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LTO-7 is 6TB/tape, at ~$115/tape (on sale[0]). The cheapest 6TB HDD on newegg is a refurbished WD Red for $198[1]. [0]https://www.tapeandmedia.com/hp-lto-7-tap

• derekp7 10y ago
  But the cost of the drives is extravagant. Not anywhere near the price point for individual use. And for enterprise use, a tape drive doesn't make sense unless it is part of a tape changer. Fortunately, the drives are so expensive that the cost of the changer is marginal in comparison.
  • dom0 10y ago
    Even then, you can get a used (still good, for a couple years at least) LTO-5 drive for around 200-250 EUR. The tapes cost about 20-25 EUR each and are good for 1.5 TB -- with a small tape library you'd break even over hard drives beyond maybe ~20 TB. Remember, as disks get better, so will tape - the technology isn't the same, but similar enough that advances in one will certainly cause similar advances in the other.