how much memory do i need on my ipad

iAd Pro 2018

The days of the 16GB iPad are gone, thank goodness. When you are considering an iPad these days, you have options ranging from 32GB on the standard iPad up to 1TB on the iPad Pros. With such an increase in storage, worrying about space is becoming a thing of the past. But which iPad storage size should you get based on your needs? Don't worry, we're here to help you out with that.

When should you shell out extra for space? When should you stick with the base model? Here's our guide to picking the perfect storage size for your iPad needs.

iPad storage size Price per gigabyte

The iPad's main price differentiator — aside from whether or not you want a cellular antenna — has been its storage tiers, and the latest generation of iPads is no different. Apple could choose to segment on any spec, but storage size is easy for everyone to understand. More buys you more.

First, the iPad mini 5. This is Apple's smallest tablet and it has two storage sizes: 64GB or 256GB. With only two options, it's pretty easy to see that the 256GB option is better in terms of value, but let's break it down:

64GB - $399 or $6.23 per gigabyte
256GB - $549 or $2.14 per gigabyte

The standard 10.2-inch iPad starts at only $329, which is less than the iPad mini 5, and you have either 32GB or 128GB options. Breaking it down, that's:

32GB - $329 or $10.28 per gigabyte (ouch!)
128GB - $429 or $3.35 per gigabyte

On the iPad Air side, the 2020 10.9-inch model offers a nice middle-ground between the previous two options:

64GB - $599 or $9.36 per gigabyte
256GB - $749 or $2.93 per gigabyte

The 2020 11-inch iPad Pro model scales worse at the bottom three tiers, but ends up with the best per-gigabyte deal once it hits the 1TB mark:

128GB - $799 or $6.24 per gigabyte
256GB - $899 or $3.51 per gigabyte
512GB - $1099 or $2.15 per gigabyte -1TB - $1299 or $1.30 per gigabyte

The 12.9-inch iPad Pro isn't quite as good a deal but still quite favorable:

128GB - $999 or $7.80 per gigabyte
256GB - $1099 or $4.29 per gigabyte
512GB - $1299 or $2.54 per gigabyte
1TB - $1499 or $1.50 per gigabyte

Note: All prices are for the Wi-Fi only models of iPad. Cellular models would cost more but the storage size remains the same.

If you wanted the absolute best storage deal for your cash, the $1,299 1TB 11-inch iPad Pro has the best per-gigabyte price, but that's a little too much storage for most people. The best value for your money lies in the sweet spot of the 128GB 10.2-inch iPad at $429 or the 256GB iPad Air for $749. The per-gigabyte price is lower, but the price you pay overall is much better. Plus 128GB is more than enough storage for most people.

iPad storage size Do you need local or cloud storage?

You may be able to skimp on your on-device storage if you plan to stay connected. Apple offers plenty of integration with cloud services, including Dropbox, One Drive, Google Drive, and its own iCloud option; the Files app even lets you natively manage all of those files in one place.

Apple's iCloud gives you free unlimited storage for all your iTunes-purchased content. That includes iBooks; iTunes music, movies, and TV shows; and apps from the App Store. Beyond this, Apple allots all customers 5GB of free storage for backups, data, iCloud Photo Library, iCloud Music Library, and iCloud Drive. You can also purchase more iCloud storage if you need it, at prices ranging from $0.99 for 50GB to $9.99 for a whopping 2TB.

Which iCloud storage plan should you get?

iCloud integrates with iOS, macOS, and the web; it keeps all your stuff connected and collected. Thanks to some really intelligent nearline management, iCloud can help make sure frequently accessed content is instantly available, and your older and infrequently accessed content is only a tap and a download away when you need it.

The cloud still can't take the place of lots of on-device storage — you can't shoot 4K video straight to the cloud, for example — but it should help you get the most of what you have.

If you're a regular cloud services user, 64GB of local space should be just fine for your daily needs.
If you plan to travel or otherwise be offline, consider 128GB or 256GB.
If your iPad is your primary work machine and you do a lot with images, video, and vectors, the 512GB or 1TB size is the option you'll want to pick up.

iPad storage size Photos and videos

The current iPad lineup offers cameras that can shoot photos ranging from 8 megapixels to 12MP in size, up to 63MP panoramas, and video up to 4k & 30FPS. Even with iOS's HEIF and HEVC image and video compression format — which halves storage needs for multimedia content — if you take a lot of photos, you're probably going to need more local storage.

iCloud Photo Library can help offload your content to the cloud, but you'll have to pay for the iCloud storage necessary to store your full Photo Library. And even then, depending on how much you capture and how often, it still might not be ideal.

If you hardly ever shoot or store photos and video on your iPad, you should be good with 64GB.
If you plan to edit and store photos or videos — especially 4K video — consider one of the larger storage sizes, like 512GB or 1TB.

iPad storage size Media

iTunes movies can be 1 to 3GB in size for a standard definition file; change that to HD, and they can easily eat up 3 to 6GB of storage. TV shows are usually a quarter to half the size of movies, but they make up for it by the number of episodes typically available. In contrast, music files are generally quite small, but if you have lots and lots of albums you want to jam to, they can add up as well.

Streaming services like Apple Music, Netflix, Amazon, HBO, and Spotify also offer local offline storage options for traveling, while cloud services also offer offline storage space if you have personal movies or music you want to enjoy.

