How much video can 128GB hold?
Video size depends on resolution and frame rate, so a storage size doesn't say how many hours fit. Pick a size and a quality to see the hours.
A 128 GB phone or card holds about 35 hours of iPhone video at 1080p and 30 fps. Switch to 4K at 30 fps and the same space holds about 12 hours.
Those figures use Apple's own per-minute sizes and assume the space is empty. Apps and photos share a phone's storage, so expect less in practice.
How to use the video calculator
Choose a storage size, then the quality you record at. The hours update as you change either one.
- Storage size: the capacity on the card, the drive or the phone's box. On an iPhone, free space is listed under Settings > General > iPhone Storage.
- Quality: the resolution and frame rate your camera records. On an iPhone, it's set under Settings > Camera > Record Video.
- Not sure? Many iPhones record 1080p at 30 fps until you change it. Pick that one.
For example, a 256 GB iPhone recording 4K at 30 fps fits about 25 hours. At 4K and 60 fps, it fits about 10 hours.
How the hours are worked out
Each quality setting writes a roughly steady amount of data per minute. Apple lists it beside each option in the Record Video menu:
- 1080p HD at 30 fps: about 60 MB a minute
- 4K at 30 fps: about 170 MB a minute
- 4K at 60 fps: about 400 MB a minute
The calculator turns the storage size into megabytes, divides by the size of a minute, then divides by sixty for hours. Apple counts storage in decimal units: 1 GB = 1 billion bytes.
So one hour of 1080p video is about 3.6 GB. One hour of 4K at 30 fps is about 10.2 GB. A two-hour recording at 1080p needs about 7.2 GB.
Hours of video per storage size
Rounded down to the nearest tenth of an hour. Per-minute sizes are Apple's iPhone figures.
| Storage | 1080p at 30 fps | 4K at 30 fps | 4K at 60 fps |
|---|---|---|---|
| 32 GB | 8.8 hours | 3.1 hours | 1.3 hours |
| 64 GB | 17.7 hours | 6.2 hours | 2.6 hours |
| 128 GB | 35.5 hours | 12.5 hours | 5.3 hours |
| 256 GB | 71.1 hours | 25 hours | 10.6 hours |
| 512 GB | 142.2 hours | 50.1 hours | 21.3 hours |
| 1 TB | 277.7 hours | 98 hours | 41.6 hours |
| 2 TB | 555.5 hours | 196 hours | 83.3 hours |
Where to keep the clips once the phone is full
Video is usually what fills a phone. One hour of 4K takes the room of about 3,400 iPhone photos.
1 TB holds about 98 hours of 4K iPhone video, or 277 hours at 1080p. StorageBites sells 1 TB for $5/mo, and each file is encrypted in your browser before upload.
Keep every clip: 1 TB for $5/mo
Shoot less? 500 GB for $3/mo holds about 49 hours of 4K. All five sizes are on the pricing page. New accounts start with 30 days and 5 GB, no card needed.
Frame rate and ProRes: the settings that change the answer
Doubling the frame rate more than doubles the size. On an iPhone, 4K at 60 fps uses about 400 MB a minute against 170 MB at 30 fps.
ProRes changes it most. Apple's own camera guide puts ProRes in gigabytes per minute, not megabytes. Leave it off unless you edit professionally.
If your phone keeps filling up, check the Record Video menu first. Dropping from 60 fps to 30 fps saves more than half the space for most everyday clips.
Memory cards, action cameras and other phones
Cameras and other phones record at their own rates, so their hours differ from these iPhone figures. The method is the same: find the size of one minute in the manual, then divide.
A card holds little besides your clips, so it gets closer to the full count than a phone does. Mixed libraries of photos and video? The photo calculator counts the pictures.
Frequently asked questions
How much video can 128GB hold?
About 35 hours of 1080p iPhone video at 30 fps, or about 12 hours of 4K at 30 fps. At 4K and 60 fps, it's about 5 hours. A phone holds less once apps and photos take their share.
How many hours of video can 256GB hold?
About 71 hours at 1080p and 30 fps, or 25 hours at 4K and 30 fps. At 4K and 60 fps, expect about 10 hours.
How many hours of 4K video can 1TB hold?
About 98 hours at 30 fps and about 41 hours at 60 fps, using Apple's iPhone sizes. Other cameras may record at higher rates and fit fewer hours.
How many hours of 1080p video can 1TB hold?
About 277 hours at 30 fps, at roughly 60 MB a minute. That's more than eleven days of nonstop recording.
How much video can 64GB hold?
About 17 hours of 1080p video or 6 hours of 4K at 30 fps. On a 64 GB phone the real figure is much lower, because the system and apps use a large part of it.
How many GB is one hour of 1080p video?
About 3.6 GB on an iPhone recording at 30 fps. One hour of 4K at 30 fps is about 10.2 GB.
How much storage does a two-hour video take?
About 7.2 GB at 1080p and 30 fps, or about 20.4 GB at 4K and 30 fps. A downloaded movie is compressed differently, so its size can be very different.
How much 4K video can 128GB hold?
About 12.5 hours at 30 fps or 5.3 hours at 60 fps. Other settings can lower that, so check the Record Video menu.
How many hours of video can 32GB hold?
About 8.8 hours of 1080p video at 30 fps, or about 3 hours of 4K. That's why small cards and phones fill so quickly once you start filming. Move finished clips off the card before a long shoot.
How much video can 512GB hold?
About 142 hours at 1080p and 30 fps, or about 50 hours of 4K at 30 fps. At 4K and 60 fps, it holds about 21 hours.