Recording Storage Cost Calculator

Why storage costs matter

Bat survey data often needs to be retained for years. Regulatory requirements and audit trails mean recordings should be accessible long after fieldwork ends. Most ecologists underestimate the cumulative cost because they think in terms of one season at a time rather than the full lifecycle.

Azure Blob Storage is reliable and widely used, but costs add up. At ~£0.17/GB/year (Hot tier), a consultancy with 500 GB per season is paying hundreds annually — and the bill grows every year as previous seasons' data accumulates.

BioSonic includes 9 years of EU-hosted cloud storage as part of the analysis subscription. No marginal cost per GB stored. No infrastructure to manage. Your recordings are safe and accessible from any browser.

Where the GB estimates come from

The GB-per-night figures are based on typical field deployments and manufacturer specifications. Triggered detectors (AudioMoth triggered, Batlogger M2, Anabat) record only when bat-like sounds are detected, producing far less data. Untriggered/continuous detectors (AudioMoth continuous, Pettersson D500X, Song Meter SM4BAT) record everything, generating significantly more data per night.

Actual volumes vary with bat activity, trigger sensitivity, recording duration, and sample rate. The defaults are representative mid-range estimates. Use the GB per night field to enter your own measured value if you know it.

Azure cost estimate based on Azure Blob Storage Hot tier pricing for UK South (~£0.0142/GB/month) as of April 2026. BioSonic storage is included in the per-GB analysis subscription. GB-per-night estimates are approximate and will vary by site and configuration.