Live surveillance price intelligence
Seagate SkyHawk Price per TB: Standard and AI Comparison
The cheapest SkyHawk price per terabyte is meaningful only when standard and AI workloads, exact model revisions, condition and warranty route are kept separate. This page calculates cost without blending incompatible products.
Quick answer
Use standard SkyHawk price per TB for conventional 1TB–8TB surveillance needs and SkyHawk AI price per TB for 8TB–32TB analytics or high-workload systems. Exclude legacy SMR, complete recorders, multipacks and unpriced offers from the ranking.
Exact model data
Current models eligible for price-per-TB ranking
| Capacity | Model | Family | Recording | RPM | Cache | Max sustained | Workload | Warranty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1TB | ST1000VX012 | SkyHawk | CMR | 5,400 | 256MB | 180MB/s | 180TB/year | 3 years |
| 1TB | ST1000VX013 | SkyHawk +Rescue | CMR | 5,400 | 256MB | 180MB/s | 180TB/year | 3 years |
| 2TB | ST2000VX016 | SkyHawk | CMR | 5,400 | 256MB | 180MB/s | 180TB/year | 3 years |
| 2TB | ST2000VX017 | SkyHawk +Rescue | CMR | 5,400 | 256MB | 180MB/s | 180TB/year | 3 years |
| 3TB | ST3000VX014 | SkyHawk | CMR | 5,400 | 256MB | 180MB/s | 180TB/year | 3 years |
| 3TB | ST3000VX015 | SkyHawk +Rescue | CMR | 5,400 | 256MB | 180MB/s | 180TB/year | 3 years |
| 4TB | ST4000VX015 | SkyHawk | CMR | 5,400 | 256MB | 180MB/s | 180TB/year | 3 years |
| 4TB | ST4000VX016 | SkyHawk +Rescue | CMR | 5,400 | 256MB | 180MB/s | 180TB/year | 3 years |
| 6TB | ST6000VX008 | SkyHawk | CMR | 5,400 | 256MB | 180MB/s | 180TB/year | 3 years |
| 6TB | ST6000VX009 | SkyHawk +Rescue | CMR | 5,400 | 256MB | 180MB/s | 180TB/year | 3 years |
| 8TB | ST8000VX009 | SkyHawk | CMR | 5,400 | 256MB | 180MB/s | 180TB/year | 3 years |
| 8TB | ST8000VX010 | SkyHawk +Rescue | CMR | 5,400 | 256MB | 180MB/s | 180TB/year | 3 years |
| 8TB | ST8000VE001 | SkyHawk AI | CMR | 7,200 | 256MB | 255MB/s | 550TB/year | 5 years |
| 10TB | ST10000VE001 | SkyHawk AI | CMR | 7,200 | 256MB | 255MB/s | 550TB/year | 5 years |
| 12TB | ST12000VE001 | SkyHawk AI | CMR | 7,200 | 256MB | 255MB/s | 550TB/year | 5 years |
| 12TB | ST12000VE003 | SkyHawk AI | CMR | 7,200 | 512MB | 285MB/s | 550TB/year | 5 years |
| 16TB | ST16000VE002 | SkyHawk AI | CMR | 7,200 | 256MB | 255MB/s | 550TB/year | 5 years |
| 16TB | ST16000VE004 | SkyHawk AI | CMR | 7,200 | 512MB | 285MB/s | 550TB/year | 5 years |
| 16TB | ST16000VE005 | SkyHawk AI | CMR | 7,200 | 512MB | 240MB/s | 550TB/year | 5 years |
| 20TB | ST20000VE002 | SkyHawk AI | CMR | 7,200 | 256MB | 260MB/s | 550TB/year | 5 years |
| 20TB | ST20000VE003 | SkyHawk AI | CMR | 7,200 | 512MB | 285MB/s | 550TB/year | 5 years |
| 20TB | ST20000VE004 | SkyHawk AI | CMR | 7,200 | 512MB | 240MB/s | 550TB/year | 5 years |
| 24TB | ST24000VE002 | SkyHawk AI | CMR | 7,200 | 512MB | 285MB/s | 550TB/year | 5 years |
| 32TB | ST32000VE000 | SkyHawk AI | CMR | 7,200 | 512MB | 285MB/s | 550TB/year | 5 years |
Legacy SMR models and WD Purple comparison products are excluded from the SkyHawk price ranking.
