How much does hoarding photos really cost you?

Why we pay to store clutter

Most people start paying for cloud storage the moment the "Storage Full" alert pops up. But before you upgrade your plan, it is worth asking a different question: how much of what is taking up space is really photos you want to keep, and how much is clutter? Burst shots taken ten times over, screenshots of addresses and receipts, blurry photos, and duplicate WhatsApp backups tend to pile up quietly and fill the very storage you are paying for.

This calculator does not claim that Tidy cancels your bill. What it does is estimate how much of your paid storage is taken up by clutter, and show what that costs you in dollars over a month, a year and a decade. All the assumptions are visible and editable above, so you can match them to your situation.

How the cost is calculated

We convert your photo and video counts into gigabytes using the size assumptions you see, identify the matching plan tier, and calculate the cost based on it:

• Storage used = (photos × MB per photo + videos × MB per minute × average length) ÷ 1024.
• Clutter share = storage used × clutter percentage (default 40%, editable).
• Yearly cost = the monthly plan price × 12. Over 10 years = monthly × 120, with no interest or inflation to keep the estimate cautious.
• The share wasted on clutter = cost × clutter percentage. This is the headline number shown above.

Storage prices (current for 2026)

iCloud+ (United States): 50GB about $0.99 · 200GB about $2.99 · 2TB about $9.99 per month. On top of 5GB free.

Google One (United States): 100GB about $1.99 · 200GB about $2.99 · 2TB about $9.99 per month. On top of 15GB free.

Prices are current as of the update and subject to change. Google merged some storage tiers with AI plans in 2026, so we recommend verifying the current price at checkout on the provider's site.

How Tidy helps free up space

Tidy analyzes your photo library on the device itself, without uploading photos to a server, and spots the clutter: duplicates, similar photos, blurry shots, old screenshots and large files. Instead of manually scrolling through thousands of photos, you swipe to keep or delete. If your library shrinks enough after cleaning, you can choose to drop to a cheaper plan. For more, see our iPhone storage calculator and our guide on managing iPhone storage.

Frequently asked questions

Am I really paying for storage just to keep clutter?

A large share of the cloud storage you pay for fills up with duplicates, screenshots, blurry photos and old files. Based on the visible assumptions, the calculator estimates how much of your paid storage is wasted on clutter and what it costs you in dollars. It is an estimate, not an exact measurement of your gallery.

Does Tidy cancel my cloud storage bill?

No. Tidy is free and runs entirely on your device, and it does not cancel your subscription. It helps you find and delete the clutter, and the decision to drop to a cheaper plan is yours. Potential savings are shown only when cleaning would actually move you down to a cheaper tier.

Where do the storage prices come from?

From the official Apple and Google pricing pages for the United States, current for 2026. Some tiers are marked as estimates. We recommend verifying with the provider.

How much of the average gallery is clutter?

A typical conservative estimate is about 40%. The value can be edited under "Calculation assumptions".

The calculation is based on the assumptions you see above and is editable. These are estimates, not exact data about your gallery. Storage prices are from Apple and Google and current as of the update.