How much storage does a 4K security camera need?
By Devin Chua · Data checked by Owen Nakamura · Updated A single 4K security camera needs about 105 GB a day — roughly 3.2 TB a month — recording 24/7 at a typical H.265 bitrate of ~10 Mbps. At the older H.264 it roughly doubles to ~210 GB/day (~6.3 TB/month). Motion-only recording cuts it by whatever fraction of the day is quiet.
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GB per day, per camera (24/7)
| Resolution | Codec | Bitrate | GB/day | TB/month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1080p (2MP) | H.265 / HEVC | 2–3 Mbps | 26 | 0.8 |
| 1080p (2MP) | H.264 | 4–6 Mbps | 53 | 1.6 |
| 2K / 4MP | H.265 / HEVC | 4–5 Mbps | 47 | 1.4 |
| 2K / 4MP | H.264 | 8–10 Mbps | 95 | 2.8 |
| 4K / 8MP | H.265 / HEVC | 8–12 Mbps | 105 | 3.2 |
| 4K / 8MP | H.264 | 16–24 Mbps | 211 | 6.3 |
Continuous recording at the preset midpoint bitrate. Motion-only and lower frame rates reduce it.
Size it exactly
Pre-filled for this question — change any input to model your own setup.
3.2 TB of footage over 30 days, +20% overhead = 3.8 TB
Per-day and per-month, by codec
4K (8-megapixel) is the heaviest common resolution, and the codec decides how heavy. At H.265/HEVC (~8–12 Mbps, call it 10), one camera writes about 105 GB a day and ~3.2 TB a month. At H.264 (~16–24 Mbps) the same camera writes about 210 GB a day and ~6.3 TB a month. If your camera supports H.265, turning it on is the single biggest storage saving available — for free.
Frame rate scales it too: dropping from 30 fps to 15 fps roughly halves the bitrate, and many surveillance scenes look fine at 15 fps. The calculator lets you set frame rate and see the effect.
Sizing a 4K system
Multiply that per-camera figure by your camera count and retention. Four 4K H.265 cameras for a month is about 13 TB of footage (~15 TB provisioned); eight cameras is about double. That is firmly NAS territory with large surveillance drives in RAID — the calculator sizes the drives, the NAS and the cost. And use WD Purple or SkyHawk drives: a 4K multi-camera write load is exactly what they are built for.
Frequently asked questions
How much storage does a 4K camera use per day?
About 105 GB a day at H.265 (~10 Mbps) recording continuously, or roughly 210 GB a day at H.264. Frame rate and scene complexity shift it; the calculator gives your exact per-day figure.
How much storage for a 4K camera per month?
Roughly 3.2 TB a month at H.265 recording 24/7, or about 6.3 TB at H.264. Motion-only recording reduces it in proportion to how quiet the scene is.
Is 4K worth the extra storage for security cameras?
For identifying faces or plates at a distance, yes; for general coverage, 1080p or 2K uses a fraction of the storage. Many setups mix a 4K camera on the key approach with 1080p elsewhere to balance detail and cost.
How do I reduce a 4K camera's storage?
Enable H.265 (about half of H.264), drop the frame rate to 15 fps, record on motion for quiet scenes, or lower the bitrate in the camera's settings. Each is honest; the calculator shows the combined effect.
Read more
Devin Chua works out which drives, RAM and NVMe cache fit which NAS model at nasdrives.ca, and what the RAID choice means for usable capacity, checked against what is in stock on Amazon.ca.
Data checked by Owen Nakamura, Technical editor (data checking)