If you do a lot of streaming and very little offline watching, 32GB to 64GB is acceptable.
If you want to be able to save a few movies and shows without having to delete other items on your iPad, 128GB is good enough.
Want to store a bunch of content offline? 256GB or 512GB is the size you want.
Building AR games from scratch or editing movies and don't want to store anything in the cloud? The 1TB model makes more sense.

iPad storage size Apps and games

Apple and developers can do a lot these days to keep apps slim and trim, but as programs increase in complexity, you may find your iPad slowly filling up on 600MB updates and 2GB game packs. This is especially true if you plan to use an iPad for any graphics-intensive process — whether that involves artwork creation or rocking out to the latest version of Monument Valley.

If you don't have a ton of apps or games on your iPad, 32GB or 64GB can work.
If you have a fair number of apps and games, consider 128GB or 256GB.
If you plan to do any graphics-heavy design work, get a 512GB or 1TB model.

iPad storage size Who should get a 32GB iPad or 64GB iPad Air or mini?

Very few buyers should consider a 32GB iPad. Though its $329 price can look appealing to first-time buyers, the $10.28/GB storage cost is one of the worst deals Apple offers — comparable only to the 64GB iPad Air at $9.36 per gigabyte.

Just the basics

Ipad 8th Generation in multiple finishes

iPad (8th-Generation)

The 10.2-inch iPad is a great starting iPad, but the base storage doesn't offer the best value.

Light as air

Ipad Air 2020 Space Gray

iPad Air 4

The IPad Air 4 offers 64GB or 256GB, comes in brand new colors, has Pro features, and a reasonable price tag.

Go small

Ipad Mini 2019 5th Gen

iPad mini 5th-Generation

The iPad mini is perfect for media consumption and has a small form factor.

If you're buying hundreds of iPads for education or enterprise and only need them to access B2B apps and web portals, this may be the iPad for you and your legions. The iPad Air is also a great starting iPad, considering that it has Pro-level features, and a nice middle-ground price. The iPad mini is great for those who don't need a lot of space and want a small form factor.

iPad storage size Who should get a 128GB iPad or iPad Pro?

If you don't want or need a Pro model but still want to keep a good amount of content available, consider the standard 128GB iPad or iPad Pro models. With a high of $7.80 per gigabyte to as low as $3.35 per gigabyte, you are getting good bang for your buck, it just depends on what screen size you prefer.

Affordable iPad

Ipad 8th Generation in multiple finishes

iPad (8th-Generation)

The 10.2-inch iPad is a great starting iPad, and you get good value with the 128GB storage option.

Go Pro

Ipad Pro 11

iPad Pro (2020)

The iPad Pro starts at 128GB storage, giving you plenty of space to work with and amazing features for a great price.

iPad storage size Who should get a 256GB iPad Air, mini, or Pro?

If you want just enough space without having to worry about it, then the 256GB size is a great option. You can get 256GB on the iPad Air, iPad mini, and both sizes of iPad Pro.

Feather light

Ipad Air 2020 Space Gray

iPad Air 4

The iPad Air 4 is a great and affordable iPad. It comes with plenty of storage, new colors, and has most Pro-level features for less.

Go small

Ipad Mini 2019 5th Gen

iPad mini 5th-Generation

The largest storage iPad mini gives you plenty of space while still retaining a small form factor.

Pro level

Ipad Pro 11

iPad Pro (2020)

The iPad Pro 256GB is powerful and gives you ample amounts of storage for most tasks.

iPad storage size Who should get a 512GB iPad Pro?

Let's be frank: unless you plan to use an iPad Pro as a stuffed-full content portfolio or daily audiovisual work machine, it's going to be mighty difficult to stuff it full of 512GB of content. It's possible — but highly unlikely. Between that prospect and the 512GB's starting $1099 price tag, we can't recommend it to anyone but the heavy duty user; 256GB will be more than enough for most pros (especially if combined with cloud storage) at a far more reasonable price.

But as with the 32GB model, there are those few who need 512GB. For you, Apple offers this highest end of high-end iPads. Go forth and use it to its maximum potential.

For the power-users

Ipad Pro 11

iPad Pro (2020)

The 512GB iPad Pro is perfect for heavy power-users who need a lot of space for projects. The high price tag means this should only be for those who need the space.

iPad storage size Who should get a 1TB iPad Pro?

If half a terabyte is actually not enough storage for you to do everything you want or need on an iPad, I think you might be doing it wrong. The 1TB iPad Pro is meant for developers that need the extra storage and memory, likely for processing augmented reality games and apps. 1TB of storage is also beneficial for music engineers or graphic designers. Basically, if you're not a creative professional, you don't need an iPad with 1TB of storage.

The thing is, though, its actually the best per-gigabyte bargain of the entire lineup. If you're considering your purchase solely on the per-gigabyte price, the 1TB iPad Pro is the winner. But, who buys an iPad based on that?

Pro to the max

Ipad Pro 11

iPad Pro (2020)

With 1TB of space, this should be more than enough for even the most dedicated power-user.

iPad storage size Still undecided?

If you're still not sure which storage size to get, jump into our iPad discussion forums and the best community in mobile will happily help you out!

Also, remember that Apple offers a great 14-day return policy for any product purchased from an Apple online or retail store. When you get your new iPad, put it through its paces. Add all the apps and games you want with you, load up your movies and TV shows, go out and take some photos and shoot some video. Give it a complete and thorough workout. If it feels like you got too much storage — or too little — take your iPad back and exchange it for one that better suits your needs.

Updated November 2020: Updated for all current iPad models.

Serenity Caldwell contributed to an earlier version of this guide.

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