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Media Library Size Calculator

Find out why your uploads folder is 40 GB

Runs in your browser. Nothing is uploaded.

Your library
What's installed?

Every one of these registers its own image sizes, and every registered size is another file on disk for every image you upload.

Files on disk

Estimated total

originals + derivatives

functions.php — stop generating the sizes you don't use

These are ESTIMATES. A derivative's real weight depends on the image — a photograph and a flat screenshot at the same dimensions can differ several-fold. The FILE COUNT, though, is exact: it is simply one per registered size.

About the Media Library Size Calculator

WordPress does not store one copy of your image — it stores one per registered size, and every plugin and theme adds more. Enter your upload count and this shows what the media library actually costs on disk.

FAQ

Questions

Why is my WordPress uploads folder so big?

Because WordPress does not store one copy of your image — it stores one per registered size. Core registers six before any theme or plugin speaks up. Add WooCommerce, a page builder and a theme with custom sizes and a single upload can become fifteen files on disk.

Is it safe to remove image sizes?

Only sizes nothing uses. If you remove a size your theme actually references, WordPress falls back to the full-size original — which is worse than the disk space you saved. The 1536x1536 and 2048x2048 sizes added in 5.3 are the usual safe candidates; medium_large (768w) is used by srcset and should normally stay.

How do I delete the derivative files I already have?

Removing the size from the filter stops NEW ones being generated; it does not delete existing files. A regeneration plugin, or 'wp media regenerate' over WP-CLI, will rebuild the set and clean up the ones no longer registered.