64, 128 or 256 gigabytes: how much memory does my cell phone need?

• The most popular smartphone storage options are 64 gigabytes, 128 gigabytes, 256 gigabytes and 512 gigabytes.
• 128 gigabytes is considered a “sweet spot” in terms of price and performance and should be sufficient for most users.
• Anything over 128 gigabytes is particularly interesting for users who take a lot of photos and videos or download a lot of music and series.

We want to help you make the right decision when buying a smartphone when it comes to storage. Because if you buy a cell phone with too little internal memory, you will later have problems with the amount of data, and if you buy too much, you have spent too much money.

The last point in particular is often underestimated. In the following we will show you which files take up the most storage space and in which case you should use which option.

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Let’s take Apple as an example. The iPhone 13 range comes in 128GB, 256GB, 512GB and 1TB storage options, with the last option only available on the Pro devices.

Apple charges around 120 euros for each next storage level, so you have to shell out 1,249 euros for the 512 gigabyte model of the iPhone 13 (the basic model costs 899 euros). An exception is the jump from 512 gigabytes to 1 terabyte in the Pro models, where Apple charges a whole 230 euros more.

64 gigabytes: Anything below that is not enough

The times when smartphones easily got by with 16 and 32 gigabytes and still had a lot of storage space are over – by the way, that was more than four years ago, modern smartphones are no longer sold with less than 64 gigabytes of storage – exception: 100 euros -cellphones.

And that’s a good thing, because very few can get by with less than 64 gigabytes these days. Between 15 and 20 gigabytes of raw memory are occupied by the operating system in advance. With 64 gigabytes, between 45 and 50 gigabytes of memory remain available in the best case.

Apps and app data consume the most storage space

And what are these 50 gigabytes good for? There are calculations for that. It can be assumed that the most necessary apps that most users have on their smartphones (social networks, messenger apps, banking and productivity apps) require around 15 to 20 gigabytes by default. This type of memory requirement occurs especially with apps like WhatsApp, which store a lot of media.

The rest is consumed by other files. This includes downloads (i.e. documents and other things from the Internet) as well as media such as photos, videos or audio files. A photo in high-resolution Full HD format uses around six to eight megabytes, so you can store around 130 photos per gigabyte of storage space.

Videos in high resolution (1080p) require between one and three gigabytes per hour. A season of a Netflix series (we assume 12 episodes of 45 minutes each) then requires between nine and ten gigabytes of mass storage. Storing more than two seasons at once is very tight with only 64 gigabytes.

The “sweet spot” of storage options: 128 gigabytes

Going one step further, we end up with the 128 gigabyte storage option. This is double the previous option; this pattern continues. With 128 gigabytes you are already much better served than with 64 gigabytes, most people should be happy with this storage option.

With 128 gigabytes, the system leaves around 110 to 105 gigabytes for apps, photos, videos and audios. That’s more than enough to cover all the necessary apps. Additionally, there is much more wiggle room when downloading media than the smaller option.

With 128 gigabytes you can store more than an entire series

Even with 128 gigabytes of memory, many users will fail without getting the memory full without above-average extensive use. Using the example of a typical Netflix series (five seasons of 12 episodes of 45 minutes each), you can clearly see that this amount of storage space is more than sufficient for average users.

Because with around 80 gigabytes of free memory after deducting the system and apps, you can download almost two full series. And if you only download one series, that leaves between 40 and 35 gigabytes for photos and videos from the camera. An example playlist with 100 five-minute songs in very high quality on Spotify (i.e. 320 kbit/s) requires around five gigabytes of storage space.

For photographers and series junkies: 256 GB and larger

The next storage options are 256 gigabytes, 512 gigabytes and 1 terabyte. The fact is that the vast majority of smartphone users do not need that much storage space. As noted in the previous examples, 128 GB is sufficient to meet demand in many cases.

The storage options above 128 gigabytes are particularly interesting for people who store a lot of media on their smartphone. Because high-resolution recordings such as photos and videos in 4K eat up the storage space very quickly. With more than 128 gigabytes, significantly more series episodes and videos can also be stored.

Extremely hungry for storage space: 4K recordings

Many modern top-of-the-line smartphones have the ability to record in high-resolution formats other than just Full HD. For example, the new iPhones can record in 4K at 60 frames per second. The memory requirement here is around 400 megabytes per minute, i.e. around 24 gigabytes per hour. That’s a lot, and if you want to take such recordings regularly, you should definitely buy a smartphone with more than 128 gigabytes of storage space.

Many series can also be stored with this amount of storage space. With 512 gigabytes, you can already download over ten standard series, with ten series still having over 20 gigabytes for photos and videos. With a full terabyte of storage space (that’s 1024 gigabytes), the possibilities are virtually endless.

Expand mobile phone storage later

It’s not possible with Apple’s iPhone, but many Android phones, especially cheaper ones, offer you the option of subsequently expanding the internal memory using a microSD card. Suitable models with up to 128 gigabytes often only cost around 20 euros from Amazon and Co. – even from brand manufacturers such as SanDisk.

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In our large microSD card comparison, we tell you what to look out for when buying a memory card and which models are recommended. In another guide, we explain how much memory your cell phone needs.