Live catalogue
Live SkyHawk price-per-TB offers
Only fresh, exact-model products returned by Amazon's new-condition search are eligible. Featured prices are shown when Amazon exposes them; products with no buy box are shown as buying options. Exact family, capacity and current-model matching are enforced.
Interactive decision tool
SkyHawk purchase cost calculator
Enter a current price and drive count to calculate raw and planned cost per terabyte.
Price per terabyte begins with exact identity
A product cannot enter the ranking merely because its title contains “SkyHawk” and a capacity. The exact model must match a current standard or AI record, and any capacity mentioned in the title must agree with that model.
This prevents old revisions, wrong variations and other Seagate families from borrowing the current model specifications.
Standard and AI prices should not be blended blindly
Standard SkyHawk and SkyHawk AI have different capacity ranges, workload tiers, warranties and intended system scale. A lower standard-family price per terabyte does not prove it is suitable for an analytics-heavy recorder.
The live list shows both families but labels them clearly so the workload decision is made before the price decision.
Listings without a featured price remain useful
Amazon's Creators API can return an exact product without a featured buy-box listing. The plugin preserves that item with its image, title and model as a “View buying options” result.
Because no reliable featured price is exposed, the item is excluded from price-per-terabyte calculations and daily price snapshots until a priced offer appears.
Condition and seller route affect value
New retail, OEM, recertified and used drives do not provide equivalent warranty or risk. This catalogue accepts only new-condition products and rejects titles that advertise renewed, refurbished, recertified, drive-pull or used stock.
The buyer should still confirm the seller and Seagate warranty status before installation.
Capacity reserve raises the real cost per usable terabyte
Recorders need file-system space and operational headroom. RAID parity, hot spares and planned free capacity reduce the footage storage obtained from the advertised raw capacity.
The calculator reports both raw and planned cost per terabyte so a seemingly cheap configuration is not overstated.
The whole system cost can favor larger drives
A larger drive may cost more per unit but reduce the number of bays, SATA ports, power supplies and enclosures required. Conversely, smaller drives can reduce the amount of footage exposed by one disk failure and may be cheaper to replace.
Evaluate recorder purchase, spare drives, power, warranty duration and future expansion alongside the drive price.
Daily snapshots need a fresh exact offer
The plugin stores one daily price snapshot for active products with a real featured price. It does not invent a price for buying-option pages or retain an invalid substituted model after a later refresh.
The freshness window is configurable so stale listings disappear from public offer tables even if the historical snapshots remain available.
Use price history as a timing signal, not a guarantee
Surveillance-drive prices can move because of supply, promotions and capacity transitions. A historical low can help identify an unusually expensive listing, but it cannot guarantee that the old price will return.
Choose a model that fits the recorder and retention requirement, then use price history to time the purchase within that valid shortlist.
How Cloudzat evaluates SkyHawk drives
Cloudzat attaches recording technology, RPM, cache, transfer rate, workload, stream support and warranty only to an exact model. Standard VX, legacy VX, SkyHawk AI VE and WD Purple comparison products remain separate. This prevents an older SMR 2TB or 4TB revision, a standard SkyHawk, or a SkyHawk AI model from inheriting another drive's specifications.
Live offers are screened for new single internal 3.5-inch SATA drives. SSDs, external drives, SAS products, complete NVR or DVR systems, camera bundles, accessories, multipacks, WD Purple Pro, other Seagate families and non-new listings are rejected. A listed camera-stream figure does not replace a retention calculation or the recorder manufacturer's exact compatibility list.
Frequently asked questions
SkyHawk price questions
How is SkyHawk price per TB calculated?
Why is an Amazon product shown without a price?
Are legacy SMR models included in the ranking?
Does the lowest price per TB mean the best drive?
Are multipacks included?
Do Amazon links include the Cloudzat associate tag?
Primary sources
- Seagate SkyHawk product page and current specifications
- Seagate SkyHawk current product manual
- Seagate SkyHawk AI product page
- Seagate SkyHawk AI current data sheet
Cloudzat may earn a commission from qualifying purchases. Product availability, pricing and specifications can change. Confirm the exact SkyHawk or SkyHawk AI model, recorder compatibility, seller, condition and regional warranty route before buying.