Weekly Storage Price Briefing: 28TB Has the Cleanest Capacity Curve
Tracked data through April 29 shows 28TB drives at a $21.43/TB median, ahead of 20TB at $26.49/TB and 24TB at $28.64/TB.
Notable capacity moves
Among capacity tiers with at least two current offers, 28TB has the lowest tracked median at $21.43/TB. The next cluster is 20TB at $26.49/TB, 26TB at $26.62/TB, and 22TB at $28.18/TB. The practical read is that bulk buyers should start above 20TB; 16TB now needs a specific model, warranty, or total-price reason to beat its $35.47/TB median.
Current best-value drives
The clean-condition shortlist starts with Seagate ST26000NM000C 26TB recert CMR at B&H Photo Video for $399.99 ($15.38/TB). New-condition options include Seagate Exos ST24000NM002H 24TB at Newegg for $449.99 ($18.75/TB) and Toshiba MG09ACA18TE 18TB at B&H for $349.99 ($19.44/TB). ServerPartDeals also has the Seagate Exos ST28000NM000C 28TB recert at $539.99 ($19.29/TB).
Market lows
Several active rows are sitting at tracked lows. Western Digital Gold WD241KRYZ 24TB CMR is at $23.12/TB, WD202KRYZ 20TB is at $23.56/TB, and Toshiba N300 HDWG51JXZSTA 18TB CMR is below its prior tracked low: $22.72/TB versus $25.09/TB. Those are the rows to inspect before chasing smaller nominal discounts.
Short finding
The actionable finding is that 28TB has the best capacity-level curve, but the best single clean-condition sub-$16/TB row is a recert 26TB CMR Seagate. For NAS buyers, the first decision this week is whether recertified enterprise drives are acceptable. If not, the current new-drive shortlist is 24TB Seagate Exos and 18TB Toshiba.