IP Camera Storage Calculator

Name: IP camera daily storage: vendor calc defaults vs realistic field ranges
Creator: risertools

Multi-vendor bitrate math, honest H.265+ realism, and motion-only field data — across Hikvision, Axis, Bosch, Dahua, Avigilon, Uniview, and more.

risertools.com / storage

Preview

Inputs

Resolution & FPS4MP @ 15 fps

Codec (H.264 / H.265 / H.265+)H.265+

Bitrate mode (CBR / VBR)VBR

Motion %30%

Hours / day recording24

Retention days30

Number of cameras32

Result

Total storage (TB)

47.3 TB

1.48 TB / camera / day

Recommend 4× 16TB in RAID-6 (32TB usable + 16TB parity)

Mockup preview · final product launches Q2 2026

What this tool will do

Per-camera storage based on real codec field data, not vendor brochures
Smart-codec realism — H.265+ savings depend on your scene, not the spec sheet
Motion-only behavior modeled from actual deployed systems
Drive sizing with RAID overhead and recommended SKUs
Long-tail variants: "4MP @ 15fps for 30-day retention," "motion-only with 24-hour event mode," etc.

What's wrong with existing tools

We're building this because the existing options don't work for the people who actually deploy these systems.

Vendor calcs lie about smart codecs

Hikvision and Axis tools assume best-case H.265+ savings. We show what you actually need to plan for.

No motion-only realism

Marketing says 50% reduction. Field measurement says wildly different per scene. We show the spread.

No multi-vendor neutrality

Every vendor calc only knows its own bitrates. We pull from Hik, Axis, Bosch, Dahua, Avigilon, Reolink, Uniview.

What you'll plan for: vendor calc defaults vs realistic field ranges

Baseline: 15 fps · 24/7 continuous · H.265+ enabled

Resolution	Vendor calc default	Realistic field range
1080p (2 MP)	~10–12 GB/day	14–30 GB/day
4 MP	~20–25 GB/day	28–55 GB/day
4K (8 MP)	~40–50 GB/day	55–110 GB/day

Per camera, 24/7 recording @ 15 fps, H.265+ enabled. Vendor defaults are the medium-quality presets in Hikvision and Axis bitrate calculators. Field ranges reflect typical commercial deployments — quiet office through busy parking lot. The launch calculator models your specific scene; these ranges are a planning anchor.

Built by an integrator, not a vendor

Built by the team behind risertools — 40+ years of combined experience designing commercial low-voltage systems.