Audio File Size Calculator — Sample rate, bit depth, duration

Estimate uncompressed PCM/WAV storage needs from sample rate, bit depth, channels, and duration. Everything runs locally so you can plan drives and cards safely.

Inputs

Tip: Flexible text duration overrides H/M/S when valid.

Set your expected take length. For example, 1 hour at 24-bit/96kHz stereo is roughly 1.93 GiB.

Scenario compare (A vs B)

Estimated size

0.00 GiB
0 MiB total
Safe plan (+10%):
Safe plan (+20%):
Data rate:
Per minute:
Effective channels:
Card fit:
Scenario compare: off

How this calculator works

The core math is linear PCM: sample rate × bit depth × effective channels ÷ 8 = bytes per second. Effective channels are either your selected channel count (single-file mode) or channels per track × track count in multitrack mode. Total bytes are bytes per second × duration, plus optional WAV overhead when enabled. Results are then shown in either binary (MiB/GiB, base-1024) or decimal (MB/GB, base-1000) units.

  • Use one-click presets to jump between common recording formats quickly.
  • Enter duration as fields or flexible text like 1:30:00, 90m, or 5400s.
  • Switch to multitrack mode to estimate total session footprint across many tracks.
  • Use Scenario B compare and safe planning buffers (+10% / +20%) before media planning.
  • Check card-fit estimates to see roughly how long 64 GB and 128 GB media will last.

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5 Fun Facts about Audio Storage

CD math still rules

One minute of 44.1 kHz, 16-bit stereo PCM is about 10.1 MB—a 74-minute CD album is ~750 MB of raw audio.

Classic bitrate

1 GB = ~1 hour at 48k

Recording 24-bit, 48 kHz stereo chews ~0.27 MB/s, so a single gigabyte holds roughly 62 minutes of takes.

Session runtime

Float eats space fast

At 32-bit float, 192 kHz, 5.1 (6 channels) you burn ~264 MB per minute—great headroom, but pack extra drives.

HDR audio

Immersive math stacks up

Eight channels at 24-bit/96 kHz stream around 2.2 MB/s; a 64 GB card nets just over 8 hours of 7.1 beds.

Surround budget

Silence still weighs something

PCM has a fixed size—recording “silence” costs the same as loud passages, unlike compressed codecs that shrink quiet parts.

Fixed footprint

About this audio file size calculator

Release Updates

v1.1 (February 7, 2026)

  • Added one-click recording presets.
  • Added a flexible duration parser (1:30:00, 90m, 5400s).
  • Added unit switching between binary and decimal storage formats.
  • Introduced multitrack mode (channels-per-track × track count).
  • Added optional WAV overhead handling.
  • Added Scenario A vs B compare for quick format decisions.
  • Added practical planning outputs: card-fit runtime (64 GB / 128 GB) and safe-size buffers (+10% / +20%).

This calculator helps you decide how much storage to bring to a session before the first take. By plugging in sample rate, bit depth, channels (or multitrack counts), and duration, you immediately see projected size, per-minute usage, and stream data rate. You can view results in binary or decimal units, compare two scenarios side by side, and add planning buffer for safer media budgeting.

We do not collect or transmit any data. Everything runs locally in your browser, which is handy on remote locations with limited connectivity. The data-rate readout helps verify whether a recorder, SD card, or interface can sustain the chosen format, while card-fit estimates show how quickly storage scales as format complexity increases.

Use the per-minute figure to estimate ADR or VO sessions with many short takes, or to budget live multitrack recordings that run for hours. If you like to capture both a safety recorder and a main recorder, double the output to cover both devices.

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