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US RAID 10 vs RAID 5 Storage Calculator

Compare usable capacity, fault tolerance, and efficiency between RAID 10 and RAID 5 for US homelab setups.

Comparison Notes

This page compares RAID 10 and RAID 5 on identical hardware assumptions to help homelab builders choose between capacity efficiency and fault tolerance.

  • Disk size baseline: 8TB drives
  • Reserve policy: 10% filesystem headroom
  • Use the interactive tool for exact real-world constraints
Open Interactive Planner →

Storage Capacity Table

Drives RAID 10 RAID 5 Delta
4x 8TB 14.40 TB 21.60 TB -7.20 TB
6x 8TB 21.60 TB 36.00 TB -14.40 TB
8x 8TB 28.80 TB 50.40 TB -21.60 TB
10x 8TB 36.00 TB 64.80 TB -28.80 TB
12x 8TB 43.20 TB 79.20 TB -36.00 TB

US Buyer Context

US buyers often evaluate frequent pricing swings and promo cycles. Capacity planning should account for staged purchases instead of one-time all-disk upgrades.

Brand / Region Glossary

Cost-per-Usable-TB

Planning metric that compares real usable capacity after reserve and parity.

Promo Window

Seasonal pricing period used for phased drive purchasing strategies.

Related Long-Tail Calculators

2x 4TB RAID 1 2x 6TB RAID 1 2x 8TB RAID 1 2x 10TB RAID 1 2x 12TB RAID 1 2x 14TB RAID 1 2x 16TB RAID 1 2x 18TB RAID 1 2x 20TB RAID 1 3x 4TB RAID 1 3x 4TB RAID 5 3x 4TB RAID-Z1 3x 6TB RAID 1 3x 6TB RAID 5 3x 6TB RAID-Z1 3x 8TB RAID 1

FAQ

Which option is usually better for long-term homelab growth?

The better option is the one that keeps acceptable usable capacity while preserving safety margins during future disk expansions.

Can two layouts with similar storage headroom still have very different failure exposure?

Yes. Similar usable TB does not imply similar failure tolerance or rebuild exposure. Capacity and resiliency should be evaluated together.

Does RAID 10 rebuild faster than RAID 5?

Rebuild behavior depends on array width, disk size, and workload pressure. This page focuses on capacity and tolerance; benchmark your actual platform before final choice.

Which has more effective capacity: RAID 10 or RAID 5?

For US homelab buyers, this NAS planning scenario compares both modes at fixed drive sizes so you can see usable capacity differences before buying disks.