{"id":440,"date":"2026-10-16T23:02:15","date_gmt":"2026-10-16T19:02:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mdtoman.com\/cctv-storage-calculator-how-many-terabytes\/"},"modified":"2026-10-16T23:02:15","modified_gmt":"2026-10-16T19:02:15","slug":"cctv-storage-calculator-how-many-terabytes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mdtoman.com\/ar\/cctv-storage-calculator-how-many-terabytes\/","title":{"rendered":"CCTV storage calculator: how many terabytes do you need?"},"content":{"rendered":"
Short answer:<\/strong> One camera recording continuously at 1 Mbps produces about 10.8 GB per day. Multiply that by the camera bitrate in Mbps, by the number of cameras and by the days you want to keep, then add about 20% headroom. For example, 16 cameras at 3 Mbps kept for 30 days need about 15.6 TB, so plan for roughly 20 TB.<\/div>\n

Recorder storage is the part of a CCTV system that is most often under-sized. The calculation is simple once you know the bitrate of each camera, and it is worth doing before you order, because adding disks later can mean replacing the recorder.<\/p>\n

The formula<\/h2>\n
    \n
  1. Per camera, per day:<\/strong> bitrate in Mbps \u00d7 10.8 = GB per day for 24-hour continuous recording. (1 Mbps is 1,000,000 bits per second; over 86,400 seconds that is 10.8 GB.)<\/li>\n
  2. Whole system:<\/strong> GB per day \u00d7 number of cameras \u00d7 days of retention = total GB.<\/li>\n
  3. Convert and add headroom:<\/strong> divide by 1,000 for TB, then add about 20% for growth, event clips and the space that formatting and RAID use.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Typical bitrates for planning<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
    Camera resolution<\/th>\nTypical bitrate with H.265<\/th>\nStorage per camera per day (24 h)<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
    2 MP (1080p)<\/td>\n1 to 2 Mbps<\/td>\n11 to 22 GB<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    4 MP<\/td>\n2 to 4 Mbps<\/td>\n22 to 43 GB<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    5 MP<\/td>\n3 to 5 Mbps<\/td>\n32 to 54 GB<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    8 MP (4K)<\/td>\n4 to 8 Mbps<\/td>\n43 to 86 GB<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

    These are planning ranges, not guarantees. The real bitrate depends on the codec (H.264 usually needs 1.5 to 2 times more than H.265), the frame rate, how much movement is in the scene and the smart-compression settings. After installation we check the actual bitrate and adjust.<\/p>\n

    Worked examples<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
    Site<\/th>\nCameras and bitrate<\/th>\nPer day<\/th>\n30 days<\/th>\nWith 20% headroom<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
    Villa<\/td>\n8 cameras at 3 Mbps<\/td>\n259 GB<\/td>\n7.8 TB<\/td>\nabout 9.3 TB, so choose 10 TB<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Shop<\/td>\n16 cameras at 3 Mbps<\/td>\n518 GB<\/td>\n15.6 TB<\/td>\nabout 18.7 TB, so choose 20 TB<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Warehouse<\/td>\n32 cameras at 5 Mbps<\/td>\n1,728 GB<\/td>\n51.8 TB<\/td>\nabout 62 TB, so choose 64 TB<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

    Check for yourself with the shop: 3 Mbps \u00d7 10.8 = 32.4 GB per camera per day; \u00d7 16 cameras = 518.4 GB per day; \u00d7 30 days = 15,552 GB, or 15.6 TB.<\/p>\n

    Ways to reduce the storage you need<\/h2>\n