SSD Lifespan Calculator
How many years an SSD's rated endurance lasts from its TBW rating and your daily writes, with a write amplification option and the endurance used and left from the terabytes written so far, or convert between DWPD and TBW.
Result…
How it's calculated
Years = TBW ÷ (daily writes × write amplification × 365) TBW = DWPD × capacity × warranty years × 365 DWPD = TBW × 1000 ÷ (365 × years × capacity in GB) Used = TB written ÷ TBW
An SSD's endurance is rated in terabytes written (TBW): how much data the maker warrants you can write before the flash may wear out. Dividing it by how much you write a day, times 365, gives the years the rating lasts. If your workload writes more to the flash than the rating assumes, for example many small random writes, an extra write amplification factor above 1 shortens that. With the total written so far (shown in the drive's health data), the calculator also works out the share used and the years left. Enterprise drives are often rated in drive writes per day (DWPD) instead; TBW = DWPD × capacity × warranty days, using the formula Kingston publishes.
Your numbers, step by step
About the SSD Lifespan calculator
This SSD lifespan calculator shows how long a solid state drive's rated endurance lasts at the way you use it. Enter the TBW (terabytes written) rating from the datasheet and how much you write a day in GB or TB, and it divides one by the other to give the years the rating lasts. An extra write amplification factor covers workloads that wear the flash faster than the rating assumes. Add the terabytes written so far, from the drive's health data, and it shows the share of endurance used, the terabytes and years left, and how much of the rating each year uses. A second mode converts between drive writes per day (DWPD) and TBW from the capacity and warranty period, the way enterprise drives are rated. It suits home users, builders and server admins choosing or checking a drive.
How to use it
- Choose what to “Find”: “Lifespan” or “DWPD ↔ TBW”.
- For lifespan, enter the “Endurance rating (TBW)”, the “Data written per day” and its unit.
- Leave “Extra write amplification” at 1 unless your workload is heavier than the rating assumes, and add the “TB written so far (optional)”.
- To convert, pick the direction and enter the “Drive capacity”, “Warranty period” and the TBW or DWPD.
Worked example
A drive rated 600 TBW that takes 50 GB of writes a day uses 0.05 × 365 = 18.25 TB a year, so the rating lasts 600 ÷ 18.25 = 32.9 years. With 40 TB already written, 6.67% is used, 560 TB is left and that lasts about 30.7 more years at the same rate. In the second mode, a 7.68 TB drive rated 14,016 TBW over 5 years is 14,016 × 1000 ÷ (365 × 5 × 7680) = 1 DWPD.
Updated
Questions people ask
How do I calculate how long an SSD will last?
Divide its TBW rating by the amount you write a year, which is your daily writes in TB times 365. A 600 TBW drive written at 50 GB a day lasts about 32.9 years by its rating.
How do I convert DWPD to TBW?
Multiply the drive writes per day by the capacity in TB and by the warranty period in days. This follows the formula in Kingston's guide Understanding SSD Endurance: TBW and DWPD.
Where do I find how much has been written to my SSD?
Drive health tools that read SMART data usually show total host writes. Divide it by the days the drive has been in use to get your average daily writes.
What is write amplification and when should I change it?
Write amplification is how much more the drive writes to its flash than you send it. Leave the extra factor at 1 for ordinary use and raise it for workloads with many small random writes, which wear the flash faster.
Will my SSD fail when it reaches its TBW rating?
Not necessarily. TBW is the limit the maker warrants, and many drives keep working beyond it, while some fail earlier for other reasons. Keep backups whatever the figure says, and size your backups with the data storage converter.