Just select the type of RAID and the number of drives with their capacities. This tool will give you the total capacity, protection (redundancy), and fault tolerance level. For a drive of 500 GB, you can just enter 0.5 as the drive size.
Ultimate RAID Calculator
Calculate capacity, redundancy, and performance for any RAID configuration
RAID Configuration Results
Performance Estimates
RAID visualization will appear here
Recommendations
RAID Level Comparison
| RAID Level | Min Drives | Fault Tolerance | Read Performance | Write Performance | Efficiency | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JBOD | 1 | None | Single drive | Single drive | 100% | Non-critical storage |
| RAID 0 | 2 | None | Excellent | Excellent | 100% | Performance, non-critical data |
| RAID 1 | 2 | 1 drive | Good | Fair | 50% | Small critical arrays |
| RAID 5 | 3 | 1 drive | Good | Fair | 67-94% | Balanced performance/protection |
| RAID 6 | 4 | 2 drives | Good | Poor | 50-88% | Large arrays, critical data |
| RAID 10 | 4 | 1 per mirror set | Excellent | Good | 50% | Performance + redundancy |
| RAID 50 | 6 | 1 per RAID 5 set | Very Good | Good | 67-94% | Large high-performance arrays |
| RAID 60 | 8 | 2 per RAID 6 set | Very Good | Fair | 50-88% | Very large critical arrays |
This detailed RAID calculator is really designed to use with simple inputs but detailed outputs to give you the right suggestions. There are multiple inputs, so let's understand each one by one.
First, you choose the RAID type, which directly correlates to your requirements. If you want multiple drives working together to give you more space in a single place, you choose the RAID 0. For basic redundancy, where data is duplicated across two or more drives, you choose RAID 1. We have added different RAID levels from JBOD to RAID 60. You can learn about their applications and functions in this article.
The tool gives you suggestions on the minimum drives required for the selected RAID setup. You can choose the number of drives along with their size and type, i.e., HDD or SSDs. The options for Hot Spares and SSD caching are also provided.
In the results, you get total usable capacity, redundancy overhead, storage efficiency, and fault tolerance. The performance estimations will be shown, but they will be the approximate values, mainly impacted by the chosen type of drive. I have tried to add visualizations, if that can help you understand your setup more. Finally, you get the RAID level comparison with the benefits that you get with your chosen RAID level.
I have tried to make this tool as simple yet comprehensive as possible. However, please feel free to give your suggestions for further improving this tool.
How does RAID work, and how does RAID Calculator help?
Not everybody uses RAID. It is implemented generally in NAS, but some enthusiasts or tweakers may use them through RAID cards or even implement software RAID. The basic goal of a RAID is to achieve better performance and redundancy than the individual hard drives or SSDs fail to offer. For performance purposes, combining multiple drives helps by offering higher throughput. However, for redundancy, we store the exact data in two drives or create parities. This way, in case of failure or one or more drives (depending on the RAID level), we do not lose our data. Here are the popular RAID levels along with their pros and cons.
| RAID Level | Method | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|---|
| JBOD | Just stacks disks | Uses all space | No speed or redundancy |
| RAID 0 | Striping (splits data across drives) | Very fast | One drive fails = total data loss |
| RAID 1 | Mirroring (copies data to two or more drives) | Simple, safe | Loses 50% of usable capacity |
| RAID 5 | Striping + parity | Balance of speed and safety | Slower writes, tolerates 1 drive failure |
| RAID 6 | Like RAID 5 but with extra parity | Can lose 2 drives | Slower, more complex |
| RAID 10 | Mirror + stripe | Fast and safe | Needs at least 4 drives, 50% capacity use |
| RAID 50/60 | Nested levels (RAID 5 or 6 arrays striped) | High fault tolerance | Complex setup |
Purpose of this RAID Calculator
A RAID calculator helps you figure out:
- How much usable storage do you have
- How many drives can fail safely
- How efficient your RAID setup will be
- Expected performance (based on drive type and RAID layout)
- Redundancy overhead (how much space is “lost” to protection)
RAID setups can get complex fast, especially with hot spares, SSD caching, and different drive types. A calculator takes the guesswork out and helps with planning ahead before you buy your drives. It also help you avoid costly mistakes and compare RAID levels side-by-side.
Disclaimer: We take inputs from you to give you the curated results. The tool works entirely on the front end. We do not store any of your input data anywhere.