.264 bitrate, 1 hour of 4K video uses about 17.6 GB. Switching to H.265/HEVC at the same visual quality roughly halves that to about 8.8 GB per hour, while ProRes or RAW formats can use 200–900+ GB per hour depending on the specific codec and settings.
What's the difference between Mbps bitrate and MB file size?
Bitrate is measured in megabits per second (Mbps), while file size is measured in megabytes or gigabytes. Since there are 8 bits in a byte, you divide the bitrate by 8 to convert it to megabytes per second, then multiply by the recording duration in seconds to get total file size.
Does higher frame rate really double my storage needs?
Close to it. Data rate scales roughly linearly with frame rate, so a 60fps recording needs close to double the bitrate of the same footage at 30fps to maintain equivalent quality, which roughly doubles file size for the same duration.
How much SSD capacity do I need for a full day of security camera footage?
It depends on resolution, bitrate, and how many cameras are recording. As a baseline, one 1080p camera at 8 Mbps recording continuously for 24 hours needs about 84.4 GB. Multiply that by your camera count, then add a buffer for retention overlap — a 4-camera system at that bitrate needs roughly 338 GB per day.
Should I buy more SSD capacity than the calculator recommends?
Yes — this calculator already builds in a 10% buffer, but real-world footage often runs higher than typical bitrate estimates, especially in high-motion or high-detail scenes where variable bitrate encoding pushes data rates up. Sizing up to the next capacity tier gives you margin for encoder variance, project files, and backups.
Shop KingSpec Storage for Video & Photography
Whether you're editing 4K timelines, backing up drone footage, or running a multi-camera security setup, KingSpec's Photo & Videography storage lineup is built for large-capacity, high-speed workloads. For editing rigs and NVMe upgrades, browse Internal SSDs; for on-location backups and transfers, check out Portable SSDs; and for in-camera recording, see Memory Cards rated for 4K capture.
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