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

Set your expected take length. For example, 1 hour at 24-bit/96kHz stereo is roughly 2.06 GB.

Estimated size

0.00 GB
0 MB total
Data rate:
Per minute:

How this calculator works

The math is straight-line PCM: sample rate × bit depth × channels ÷ 8 = bytes per second. Multiply by duration to get total bytes, then divide by 1,024² for MB or 1,024³ for GB. We also show the stream data rate (MB/s and Mbps) so you can sanity-check SD cards, recorders, and interfaces.

  • Change sample rate to see how high-resolution sessions affect storage.
  • Compare 16-bit vs 24-bit for dialogue, music, or field recording.
  • Toggle channel counts to budget for stereo, 5.1, or 7.1 beds.
  • Use the per-minute figure for ADR, VO, and short-take planning.

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

This calculator helps you decide how much storage to bring to a session before the first take. By plugging in your sample rate, bit depth, channel count, and duration, you immediately see the projected size in both MB and GB, along with per-minute usage and stream data rate. The math is straightforward linear PCM (think WAV, AIFF, or Broadcast WAV) so you can plan confidently without guessing how many cards or SSDs you’ll need.

We do not collect or transmit any data. Everything runs locally in your browser, which is handy when you’re on a remote location with no internet. The data rate readout is useful when checking whether a recorder, SD card, or USB interface can sustain the chosen format. If you’re working on surround deliverables, the channel selector shows how quickly storage scales as you move from stereo to 5.1 or 7.1 beds.

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.

Explore more tools