Free tool
How much iCloud storage do I need?
Enter what Settings shows, and see the smallest iCloud+ plan that holds it, what it costs and how long it lasts.
Runs in your browser. Nothing is uploaded. Everything on this page is worked out on your device. You can check it: the page makes no request when you use it.
Your iCloud storage
Settings › [your name] › iCloud › Manage Account Storage
Read the Photos line on Manage Account Storage.
The Backups line on the same screen.
The total on that screen, minus Photos and Backups.
Videos (optional)
Check it under Settings › Camera › Formats.
Leave empty if your library is not growing.
Shows what compressing would leave and free. Leave empty to skip the estimate.
Your result
200 GB
81% full
You need the 200 GB plan.
$2.99 a month
162 GB of 200 GB: 81% full.
At that rate, 200 GB is full in 10 months.
For 2 years, you need the 2 TB plan.
If you compress your videos with Emptie
Your videos would take about 32.3 GB instead of 100 GB. The 200 GB plan would then fit.
An estimate, not a promise. It uses Emptie’s Balanced setting (1080p, 8 Mb/s video, 192 kb/s sound). Real videos vary, and your bill changes only when your iCloud use does.
| Plan | Price a month (USD) | Fits? |
|---|---|---|
| 5 GB | Free | Too small |
| 50 GB | $0.99 | Too small |
| 200 GB | $2.99 | Fits today |
| 2 TB | $9.99 | Fits for 2 years |
| 6 TB | $29.99 | Fits for 2 years |
| 12 TB | $59.99 | Fits for 2 years |
Prices checked on November 4, 2026. Prices can change. Apple’s price page for your country is the authority. Apple’s price page
- Optimize iPhone Storage frees space on your iPhone only. Full-size videos stay in iCloud.
- Apple doesn’t count items in Recently Deleted toward iCloud storage, so the space comes back when a video moves there. It stays recoverable for 30 days.
The answer is the smallest plan that holds what your iCloud holds today, plus the video you add each month. The calculator above works that out in your browser, from the figures on your iPhone. Nothing you type leaves the page.
How much iCloud storage do I need
Every iPhone starts with 5 GB of iCloud storage for free. Apple’s paid plans are 50 GB, 200 GB, 2 TB, 6 TB and 12 TB. Apple lists them as monthly prices, billed monthly, and the prices differ by country.
- Open Settings. Tap your name, then tap iCloud, then tap Manage Account Storage (Apple Support).
- Read the total and each line. Photos and videos, then Backups. Everything else is the total minus those two.
- Add a month of new video, if you record it. Work out the minutes you add in a typical month.
The calculator gives you the smallest plan that holds today’s total. If you add video, it also shows how many months until that plan is full, and the smallest plan that lasts the number of years you choose.
| Plan | US price a month | Holds |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | 5 GB |
| iCloud+ 50 GB | $0.99 | 50 GB |
| iCloud+ 200 GB | $2.99 | 200 GB |
| iCloud+ 2 TB | $9.99 | 2 TB |
| iCloud+ 6 TB | $29.99 | 6 TB |
| iCloud+ 12 TB | $59.99 | 12 TB |
Apple’s US page, checked 4 November 2026. The calculator has every country’s figures.
The Settings names are as Apple’s support pages give them. We read them from Apple’s pages, not from an iOS 27 screen, so check the labels on your own iPhone.
What counts against iCloud
Three things use your iCloud storage. Photos and videos count when they are kept in iCloud Photos: Apple says that “photos and videos that you keep in iCloud Photos use your iCloud storage and your device storage” (Apple Support, Set up and use iCloud Photos). Backups count, and so does everything else in iCloud, such as iCloud Drive files.
| Item | Counts against iCloud? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Full-size videos in iCloud Photos | Yes | iCloud keeps the full file |
| Backups | Yes | Each device’s backup is stored in iCloud |
| A smaller copy kept on your iPhone | No | iCloud still holds the full-size file |
| Items in Recently Deleted | No | Apple doesn’t count them |
What doesn’t count
Optimize iPhone Storage frees space on your iPhone only. When it is on, Apple keeps the full-size videos in iCloud and a smaller copy on the phone when it needs room (Apple Support, Manage your photo and video storage). Your iCloud use does not fall.
Deleted videos come back to iCloud space when they move to Recently Deleted. Apple says: “Items in Recently Deleted don’t count towards your iCloud storage” (Apple Support, Manage your iCloud storage). They stay there for 30 days, so you can still recover them until then.
Over the limit, deleting is final
If your iCloud is over its limit, Apple says the device removes any photo or video you delete at once, and it can’t be recovered from Recently Deleted. Make room before you delete anything.
Family Sharing can change the sum. Apple says a plan can be shared with “up to five other family members at no extra cost” (Apple, iCloud). This calculator counts only one person’s iCloud, so add up everyone’s storage first if you share a plan.
A worked example
Take a phone with 120 GB of Photos and videos, 8 GB of backups and 5 GB of everything else. That is 133 GB, so the smallest plan is 200 GB, which is 67% full. At US prices it costs $2.99 a month.
Now add 20 minutes of 1080p video a month, recorded in High Efficiency at about 65 MB a minute. That is 1.3 GB a month. The 200 GB plan fills in about 51 months. Over two years the total reaches about 164 GB, so 200 GB is still enough.
- Today: 133 GB, so the 200 GB plan.
- Each month: 20 minutes × 65 MB ≈ 1.3 GB.
- Full: (200 − 133) ÷ 1.3 ≈ 51 months.
- Two years: 133 + 1.3 × 24 ≈ 164 GB, which still fits 200 GB.
If the videos were 4K at 60 fps, the growth would be much faster: about 440 MB a minute, so 20 minutes is 8.8 GB a month. The calculator shows that case as well.
If you compress your videos
Emptie makes a smaller copy of each video on your iPhone, at the Balanced setting, which is 1080p at 8 megabits a second. For a 4K 60 fps video that is about 61 MB a minute, against 440 MB a minute as recorded. These are estimates: the calculator shows them only when you enter the video amount, and a video that saves less than 20% stays as it is.
A smaller copy only lowers your iCloud use if your library syncs with iCloud Photos. Then the smaller copy uploads and the full-size original is removed everywhere. Read why iCloud can be full while your iPhone has space and iCloud storage full of videos before you change anything.
Figures checked on