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How much is 1 TB of storage?

1 TB of storage equals 1,000 GB of data—that’s about 8 smartphones with 128 GB capacity

1 tb storage space
What is a terabyte

When talking about data storage, we often measure whole-system storage capacity in terabytes, but most individual large files take up megabytes or gigabytes. So how many gigabytes or megabytes are in a terabyte? 1 terabyte (TB) equals 1,000 gigabytes (GB) or 1,000,000 megabytes (MB). (And, ahem, even the basic Dropbox comes with 2 TB of storage–and our plans can snag you more than 5 TBs!)

Now, let's compare that 1 TB to the physical storage devices we use every day. 1 TB of storage is roughly the same as 16 (64 GB) iPhones or Samsung Galaxy devices. It’s also equivalent to about 4 (256 GB) Windows or MacBook laptops—and some storage space is eaten up by system software. And, individual external hard drives often start at 1 TB of storage, with larger options going past 32 TB.

Files being added to 1 terabyte of online storage space
How much data can 1 TB hold?

The average user stores a mix of photos, videos, and documents. When you're setting up a cloud storage plan, it's hard to gauge how many photos and videos 1 TB of data can hold, so let us break it down for you. One terabyte gives you the option of storing roughly:

  • 250,000 photos taken with a 12MP camera OR
  • 250 movies or 500 hours of HD video OR
  • 6.5 million document pages, commonly stored as Office files, PDFs, and presentations.

It's also equal to 1,300 physical filing cabinets of paper–and a whole lot lighter!

A wide range of files stored in the cloud

Watch how much you get with 1 TB of storage

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Store it all in cloud storage

If your phone runs out of space, you're probably not carrying around a second one. When you’re running out of storage space on your Apple or Microsoft computer, you don’t want clunky, fragile portable hard drives or small, easy-to-lose flash drives. (Plus, the way you connect those flash drives to a computer seems to change every year.) Your old external USB 3.0 hard drive won't work with a new computer that only has USB-C ports unless you get a special adaptor.

The cloud gives you an easier way to store a large amount of data, including photos, videos, and important files, without ever having to worry about disk space. When you store content in the cloud, you'll be able to do more with it, such as:

  • Store everything without being picky about what you save. It's also a good idea to follow the 3-2-1 rule: 3 copies of a file on 2 separate media, with 1 copy off-site.

Access files or work remotely, whenever it's needed—even from mobile devices

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Is 1 TB enough data for you?

Dropbox has plans for individuals, families, and teams with 1 TB or more of storage and can grow with your needs. Store all your photos, videos, personal files, and work projects with ease.

Dropbox Standard has 5TB of storage per team, Advanced starts at 15TB per team, and Enterprise has as much storage as you need so you don't fret about space.

4 different file types syncing to the cloud

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