How much storage do 4 security cameras need?
By Devin Chua · Data checked by Owen Nakamura · Updated Four security cameras need about 15 TB a month at 4K H.265 (with overhead), or roughly 4 TB a month at 1080p H.265, recording 24/7. That is a two-to-four-bay NAS with surveillance drives. Set your resolution and retention below for the exact drives and cost.
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases on Amazon.ca.
Size it exactly
Pre-filled for this question — change any input to model your own setup.
12.7 TB of footage over 30 days, +20% overhead = 15.2 TB
Four cameras, by resolution
Four is the most common home setup, and resolution swings the answer widely. Four 1080p H.265 cameras write about 105 GB a day together — roughly 3.2 TB of footage a month, about 4 TB provisioned. Four 4K H.265 cameras write about 420 GB a day — roughly 12.7 TB a month, about 15 TB provisioned. That is a 4× difference for the same four cameras, purely from resolution.
So the first sizing decision is not the NAS, it is the cameras: whether you need 4K detail everywhere, or 1080p on general coverage with 4K only where it counts. The calculator lets you model it and picks the drives.
The right NAS for four cameras
A 1080p four-camera setup fits comfortably on a two-bay NAS with a pair of surveillance drives in RAID 1; a 4K four-camera setup with a month's retention wants a four-bay in RAID 5 for both the capacity and the resilience. Either way, use WD Purple or SkyHawk drives for the continuous multi-stream writes — the calculator recommends the specific model and drives, live in CAD.
Frequently asked questions
How much storage do 4 security cameras need?
About 4 TB a month for four 1080p H.265 cameras, or roughly 15 TB a month for four 4K H.265 cameras, recording 24/7. Retention scales it linearly; the calculator gives your exact figure and drives.
What size NAS for 4 cameras?
A two-bay NAS suits four 1080p cameras with surveillance drives in RAID 1; a four-bay in RAID 5 suits 4K cameras or longer retention. The calculator recommends a specific surveillance-capable model.
How much storage for 4 cameras for a week?
About 1 TB for four 1080p H.265 cameras, or roughly 3.5 TB for four 4K H.265 cameras, at 24/7. A week is a quarter of the monthly figures; motion-only recording reduces it further.
Do 4 cameras need RAID?
With two or more drives, RAID 5 or SHR is worth it to survive a drive failure without losing footage. A four-camera 1080p setup on two drives can use RAID 1; a 4K setup on four drives should use RAID 5. The calculator shows usable capacity per level.
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)