Weekly Storage Price Briefing: 25TB Leads the Current $/TB Curve
This week's read: 25TB is the best capacity tier by median $/TB, while the sharpest named row is Seagate ST26000NM000C 26TB recert CMR at B&H Photo Video for $399.99 ($15.38/TB). Data through 2026-05-08.
Notable capacity moves
25TB is the lowest current capacity tier in the index at $14.40/TB. 25TB posted the clearest 30-day move at -34.4%. The useful read is not "big drives are cheap"; it is whether the index tier and the named rows agree. This week they do: large HDD tiers are where the tracked market is showing the cleanest $/TB signal.
Current best-value drives
Current rows with clear condition data: Seagate ST26000NM000C 26TB recert CMR at B&H Photo Video for $399.99 ($15.38/TB); Western Digital WSH72BV30ALE604 30TB refurb SMR at ServerPartDeals for $630.00 ($21.00/TB); Seagate STKP26000400 26TB new at B&H Photo Video for $549.99 ($21.15/TB); Western Digital Gold WD221KRYZ 22TB new CMR at B&H Photo Video for $939.98 ($21.36/TB). If recertified drives are off the table, compare against Seagate STKP26000400 26TB new at B&H Photo Video for $549.99 ($21.15/TB) and Western Digital Gold WD221KRYZ 22TB new CMR at B&H Photo Video for $939.98 ($21.36/TB). These are not interchangeable: condition and recording tech matter before the lowest $/TB row becomes a buyable recommendation.
Market lows
25TB has the lowest 30-day index average at $19.24/TB. Product-level lows worth checking now: Toshiba HDWG51CUZSVB 12TB is at $22.08/TB; Western Digital Gold WD241KRYZ 24TB is at $23.12/TB. These are more useful than a generic sale label because they compare each row against its own tracked history.