LTO Tape Prices: LTO-6 to LTO-10

Summary

LTO tape and drive prices, October 2026

New items only, US dollars, listed prices before tax and shipping. Ranges cover single cartridges; see each generation guide for packs and individual listings.

Checked 23 October 2026. No new internal LTO-6 or LTO-10 drive, and only one new external LTO-6 drive, was listed at the sellers checked.

Cost per TB

LTO tape storage cost per TB in 2026

• LTO-6: $15.20 to $22.64 per native TB
• LTO-7: $10.46 to $13.33 per native TB
• LTO-8: $5.85 to $7.03 per native TB
• LTO-9: $5.14 to $7.17 per native TB
• LTO-10: $8.63 to $10.00 per native TB

Media is only part of the cost of LTO storage. A drive is a fixed cost of $8,009 to $13,329 for a new internal LTO-9 drive, so the cost per terabyte of a whole tape storage system falls the more you store. How the parts fit together is in LTO storage explained, and the five-year comparison with cloud storage in tape vs cloud cost.

What changed

How LTO cartridge prices moved in 2026

The January and March 2026 editions were compiled from different sources and rounded, so small differences are noise. The clear moves: LTO-6 and LTO-7 media got more expensive as supply thinned, LTO-8 and LTO-9 rose a little, and LTO-10 30 TB held steady. From September to October 2026 the cheapest cartridges held steady too, while the top of some ranges rose.

Drives are where prices moved: between September and October several sellers raised Quantum LTO-8 and LTO-9 drives by about 20 to 40%, and HPE drives rose as well. Drive prices also look very different from early 2026. The March 2026 edition estimated LTO-9 internal drives at $4,500 to $6,500; seller listings in October 2026 run from $8,009 to $13,329. Part of that gap is method (estimates versus listings), so treat it as a warning to get quotes rather than a precise increase.

Full LTO price history

Market context

What is moving the LTO market

• October 2026 (seen 2026-10-23): Quantum standalone drives repriced upward. BackupWorks: LTO-8 TD-L82AN-BR $5,635 to $6,763, LTO-9 TD-L92AN-BR $8,480 to $10,191, LTO-9 tabletop TD-L92BN-AR $9,883 to $11,863 (about +20%). LTO World: TD-L92AN-BR $7,699 to $9,989.99, TD-L82BN-AR $5,499 to $7,659.99 (about +30-40%). Symply desktop drives at BackupWorks rose 6-21%; MagStor drive prices were unchanged at BackupWorks, LTO World and MagStor. Source
• October 2026 (seen 2026-10-23): HPE StoreEver drives up at TapeandMedia: LTO-8 BC023A external $8,330 to $10,433, LTO-8 BC022A internal $7,695 to $8,985, LTO-9 BC042A external $13,385 to $15,225 (BC040A internal slightly down, $13,500 to $13,329). Source
• October 2026 (seen 2026-10-23): cartridge prices mostly flat, with small rises at two sellers. BackupWorks LTO-9 HPE Q2079A $98.50 to $107.50 and IBM $104.50 to $115; its LTO-10 30TB singles rose to $275-$285 (from $263.25-$295) and Fujifilm 40TB to $535. TapeandMedia raised HPE LTO-9 Q2079A from $94.95 to $102.95. Tape4Backup, LTO World and MagStor media prices were unchanged or within a few dollars. Source
• Tape4Backup still shows its banner on 2026-10-23: 'From September 1st, 2026, all LTO Tape prices have increased.' Its single-cartridge prices moved little since 2026-09-17 (LTO-9 $92.45-$105.99, LTO-10 30TB $259-$289), but its 30TB LTO-10 WORM cartridges and LTO-10 20-packs are now all out of stock. Source
• Trend vs early 2026 (updated 2026-10-23): LTO-9 cartridges flat (Symply quoted about $94 in Feb 2026; now $92-$129). LTO-10 30TB roughly flat (Symply ~$280 in Feb 2026; now $259-$300). LTO-10 40TB below the expected launch price (Symply expected ~$570 or $14.25/TB; now $491-$555 or $12.28-$13.88/TB). Symply blamed the 40TB premium on launch pricing, tight Aramid base film supply and hyperscaler deals. Source
• DatacenterDisk (published 2026-08-17, data updated 2026-09-17): LTO tape 'largely stable at $4-$6/TB' while HDD prices rose sharply in 2026; tape's $/TB edge over HDD widened from about 2x to 3.5x. The stated reason is an independent supply chain (Fujifilm and Sony in Japan) that avoids the NAND shortage and hyperscale HDD demand. Source
• LTO Program (Sept 2026): 160.3 EB of LTO capacity shipped in 2025 (down 9% from the 176.5 EB record in 2024); Q1 2026 shipped capacity up 57% YoY, driven by LTO-9 adoption and the LTO-10 ramp; 2026 expected to set a new record. Source
• The Register (2026-09-02): only Sony and Fujifilm make LTO cartridges. Analyst Tom Coughlin tied the 2025 dip to 'the evolving international trade environment' making buyers more cautious (tariff-related caution, but no price figure given). Source
• Blocks & Files (2026-09-04): suggests the 2025 dip may reflect buyers waiting for LTO-10; projects 2026 could reach about 251.67 EB if Q1 pace holds. Source
• Fujifilm LTO Ultrium 10 40TB cartridge (16978170) uses an aramid base film and began shipping January 2026; it works in existing LTO-10 drives. IBM 40TB cartridges (models 564/664) available 2026-03-06. Source
• Half-height LTO-10 drives: Symply support article said HH drives expected Q2 2026 (FH first because of the new head guide assembly). No HH LTO-10 drive was listed at any seller checked on 2026-09-17 or 2026-10-23. Source

By generation

LTO price guides by generation

Archive

Earlier LTO price snapshots

Method

How we collect LTO prices

We load product pages at specialist tape resellers (Tape4Backup, LTO World, BackupWorks, TapeandMedia, MagStor, DatacenterDisk and StoragePartsDirect in this edition) and record the listed price, part number and stock note. We exclude listings the seller marks as inaccurate and prices that look like listing errors. Amazon, B&H, CDW, Connection and the HPE Store blocked automated checks or showed no price, so big-box and used-market prices are not included. When a new edition is published, the previous one moves to the price history.