How much is 1 TB of storage?

When talking about data storage, we often measure whole-system storage capacity in terabytes, but most individual large files take up megabytes or gigabytes. So how many gigabytes or megabytes are in a terabyte? 1 terabyte (TB) equals 1,000 gigabytes (GB) or 1,000,000 megabytes (MB). (And, ahem, even the basic Dropbox comes with 2 TB of storage–and our plans can snag you more than 5 TBs!)

Now, let's compare that 1 TB to the physical storage devices we use every day. 1 TB of storage is roughly the same as 16 (64 GB) iPhones or Samsung Galaxy devices. It’s also equivalent to about 4 (256 GB) Windows or MacBook laptops—and some storage space is eaten up by system software. And, individual external hard drives often start at 1 TB of storage, with larger options going past 32 TB.

If your phone runs out of space, you're probably not carrying around a second one. When you’re running out of storage space on your Apple or Microsoft computer, you don’t want clunky, fragile portable hard drives or small, easy-to-lose flash drives. (Plus, the way you connect those flash drives to a computer seems to change every year.) Your old external USB 3.0 hard drive won't work with a new computer that only has USB-C ports unless you get a special adaptor.

The cloud gives you an easier way to store a large amount of data, including photos, videos, and important files, without ever having to worry about disk space. When you store content in the cloud, you'll be able to do more with it, such as: 

• Store everything without being picky about what you save. It's also a good idea to follow the 3-2-1 rule: 3 copies of a file on 2 separate media, with 1 copy off-site.

Access files or work remotely, whenever it's needed—even from mobile devices