LTO-7 price · updated October 2026
As of 23 October 2026, a new LTO-7 tape (6 TB native) costs $62.75 to $79.99, or $10.46 to $13.33 per TB; internal drives $3,419 to $4,253 and external drives $4,999 to $5,598. LTO-7 media is plentiful and new drives are still sold, but several drive SKUs now show call for availability. LTO-8 drives read and write LTO-7 cartridges, which keeps demand for the media alive.
Cartridge listings
New single LTO-7 data cartridges (6 TB native), sorted by price. Range: $62.75 to $79.99, or $10.46 to $13.33 per native TB.
| Part number | Seller | Price | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16456574 (Fujifilm) | TapeandMedia | $62.75 | In stock (ships same business day) |
| 38L7302 (IBM) | LTO World | $64.00 | Sale; in stock |
| Any LTO-7 cartridge | Contact us | Volume discount | Tell us how many cartridges you need and we will send you a special discount. |
| 38L7302 (IBM) | TapeandMedia | $64.95 | In stock (ships same business day) |
| MR-L7MQN-01 (Quantum) | DatacenterDisk | $64.99 | Amazon listing |
| MR-L7MQN-01 (Quantum) | Tape4Backup | $65.00 | In stock |
| MR-L7MQN-01 (Quantum) | LTO World | $65.00 | Sale; in stock |
| 16456574 (Fujifilm) | LTO World | $65.25 | In stock |
| C7977A (HPE) | LTO World | $65.35 | Sale; in stock |
| MR-L7MQN-01 (Quantum) | TapeandMedia | $65.50 | In stock (ships same business day) |
| 38L7302 (IBM) | Tape4Backup | $65.95 | In stock |
| C7977A (HPE) | TapeandMedia | $66.25 | In stock (ships same business day) |
| C7977A (HPE) | Tape4Backup | $66.55 | In stock |
| 16456574 (Fujifilm) | Tape4Backup | $66.60 | In stock |
| LTX6000G (Sony) | Tape4Backup | $71.15 | Limited stock |
| C7977B (HP) | Tape4Backup | $71.68 | In stock |
| 38L7302 (IBM) | MagStor | $75.39 | In stock |
| C7977A (HPE) | MagStor | $79.99 | In stock |
Prices checked on 23 October 2026. Sale prices change often; confirm at the seller before ordering.
Bulk buying
Packs are not always cheaper per cartridge than a single tape on sale, so compare the per-unit price.
| Part number | Seller | Pack price (per cartridge) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| MR-L7MQN-01-10PK (Quantum 10-pack) | Tape4Backup | $605.00 ($60.50 each) | |
| 16456574-5 Pack (Fujifilm 5-pack) | TapeandMedia | $313.75 ($62.75 each) | |
| LTO-7 packs of any size | Contact us | Volume discount | Tell us how many cartridges you need and we will send you a special discount. |
| QTMMR-L7MQN-01-5PK (Quantum 5-pack) | Tape4Backup | $325.50 ($65.10 each) | |
| NP-L7-10PK (MagStor NanoPure 10-pack) | MagStor | $849.99 ($85.00 each) |
Write once media
WORM (write once, read many) cartridges cannot be overwritten, which is why they are used for compliance and ransomware-resistant copies. Range: $87.95 to $111.72.
| Part number | Seller | Price | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16495661 (Fujifilm) | TapeandMedia | $87.95 | |
| C7977W (HPE) | TapeandMedia | $92.10 | In stock (ships same business day) |
| Any LTO-7 WORM cartridge | Contact us | Volume discount | Tell us how many cartridges you need and we will send you a special discount. |
| C7977W (HPE) | LTO World | $93.08 | Sale; in stock |
| C7977W (HPE) | Tape4Backup | $95.75 | Limited stock |
| MR-L7MQN-02 (Quantum) | TapeandMedia | $96.25 | Out of stock; not counted in the range |
| MR-L7MQN-02 (Quantum) | LTO World | $96.88 | Sale; in stock |
| 38L7303 (IBM) | LTO World | $108.83 | Sale; in stock |
| MR-L7MQN-02 (Quantum) | Tape4Backup | $111.72 | In stock |
| 38L7303 (IBM) | TapeandMedia | $113.71 | Out of stock; not counted in the range |
Hardware
New standalone SAS drives. You also need a SAS HBA in the host, and backup software that supports the drive.
