SSD Lifespan Calculator
SSD years from TBW rating and daily writes.
What it does
Flash wears with every write, and vendors stamp the budget as TBW. Six hundred terabytes written at 50 GB a day lasts 12,000 days, about 32.9 years, while the same drive at 500 GB a day burns through in 3.3. Ratings turn endurance into division.
The tool above runs that division both ways. Enter the TBW rating with daily writes, and it prints lifespan in years and days plus the daily budget fitting a 5-year warranty. Defaults give 32.9 years with 328.8 GB a day of headroom.
Storage bodies define the terms. SNIA explains TBW and DWPD endurance with workload dependence and overprovisioning effects, tying vendor figures to JEDEC JESD219 workloads. JEDEC pages confirm the endurance and workload standards behind the ratings.
Real life bends around the rating. Heavy random writes amplify wear while free space and overprovisioning cushion it, so datacenter planners derate while desktop users mostly outlive drives. Backups beat lifespan math for anything irreplaceable.
How to use
- Enter the TBW rating from specs.
- Enter daily writes in GB.
- Read lifespan years first, then days.
- Read the 5-year daily budget.
- Keep free space and workloads sane.
- Back up regardless of math.
Formula
- TBW
- Vendor endurance rating in terabytes.
- writes
- Host writes per day in GB.
Decimal TB per vendor convention; SNIA ties TBW to JEDEC JESD219 workloads with DWPD as the sibling metric.
Worked example
Example: 600 TBW, 50 GB/day
Defaults: 600 TBW with 50 GB/day writes.
- Inputs: 600 TBW rating, 50 GB written a day.
- Total: 600 x 1,000 = 600,000 GB.
- Days: 600,000 / 50 = 12,000.
- Years: 12,000 / 365 = 32.9.
- Budget: 600,000 / 1,825 = 328.8 GB/day for 5 yr. Tool shows 32.9 years.
Reference table
| TBW / writes | Days | Years |
|---|---|---|
| 150 / 20 GB | 7,500 | 20.5 |
| 300 / 100 GB | 3,000 | 8.2 |
| 600 / 50 GB | 12,000 | 32.9 |
| 1200 / 30 GB | 40,000 | 109.6 |
Limits
- Rating math only. Controllers fail independently.
- Vendor TB vs TiB conventions vary.
- Write amplification excluded from inputs.
- Warranty terms add conditions beyond writes.
Common mistakes
- Reading TBW as a death date.
- Mixing TB with TiB ratings.
- Ignoring write-heavy workloads.
- Filling drives to 100 % always.
- Skipping backups on old drives.
Try it yourself
Quick checks. Answers sit tucked under each question.
300 TBW, 100 GB/day?
300,000 / 100 = 3,000 days. Years 3,000 / 365 = 8.2. Budget 300,000 / 1,825 = 164.4 GB/day.
1200 TBW, 30 GB/day?
1,200,000 / 30 = 40,000 days. Years 40,000 / 365 = 109.6. Budget 1,200,000 / 1,825 = 657.5 GB/day.
Questions
How is SSD lifespan figured?
Rating times 1,000 over daily GB over 365. Here 600,000/50/365 = 32.9 years.
What is TBW?
Terabytes the vendor rates for writes over warranty. Consumer drives run hundreds of TBW.
What daily writes fit warranty?
Rating times 1,000 over 1,825 (5x365). Here 328.8 GB a day stays inside warranty.
What is DWPD?
Drive writes per day: TBW-based yearly rate over capacity. Same endurance, other units.
Does real life match ratings?
Yes. Workload, overprovisioning, and free space shift real life from ratings.
Are ratings standardized?
Yes. JEDEC JESD219 workloads stand behind vendor TBW figures per SNIA.