How big is a file, really? A guide to orders of magnitude
Photos, RAW, 4K video, audio sessions, CAD drawings: the real size of everyday files in 2026 — so you can plan your transfers without surprises.
“Roughly how big is it?” — knowing how to estimate a file’s size prevents nasty surprises: the send that doesn’t go through, the upload that takes an hour, the storage quote that misses the mark. Here are the 2026 orders of magnitude — one table, then the explanations.
The orders-of-magnitude table
| File | Typical size | Inside 5 GB (our free transfer) |
|---|---|---|
| Word document / text PDF | 0.1 – 2 MB | thousands |
| Scanned page (300 dpi color) | ≈ 2 MB | ≈ 2,500 pages |
| Smartphone photo (HEIC/JPEG) | 2 – 8 MB | ≈ 1,000 |
| 24 MP DSLR photo (JPEG) | 8 – 12 MB | ≈ 500 |
| 24 MP RAW photo | ≈ 30 MB | ≈ 150 |
| Minute of 24/48 WAV music | ≈ 16.6 MB | ≈ 5 hours |
| Minute of 4K video (smartphone) | ≈ 80 MB | ≈ 1 hour |
| Minute of ProRes 422 HQ 1080p | ≈ 1.4 GB | ≈ 3–4 minutes |
| Multi-layer campaign PSD | 0.5 – 2 GB | 2 to 10 |
| BIM model / laser-scan survey | 0.5 – several GB | varies |
Images: from JPEG to RAW
Compression is the key factor: a JPEG divides the size by 5 to 10 by sacrificing information; RAW keeps everything — hence its ~30 MB per photo at 24 MP, and 50 to 70 MB on 45–61 MP sensors. A print-ready A4 TIFF at 300 dpi CMYK sits around 40–50 MB. Format-by-format details in our photo and RAW guides.
Video: it all depends on the codec
A “minute of video” varies by a factor of 100 depending on the codec: ~80 MB in smartphone 4K HEVC, ~1.4 GB in production ProRes 422 HQ. That’s why editors count in hours of footage where everyone else counts in number of videos — and why each transfer tier (10 GB, 50 GB…) has its own audience.
Three rules for quick estimates
- Media always dominates: in a mixed folder, photos and videos account for 95% of the weight — count them, ignore the rest.
- Compression only wins on uncompressed files: zipping JPEGs, MP4s or scanned PDFs saves next to nothing.
- Add a third for email: attachment encoding inflates the size by about 33% — a 20 MB file takes up ~27 MB in the message.
And if your estimate exceeds your mailbox’s limit: a dedicated transfer absorbs up to 5 GB for free, 500 GB with an account.
Frequently asked questions
Why does my 2-minute video weigh 10 times more than a friend’s?
Codec and bitrate are everything: the same duration varies by a factor of 100 between a compressed export (HEVC) and a production format (ProRes). Check your device’s recording format.
Does zipping really reduce file size?
Only for uncompressed files (office documents, databases): photos, videos and most PDFs are already compressed — a ZIP only shaves off a few percent.
How big is a photo in 2026?
2 to 8 MB for a smartphone photo (HEIC/JPEG), 8 to 12 MB for a 24 MP DSLR JPEG, and about 30 MB in RAW — up to 50–70 MB on 45–61 MP sensors.
How big is one minute of 4K video?
About 80 MB for smartphone footage (compressed HEVC) — but up to 1.4 GB per minute in production ProRes 422 HQ. The codec makes the size vary by a factor of 100 for the same duration.
How many photos fit in a free 5 GB transfer?
About 1,000 smartphone photos, 500 DSLR JPEGs or 150 RAW files — a complete event in a single free TransferNow transfer, folder and structure included.
5 GB per transfer for free, no sign-up