| Part number | Seller | Price | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| SAS-HL7i (MagStor LTO-7 HH SAS internal) | LTO World | $3,419.10 | New, 2-yr warranty option (3-yr $3,799); in stock |
| TD-L72GN-BR (Quantum LTO-7 add-on drive) | BackupWorks | $4,208.00 | New; add-on for 1U rack kit |
| TD-L72AN-BR (Quantum LTO-7 HH SAS bare) | BackupWorks | $4,253.00 | New |
| Part number | Seller | Price | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| TD-L72BN-AR (Quantum LTO-7 SAS tabletop kit) | TapeandMedia | $4,453.00 | New, special order; out of stock; not counted in the range |
| TD-L72BN-AR (Quantum LTO-7 SAS tabletop kit) | LTO World | $4,999.00 | New, in stock |
| TD-L72BN-AR (Quantum LTO-7 SAS tabletop kit) | BackupWorks | $5,598.00 | New |
Price history
Each row links to the archived snapshot it came from. Earlier snapshots used rounded guide ranges, and the March 2026 drive figures were estimates rather than seller listings, so compare directions rather than exact dollars.
| Snapshot | Cartridge price | Drive price |
|---|---|---|
| October 2026 (current) | $62.75 to $79.99 | Internal $3,419 to $4,253; external $4,999 to $5,598 |
| September 2026 | $59.99-$79.99 | Internal $3,419-$4,253; external $3,699-$4,999 |
| August 2026 | $20-$45 | Not recorded |
| March 2026 | $55-$65 | Internal $2,500-$4,500; external $3,000-$4,000 |
| January 2026 | $58-$62 | Not recorded |
| November to December 2025 | $59-$62 | Not recorded |
| September to October 2025 | $59-$62 | Not recorded |
Compare
| Generation | Native capacity | Cartridge price | Per native TB |
|---|---|---|---|
| LTO-6 | 2.5 TB | $38.00 to $56.60 | $15.20 to $22.64 |
| LTO-7 | 6 TB | $62.75 to $79.99 | $10.46 to $13.33 |
| LTO-8 | 12 TB | $70.25 to $84.36 | $5.85 to $7.03 |
LTO-7 makes sense for estates already standardized on it. Per terabyte, LTO-7 media now costs roughly twice as much as LTO-8 or LTO-9.
Specifications
| Native capacity | 6 TB |
|---|---|
| Compressed capacity | 15 TB (2.5:1) |
| Native speed | up to 300 MB/s |
| Released | 2015 |
| A LTO-7 drive reads | LTO-5 to LTO-7 |
| A LTO-7 drive writes | LTO-6, LTO-7 |
| WORM cartridges | Yes |
| Hardware encryption | AES-256 |
| LTFS | Yes |
LTO-7 cartridges can be read and written in LTO-7 and LTO-8 drives, but not in LTO-9 or newer. Half-height drives are often rated below the full-height speed, so check the data sheet of the exact model. See every generation side by side in the LTO capacity chart, how to choose a drive in the LTO tape drive buying guide, and how long cartridges last in LTO tape lifespan. Nearby generations: LTO-6 LTO-8.
Why buyers choose LTO-7
Vendor ecosystems
LTO is standardized, but pricing can still move between ecosystems depending on channel inventory, reseller margin, and bundled enterprise agreements.
Budget planning
Evaluation checklist
LTO-7 is often the best fit for teams that want to extend existing tape infrastructure, hold down media costs, preserve legacy archive systems, or build a practical offline copy tier without taking on a broader platform migration.
Method
We loaded seller product pages on 23 October 2026 and recorded the listed price, part number and stock note. Only new items are included unless a note says otherwise. Amazon, B&H, CDW and Connection blocked automated checks or showed no price, so big-box pricing is not included. Sellers used for LTO-7:
Pricebook
Request the latest pricebook to compare LTO-7 media and drives from HPE, IBM, Quantum, Fujifilm and Sony before you buy.
New single LTO-7 cartridges were listed at $62.75 to $79.99 at the specialist US sellers we checked on 23 October 2026, which works out to $10.46 to $13.33 per native terabyte.
New internal half-height SAS LTO-7 drives were listed at $3,419 to $4,253. Prices for similar models differ by several thousand dollars between sellers, so compare the exact part number.
External desktop SAS LTO-7 drives were listed at $4,999 to $5,598.
Yes. LTO-7 WORM cartridges were listed at $87.95 to $111.72, compared with $62.75 to $79.99 for standard data cartridges.
See the LTO-7 price history table on this page, which lists every TapeBackup.org snapshot since September 2025.