Do Live Photos Take More Storage Than Regular Photos?

Q: Do Live Photos take more storage than regular photos?

Yes, about 2x more. A Live Photo captures a 1.5-second video clip alongside a still image. A regular HEIC photo is roughly 2-3 MB; a Live Photo of the same scene is 4-6 MB. Across a camera roll with thousands of Live Photos, this can add up to several gigabytes of extra storage.

By Jack Smith — Updated March 8, 2026

Yes — Live Photos take about twice the storage of regular photos. They capture a 1.5-second video clip alongside a still image, making each Live Photo roughly 4-6 MB compared to 2-3 MB for a standard HEIC photo. Across thousands of Live Photos, this extra storage adds up fast.

What Is a Live Photo, Exactly?

Introduced with the iPhone 6s in 2015, Live Photos capture 1.5 seconds of motion and sound before and after the shutter press. Each Live Photo is actually two files bundled together: a still HEIC image and a short MOV video clip (played at 15fps). The HEIC portion is typically 2-3 MB; the video portion adds another 2-4 MB, making the total file 4-6 MB per shot. You can see this dual-file nature if you ever share a Live Photo to a Mac — both a .heic and a .mov file appear.

How Much Extra Storage Do Live Photos Use?

The math adds up quickly. If you have 5,000 Live Photos on your iPhone:

As regular photos: ~5,000 x 2.5 MB = 12.5 GB
As Live Photos: ~5,000 x 5 MB = 25 GB
Extra cost: roughly 12.5 GB just for the motion clips

That extra 12+ GB could hold thousands more regular photos or hours of app usage. If you are running low on space, your Live Photos library is one of the most impactful places to look.

How to Turn Off Live Photos

You can disable Live Photos per-shot or globally. For a single shot, tap the Live button (concentric circles) at the top of the Camera app to toggle it off before taking the photo. To default to off: go to Settings > Camera > Preserve Settings and turn on Live Photo — this tells Camera to remember your last Live Photo setting instead of resetting to on each time. Then simply turn off Live Photos in the Camera app once and it will stay off.

How to Convert Existing Live Photos to Stills

You can convert Live Photos you have already taken into regular stills to save storage. Open a Live Photo in the Photos app, tap Edit, then tap the Live button at the top of the screen to turn it off for that photo. Tap Done to save. This removes the motion clip and frees the storage it was using. You can also duplicate a Live Photo as a still: tap the Share button > Duplicate > Duplicate as Still Photo. Use this to keep the original and have a smaller shareable version.

Is the Storage Cost Worth It?

Live Photos are genuinely useful — they let you pick the best frame after the fact, create Loop and Bounce effects, and capture candid moments. For special occasions like birthdays or travel, the storage cost may be worth it. But for everyday shots of text, receipts, or quick snapshots, there is little reason to pay 2x the storage. A good strategy is to use Live Photos selectively and periodically clean your library with Swype Photo Cleaner to remove the Live Photos you don't value.

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