RAID 6 vs RAID 60
RAID 6 is one double-parity group. RAID 60 splits the same drives into two or more RAID 6 groups and stripes across them.
The trade
- With two groups, RAID 60 uses two more drives for parity than RAID 6 on the same drives.
- In return, a rebuild reads only the drives in one group, and the array survives up to two failures per group.
Identical drives; decimal TB as drives are sold, binary TiB as most operating systems show it; before filesystem overhead. Hot spares are extra drives and add no capacity.
RAID 6 vs RAID 60 (2 groups) with 16TB drives
| Array | RAID 6 usable | RAID 60 usable | RAID 6 survives | RAID 60 survives |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 × 16TB | 160TB | 128TB | 2 | 2–4 |
| 16 × 16TB | 224TB | 192TB | 2 | 2–4 |
| 20 × 16TB | 288TB | 256TB | 2 | 2–4 |
| 24 × 16TB | 352TB | 320TB | 2 | 2–4 |
Why split a wide array
In one wide RAID 6 group, every rebuild reads all the remaining drives. Splitting into groups keeps each rebuild to one group, so fewer drives are read under load.
When one RAID 6 group is enough
For a modest number of drives, a single RAID 6 group keeps more usable space and still survives any two failures.
16TB drives for this array
In-stock 16TB drives from our catalogue, with the price for the 18 drives in the example above. Hot spares are extra.
- SHD7B06079 - Lenovo 16TB SATA 3.5-Inch Hot-Swap Hard Drive (512e, SED) $247.50 each · 18 drives $4,455.00
- Seagate ST16000NM010G Exos X16 16TB 7200RPM 12Gb/s SAS 256MB Cache 512e Enterprise $429.47 each · 18 drives $7,730.46
- ST16000NM003G - Seagate Exos X16 16TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 256MB Cache 512e Sed 3.5-inch $447.37 each · 18 drives $8,052.66
- ST16000NM002G - Seagate Exos X16 16TB 7200RPM SAS 12Gb/s 256MB Cache 512e 3.5-inch Hard $450.53 each · 18 drives $8,109.54
- ST16000VN001 - Seagate IronWolf Nas 16TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 256MB Cache 3.5-inch Hard $468.42 each · 18 drives $8,431.56
- Seagate ST16000NM007H Exos X24 16TB 7200RPM 12Gb/s SAS 512MB Cache 512e 3.5-Inch Hard $478.95 each · 18 drives $8,621.10
- Toshiba MG08ACA16TE 16TB 7200RPM 6Gb/s SATA 512MB Cache 512e 3.5-Inch Hard Drive $468.42 each · 18 drives $8,431.56
- Seagate ST16000NM004G Exos X16 16TB 7200RPM 12Gb/s SAS 256MB Cache Self-Encrypting Drives $500.00 each · 18 drives $9,000.00
Frequently asked questions
Is RAID 60 safer than RAID 6?
It survives at least two failures like RAID 6, and up to two per group if failures are spread out, while keeping each rebuild to one group. It costs two more parity drives with two groups.
How many drives does RAID 60 need?
At least eight: two RAID 6 groups of four drives each.
RAID calculators by level
- RAID calculator (all levels)
- RAID 0 calculator
- RAID 1 calculator
- RAID 5 calculator
- RAID 6 calculator
- RAID 10 calculator
- RAID 50 calculator
- RAID 60 calculator
RAID planning guides
- How Many Drives Can Fail in Each RAID Level?
- RAID Hot Spare: What It Does and How It Affects Capacity
- TB vs TiB: Why a 24TB Drive Shows 21.8 TiB
- RAID Write Penalty by Level
- Best RAID Level for 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 8 Drives
- RAID 50 vs RAID 60
Related
Updated 2026-10-22.