How Much Does a Terabyte Cost in 2026?
Last updated: 15 February 2026
The cost of a terabyte of storage varies dramatically depending on the type of drive you buy. In 2026, you can get a terabyte of hard drive storage for as little as £17.00/TB, while the fastest NVMe SSDs start from around £82.50/TB. The overall cheapest storage available right now is £0.75/TB.
Cost Per Terabyte by Storage Type (February 2026)
| Storage Type | Cheapest /TB | Median /TB | Products | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 💽 Internal Hard Drives | £17.00 | £35.25 | 66 | Compare → |
| ⚡ Internal SSDs (SATA) | £66.75 | £149.00 | 28 | Compare → |
| 🚀 NVMe SSDs | £82.50 | £127.00 | 84 | Compare → |
| 📦 External Hard Drives | £15.28 | £29.70 | 78 | Compare → |
| 🔌 External SSDs | £49.99 | £93.60 | 67 | Compare → |
Why Does the Price Per Terabyte Vary So Much?
The price you pay per terabyte depends on three main factors: technology, capacity, and form factor.
Technology: HDD vs SSD vs NVMe
Hard drives (HDDs) use spinning magnetic platters and remain the cheapest option per terabyte. They are ideal for bulk storage, backups, and NAS systems where speed is less critical.
SATA SSDs use flash memory with no moving parts. They are 5-10x faster than hard drives and more durable, but cost roughly 2-4x more per terabyte. They connect via the same SATA interface as HDDs.
NVMe SSDs also use flash memory but connect via the PCIe bus, delivering speeds of up to 7,000MB/s (Gen4) or 12,000MB/s+ (Gen5). They offer the best performance but at a premium price per terabyte.
Capacity: Bigger Is Cheaper Per TB
Larger drives almost always offer a lower price per terabyte. A 1TB hard drive might cost £20-30/TB, while a 16TB drive could cost as little as £10-15/TB. This is because the manufacturing cost of the enclosure, controller, and interface is spread across more storage capacity.
Internal vs External
External drives include a USB enclosure, which adds to the cost. However, they offer convenience and portability. If you are comfortable installing an internal drive, you will generally get better value per terabyte. External SSDs in particular command a premium for their portable, rugged designs.
How Much Storage Do You Actually Need?
| Use Case | Recommended | Best Drive Type |
|---|---|---|
| Documents & web browsing | 256GB - 512GB | SATA SSD or NVMe |
| Gaming | 1TB - 2TB | NVMe SSD |
| Photo library | 1TB - 4TB | External HDD or SSD |
| Video editing (4K) | 2TB - 8TB | NVMe SSD + HDD backup |
| Home NAS / media server | 4TB - 20TB+ | Internal HDD |
| Full system backup | 1TB - 5TB | External HDD |
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a terabyte of storage cost?
In 2026, a terabyte of storage costs from £17.00/TB for hard drives to £82.50/TB for NVMe SSDs. The cheapest option overall is a high-capacity internal hard drive.
How much is 1TB of storage?
A 1TB drive costs between £15-80 depending on the type. A 1TB hard drive costs around £20-35, a 1TB SATA SSD costs £40-70, and a 1TB NVMe SSD costs £40-80. Prices vary by brand and performance tier.
Is 1TB of storage enough?
For most people, 1TB is enough for everyday computing, including documents, photos, music, and a modest game library. Gamers, video editors, and media hoarders will likely need 2TB or more.
Why are SSDs more expensive per TB than hard drives?
SSDs use flash memory chips, which are more expensive to manufacture than the magnetic platters used in hard drives. However, SSD prices have been falling steadily and the performance benefits (5-30x faster speeds, no moving parts, lower power consumption) make them worth the premium for most use cases.
Ready to find the best deal?
Browse our real-time price comparison tables to find the cheapest storage per terabyte.