Photos
How many photos can 1 TB hold?
500,000photos
as Phone photo, 12 MP HEIF/HEIC, 2 MB each
A terabyte is a thousand gigabytes, so the counts here are roughly eight times the 128 GB ones. It is the size most cloud photo plans and external backup drives start at.
The arithmetic
- 1,000 GB = 1,000,000,000,000 bytes (drives and phones are sold in decimal units)
- one 12 MP HEIF ≈ 2 MB = 2,000,000 bytes
- 1,000,000,000,000 ÷ 2,000,000 = 500,000, so about 500,000
| Format | Size each | On 1,000 GB |
|---|---|---|
| Phone photo, 12 MP HEIF/HEIC estimate | 2 MB | 500,000 |
| Phone photo, 12 MP JPEG estimate | 3.5 MB | 285,714 |
| Camera photo, 24 MP JPEG (fine) estimate | 10 MB | 100,000 |
| Camera RAW, 24 MP estimate | 30 MB | 33,333 |
| Apple ProRAW, 12 MP published | 25 MB | 40,000 |
| Apple ProRAW, 48 MP published | 75 MB | 13,333 |
| Capacity | Photos |
|---|---|
| 64 GB | 32,000 |
| 128 GB | 64,000 |
| 256 GB | 128,000 |
| 512 GB | 256,000 |
| 2 TB | 1,000,000 |
Sources and assumptions
- Phone photo, 12 MP HEIF/HEIC (estimate): Modern iPhones save HEIF by default. 12 MP HEIF files are commonly 1.5–2.5 MB; detailed or night scenes run larger.
- Phone photo, 12 MP JPEG (estimate): Most Android phones and 'Most compatible' iPhones save JPEG, roughly 3–5 MB at 12 MP.
- Camera photo, 24 MP JPEG (fine) (estimate): A 24-megapixel mirrorless or DSLR camera at its finest JPEG setting; typically 8–14 MB.
- Camera RAW, 24 MP (estimate): Lossless-compressed RAW from a 24 MP sensor is commonly 25–35 MB; uncompressed RAW is about 48 MB.
- Apple ProRAW, 12 MP: Apple Support, 'About Apple ProRAW' (article 119916): about 25 MB per 12 MP ProRAW photo.
- Apple ProRAW, 48 MP: Apple Support, 'About Apple ProRAW' (article 119916): about 75 MB per 48 MP ProRAW photo.