How to Compare Disk Prices and Find the Best Price per GB/TB

Updated

Compare disk prices by price per GB or per TB, not by total price. A $90 4TB HDD (~$22.50/TB) is a better deal than a $70 2TB drive (~$35/TB) even though it costs more. Use PricePerGig.com to rank live HDD, SSD, and NVMe listings on Amazon.com (US) and 20+ other stores by unit price, then filter by type, interface, capacity, and condition before you buy.

Why price per GB beats total price

Total price tells you what you'll pay today. Price per GB tells you what you're paying for storage. Two drives with the same total price can differ by 2x in value once capacity is factored in.

Drive Total price Capacity Price per TB
Drive A $70 2 TB $35/TB
Drive B $90 4 TB $22.50/TB

Drive B costs $20 more but delivers twice the capacity at a lower unit rate. If you need the space, it's the better buy. If you only need 2TB, Drive A may still be the right call — unit price is a comparison tool, not an automatic winner.

Filter before you compare

Comparing a 256GB NVMe boot drive against a 16TB HDD on price per GB is meaningless — they serve different jobs. Narrow the list first:

  • Type: HDD, SSD (including NVMe), hybrid drive, flash drive, memory card, optical, tape, enclosure, accessory
  • Interface: SATA, PCIe (NVMe), USB, Thunderbolt, eSATA, SAS
  • Form factor: internal 3.5", internal 2.5", external, M.2 (2230/2242/2280/22110), U.2, U.3
  • Capacity range: set a floor and ceiling (e.g., 2TB–8TB) so you're not scrolling past irrelevant sizes
  • Price range: PricePerGig.com exposes a $1–$500+ slider, so you can cap spend before ranking
  • Condition: New, Open Box, Refurbished, Used, For Parts
  • Warranty: 1 month+ up to 5 years+
  • Brand: filter to trusted brands (Samsung, Western Digital, Seagate, Crucial, Kingston, SanDisk, Toshiba, and others) or include budget/unlisted brands

Once the list is filtered to one use case, sort by price per GB or TB and the cheapest unit price rises to the top.

Match the drive type to the job

The cheapest price per GB is usually a large HDD. That doesn't make it the right purchase for every task.

  • Bulk storage, backups, media libraries: HDDs win on price per TB by a wide margin. Capacity tiers run from 1GB up to 32TB in the filter set.
  • OS, apps, game libraries: SSDs and NVMe drives cost more per GB but deliver far higher speed. Compare within SSD/NVMe only.
  • Portable/plug-in storage: external drives and flash drives — compare against other externals, not internal drives.
  • Enclosures and accessories: these aren't storage themselves; exclude them when you're hunting for price per GB.

Check condition and warranty against the price

A used or refurbished drive can show a dramatically lower price per TB. That discount is compensation for risk, not free money.

  • New: full manufacturer warranty, highest unit price
  • Open Box: usually new hardware, warranty may or may not transfer — verify
  • Refurbished: seller-refurbished, warranty length varies widely
  • Used: no manufacturer warranty typically; seller warranty only
  • For Parts: assume it doesn't work; only useful for repair or salvage

Use the warranty filter (1 month+ through 5 years+) to force listings to disclose coverage. A used drive at half the price per TB with a 1-month warranty is a different proposition than one with a 2-year warranty — price the risk in.

Compare the same model across stores

The same drive often sells at different prices on different marketplaces. PricePerGig.com lists stores across 11 countries, including:

  • 🇺🇸 Amazon.com, eBay.com, Newegg.com, Seagate.com
  • 🇬🇧 Amazon.co.uk, eBay.co.uk, Overclockers.co.uk, Box.co.uk
  • 🇩🇪 Amazon.de, eBay.de, getgoods.de, Alternate.de
  • 🇨🇦 Amazon.ca, eBay.ca, Newegg.ca
  • 🇫🇷 Amazon.fr, 🇪🇸 Amazon.es, 🇮🇹 Amazon.it, 🇳🇱 Amazon.nl, 🇵🇱 Amazon.pl, 🇸🇪 Amazon.se, 🇦🇺 eBay.com.au

Pick your marketplace from the dropdown (it auto-detects by location), then compare the same model and capacity. Watch for shipping cost and import fees on cross-border listings — a lower sticker price can lose once delivery is added.

A practical workflow

  1. Open PricePerGig.com and confirm the marketplace matches where you can actually buy.
  2. Set the price range and capacity range for your budget and needs.
  3. Filter by type (HDD / SSD / NVMe) and interface so you're comparing like with like.
  4. Filter condition to New unless you're deliberately shopping refurb/used, and set a minimum warranty.
  5. Sort by price per GB or TB and note the top 3–5 models.
  6. Search each model on the other stores in your region to check for a lower total landed price.
  7. Verify the exact model number, capacity, and warranty before checkout.

Common mistakes

  • Sorting by total price: surfaces small, cheap drives that are poor value per GB.
  • Mixing drive types: comparing NVMe against HDD on unit price hides the speed difference you're paying for.
  • Ignoring condition: a "too good" price per TB usually means used, refurbished, or for-parts stock.
  • Skipping warranty: the cheapest listing may have the shortest coverage.
  • Forgetting shipping: cross-store and cross-border savings can vanish at checkout.

PricePerGig.com earns from qualifying purchases, which keeps its crawlers running and prices fresh — the rankings themselves are built around price per gig and a ValueScore, so unit price stays the primary sort.