How big is a minute of video? 1080p vs 4K, HEVC vs H.264, and how much fits on your phone
Your phone says storage is full, and the culprit is nearly always video. Here is how big each recording setting really is, and what to change if you want more room.
Typical sizes
These are rounded typical figures for phone cameras, including the sound. Your phone may differ a little, and busy scenes with lots of movement can use more.
| Setting | HEVC (High Efficiency) | H.264 (Most Compatible) |
|---|---|---|
| 720p HD, 30 fps | ~30 MB a minute | ~45 MB a minute |
| 1080p, 30 fps | ~40 MB | ~60 MB |
| 1080p, 60 fps | ~60 MB | ~90 MB |
| 4K, 24 fps | ~135 MB | ~270 MB |
| 4K, 30 fps | ~170 MB | ~350 MB |
| 4K, 60 fps | ~400 MB | ~500 MB |
| Slow motion 1080p, 240 fps | ~480 MB a minute either way | |
How much fits?
| Free space | 1080p 30 fps HEVC | 4K 30 fps HEVC | 4K 60 fps HEVC |
|---|---|---|---|
| 32 GB | ~13 h 25 min | ~3 h 05 min | ~1 h 20 min |
| 64 GB | ~26 h 50 min | ~6 h 10 min | ~2 h 40 min |
| 128 GB | ~53 hours | ~12 h 20 min | ~5 h 20 min |
| 256 GB | ~107 hours | ~24 h 45 min | ~10 h 45 min |
That's if all of that space were free. The system, apps and photos take their share, and a phone wants about 10% kept free to run smoothly. See phone storage full but nothing on it for where the rest goes.
The formula
Video is measured in megabits per second (Mbps). Storage is counted in megabytes, and there are 8 bits in a byte, so:
MB = Mbps × seconds ÷ 8MB per minute = Mbps × 7.5GB per hour = Mbps × 0.45
Phones count 1 GB as 1,000 MB. Windows counts in GiB (1,024 × 1,024 × 1,024 bytes), so the same file looks about 7% smaller there. More in KB vs KiB, MB vs MiB.
Why are my videos so big?
- 4K is on by default. Many phones record 4K out of the box. 4K has four times the pixels of 1080p, and even with good compression it takes three to four times the space.
- 60 fps doubles the frames. Smooth motion is lovely for sport and kids running about, but it costs about 50% more than 30 fps.
- Most Compatible is switched on. H.264 plays everywhere but needs about twice the space of HEVC at 4K. Newer phones, TVs and computers all play HEVC.
- HDR, cinematic or ProRes modes. These are much larger. Professional formats can be several gigabytes a minute.
Getting more room
- Record everyday clips at 1080p 30 fps, and switch to 4K for the moments you care about.
- Use HEVC (High Efficiency) unless you send files to very old devices.
- Move finished videos off the phone: see backing up to an external drive (format it exFAT, since FAT32 can't hold files over 4 GB) or how much cloud storage you need.
- To send a clip somewhere with a size limit, work out the bitrate with the shrink-to-fit box and see compressing a video to a target size.
Related
GIF vs MP4 vs WebP sizes · iPhone videos won't copy to Windows · Fix the FAT32 4 GB file limit · How long a video takes to upload · How much data streaming uses · Megapixels vs photo file size
Questions
How big is a 1 minute 4K video?
About 170 MB at 4K 30 fps in HEVC (High Efficiency) and about 350 MB in H.264 (Most Compatible). At 4K 60 fps it's about 400 MB a minute.
How many MB is a minute of 1080p video?
About 40 MB at 30 fps in HEVC or 60 MB in H.264. At 60 fps it's roughly 60 to 90 MB.
How many hours of video can 64 GB hold?
About 27 hours of 1080p 30 fps HEVC, about 6 hours of 4K 30 fps HEVC, or under 3 hours of 4K 60 fps, if all 64 GB is free.
Is HEVC lower quality than H.264?
No. At the same file size HEVC usually looks better, so at the same quality it's smaller. The trade-off is that very old devices and some editing software can't play it.
Why does my video look smaller on Windows?
Windows counts gigabytes in powers of 1,024 (GiB), phones in powers of 1,000. The file is the same size; the number is about 7% lower on Windows.
Published · updated .