What the $/TB Index on ListofDisks Means

The $/TB Index on ListofDisks expresses the price of a storage drive as dollars per terabyte, so you can compare value across different capacities instead of comparing sticker prices. It is most useful when you are choosing between drives of different sizes — a 4 TB drive at $80 and an 8 TB drive at $140 look very different once you divide by capacity ($20/TB vs. $17.50/TB). ListofDisks publishes this as a dedicated index at listofdisks.com/price-per-tb, alongside live offers and price history from major US retailers.

How the $/TB figure is calculated

The math is simple: price ÷ capacity in TB.

Two practical notes:

• Use the usable capacity, not the marketing number. A "4 TB" drive shows roughly 3.6 TiB in your operating system because manufacturers count in decimal TB while systems report binary TiB. For rough comparison the marketing figure is fine, but don't be surprised by the gap.
• Compare like with like. A $/TB figure for an enterprise helium-filled drive is not directly comparable to a consumer desktop drive — different workload ratings, warranties, and reliability expectations. The index is a starting filter, not a final verdict.

How it helps you judge whether a price is good

A single $/TB number means little on its own. What makes it useful is the trend over time:

1. Check the current $/TB for the model you want. ListofDisks shows live offers across retailers, so you see the best available price rather than one store's list price.
2. Look at the price history. If today's $/TB is at or below the low end of the model's recent range, it is a relatively good moment to buy. If it sits near the top of the range, waiting for a promotion is reasonable.
3. Compare across the capacity tier. Sometimes the next size up has a lower $/TB. If you have room in your budget and enclosure, buying the larger drive can be better value per terabyte even though you spend more today.

The index is also a quick way to sanity-check a "deal." A drive advertised at 30% off can still carry a higher $/TB than a non-discounted drive of a different capacity.

What the index does not tell you

• It does not account for performance or endurance. A high-$/TB SSD and a low-$/TB hard drive serve different jobs. $/TB alone won't tell you which fits your workload.
• It moves constantly. Retailer pricing and promotions change, so any figure you see is a snapshot. Re-check the live index before buying rather than relying on a number you remember.
• It excludes total cost of ownership. Power draw, enclosure bays, and failure rates matter at scale but are outside a per-terabyte price.

A practical workflow

• Open the $/TB Index to see where current market pricing sits.
• Narrow to the capacity and drive family you are considering — for example, a specific family page such as listofdisks.com/families/pro-5400s.
• Check the price history for that model to see whether the current $/TB is near its recent low.
• Confirm the live offer at the retailer before purchasing, since the index reflects data that is refreshed rather than guaranteed at checkout.

Used this way, the $/TB Index turns a wall of drive listings into a comparable value signal — but it works best as one input alongside capacity needs, drive type, and the current live price.