Which LTO Tape Drive to Buy in 2026 (LTO-9 vs LTO-10, SAS vs Thunderbolt)

New LTO-9 drives are listed from about $7,700 to $13,500, and the same part number can differ by hundreds of dollars between sellers. This buyer's guide walks through the five checks: generation, form factor (internal, external or library), interface (SAS HBA vs Thunderbolt), read/write compatibility, and part number. Plus what to check before buying a used drive. Prices are September 2026 street prices from the tapebackup.org tracker. Drive buyer's guide with live prices: https://tapebackup.org/why-tape/lto-tape-drive LTO price tracker: https://tapebackup.org/lto-tape-price-trend Backup cost calculator: https://tapebackup.org/backup-calculator Chapters 0:00 Drive prices and the short answer 0:17 Pick the generation 0:35 Internal, external or library 0:49 The interface (SAS vs Thunderbolt) 1:01 What reads what 1:13 Part numbers, used drives and checklist #LTO #TapeDrive #LTO9 #LTO10 #TapeBackup #Homelab #DataHoarder