What's the difference between memory (RAM) and storage?

When buying a computer or upgrading your PC, it's easy to confuse the terms "memory" and "storage" and think they're synonymous. However, understanding the difference between RAM and storage is essential to determining which components to choose.

When it comes to comparing storage and RAM, you need to know how each component works, and which is most important for using your computer.

Random access memory, also known as memory or RAM, is a computer component that temporarily stores data while the computer is running. This data can be as diverse as a Word document or a Web page you're currently browsing. When your computer needs to access this data, it does so quickly and easily from its memory.

The more memory you have, the more files or applications your computer can access at the same time. That's why it's important to have enough memory if you want to do multiple tasks at once, run resource-intensive programs like AutoCAD®, or simply play the latest AAA games. We've written a dedicated page all about how RAM works you can read for more details, too.

Storage is where data is permanently stored on your computer. When you install a program, whether from a download or from a disk, your computer unzips and copies the program files to your storage space.

It also uses storage to store your documents, photos, music, and videos. Your storage space determines the number of files or programs you can store on your computer.

Memory and storage are often confused, but while they are complementary, they are very different.

Random Access Memory (RAM) is what your computer uses to temporarily store the data it's working on, while storage is where you save files permanently.

When you save a file, it is copied from RAM to disk. This is why your computer seems to run slower when it runs out of memory because it has to extract data from the hard disk to use it. To free up memory, try closing unused programs or deleting temporary files.

Storage is permanent and contains all your files, whether you use them or not. That's why most people think of storage as synonymous with hard drive. When you save a file, it's actually stored on a non-volatile storage device, such as an SSD, a hard drive, or an USB flash drive.

Today, there are also online storage solutions, but that part is not covered in this article.

So, it can be internal or external, which is not the case with RAM. Internal storage is part of the computer hardware (SSD/HDD), while external storage is a separate device that plugs into the computer (USB stick, DVD, etc.).

Your PC also uses storage to hold temporary files when it runs low on RAM, in a buffer zone called "swap", while it is performing tasks. For example, if you're retouching a photo and the software needs more memory than is available to continue working, it will place the photo on your hard drive in the swap until you're done retouching.

This buffer space is considered "virtual" memory and allows RAM to be offloaded.

Despite the speed of SSDs, they are still slower than RAM. This will result in slower program or computer responsiveness.