diff --git a/src/aiida/common/utils.py b/src/aiida/common/utils.py
index f41cbef636..4b294193c8 100644
--- a/src/aiida/common/utils.py
+++ b/src/aiida/common/utils.py
@@ -572,3 +572,37 @@ def __init__(self, dtobj, precision):
 
         self.dtobj = dtobj
         self.precision = precision
+
+
+def format_directory_size(size_in_bytes: int) -> str:
+    """
+    Converts a size in bytes to a human-readable string with the appropriate prefix.
+
+    :param size_in_bytes: Size in bytes.
+    :type size_in_bytes: int
+    :raises ValueError: If the size is negative.
+    :return: Human-readable size string with a prefix (e.g., "1.23 KB", "5.67 MB").
+    :rtype: str
+
+    The function converts a given size in bytes to a more readable format by
+    adding the appropriate unit suffix (e.g., KB, MB, GB). It uses the binary
+    system (base-1024) for unit conversions.
+
+    Example:
+        >>> format_directory_size(123456789)
+        '117.74 MB'
+    """
+    if size_in_bytes < 0:
+        raise ValueError('Size cannot be negative.')
+
+    # Define size prefixes
+    prefixes = ['B', 'KB', 'MB', 'GB', 'TB', 'PB', 'EB', 'ZB', 'YB']
+    factor = 1024  # 1 KB = 1024 B
+    index = 0
+
+    while size_in_bytes >= factor and index < len(prefixes) - 1:
+        size_in_bytes /= factor
+        index += 1
+
+    # Format the size to two decimal places
+    return f'{size_in_bytes:.2f} {prefixes[index]}'
diff --git a/src/aiida/orm/nodes/data/remote/base.py b/src/aiida/orm/nodes/data/remote/base.py
index 1fc691d113..b361e16301 100644
--- a/src/aiida/orm/nodes/data/remote/base.py
+++ b/src/aiida/orm/nodes/data/remote/base.py
@@ -8,13 +8,20 @@
 ###########################################################################
 """Data plugin that models a folder on a remote computer."""
 
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import logging
 import os
+from pathlib import Path
 
 from aiida.orm import AuthInfo
 from aiida.orm.fields import add_field
+from aiida.transports import Transport
 
 from ..data import Data
 
+_logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
 __all__ = ('RemoteData',)
 
 
@@ -103,7 +110,10 @@ def listdir(self, relpath='.'):
             try:
                 return transport.listdir(full_path)
             except OSError as exception:
-                if exception.errno in (2, 20):  # directory not existing or not a directory
+                if exception.errno in (
+                    2,
+                    20,
+                ):  # directory not existing or not a directory
                     exc = OSError(
                         f'The required remote folder {full_path} on {self.computer.label} does not exist, is not a '
                         'directory or has been deleted.'
@@ -132,7 +142,10 @@ def listdir_withattributes(self, path='.'):
             try:
                 return transport.listdir_withattributes(full_path)
             except OSError as exception:
-                if exception.errno in (2, 20):  # directory not existing or not a directory
+                if exception.errno in (
+                    2,
+                    20,
+                ):  # directory not existing or not a directory
                     exc = OSError(
                         f'The required remote folder {full_path} on {self.computer.label} does not exist, is not a '
                         'directory or has been deleted.'
@@ -185,3 +198,105 @@ def _validate(self):
 
     def get_authinfo(self):
         return AuthInfo.get_collection(self.backend).get(dbcomputer=self.computer, aiidauser=self.user)
+
+    def get_size_on_disk(self, relpath: Path | None = None) -> str:
+        """
+        Connects to the remote folder and returns the total size of all files in the directory recursively in a
+        human-readable format.
+
+        :param relpath: File or directory path for which the total size should be returned, relative to
+        ``self.get_remote_path``.
+        :return: Total size of file or directory in human-readable format.
+
+        :raises: FileNotFoundError, if file or directory does not exist.
+        """
+
+        from aiida.common.utils import format_directory_size
+
+        if relpath is None:
+            relpath = Path('.')
+
+        authinfo = self.get_authinfo()
+        full_path = Path(self.get_remote_path()) / relpath
+        computer_label = self.computer.label if self.computer is not None else ''
+
+        with authinfo.get_transport() as transport:
+            if not transport.path_exists(str(full_path)):
+                exc_message = (
+                    f'The required remote folder {full_path} on Computer <{computer_label}>'
+                    'does not exist, is not a directory or has been deleted.'
+                )
+                raise FileNotFoundError(exc_message)
+
+            try:
+                total_size: int = self._get_size_on_disk_du(full_path, transport)
+
+            except RuntimeError:
+                lstat_warn = (
+                    'Problem executing `du` command. Will return total file size based on `lstat`. '
+                    'Take the result with a grain of salt, as `lstat` does not consider the file system block size, '
+                    'but instead returns the true size of the files in bytes, which differs from the actual space'
+                    'requirements on disk.'
+                )
+                _logger.warning(lstat_warn)
+
+                total_size: int = self._get_size_on_disk_lstat(full_path, transport)
+
+            except OSError:
+                _logger.critical('Could not evaluate directory size using either `du` or `lstat`.')
+
+        return format_directory_size(size_in_bytes=total_size)
+
+    def _get_size_on_disk_du(self, full_path: Path, transport: 'Transport') -> int:
+        """Connects to the remote folder and returns the total size of all files in the directory recursively in bytes
+        using `du`.
+
+        :param full_path: Full path of which the size should be evaluated
+        :type full_path: Path
+        :param transport: Open transport instance
+        :type transport: Transport
+        :raises RuntimeError: When `du` command cannot be successfully executed
+        :return: Total size of directory recursively in bytes.
+        :rtype: int
+        """
+
+        retval, stdout, stderr = transport.exec_command_wait(f'du --bytes {full_path}')
+
+        if not stderr and retval == 0:
+            total_size: int = int(stdout.split('\t')[0])
+            return total_size
+        else:
+            raise RuntimeError(f'Error executing `du` command: {stderr}')
+
+    def _get_size_on_disk_lstat(self, full_path: Path, transport: 'Transport') -> int:
+        """
+        Connects to the remote folder and returns the total size of all files in the directory recursively in bytes
+        using ``lstat``. Note that even if a file is only 1 byte, on disk, it still occupies one full disk block size.
+        As such, getting accurate measures of the total expected size on disk when retrieving a ``RemoteData`` is not
+        straightforward with ``lstat``, as one would need to consider the occupied block sizes for each file, as well as
+        repository metadata. Thus, this function only serves as a fallback in the absence of the ``du`` command.
+
+        :param full_path: Full path of which the size should be evaluated.
+        :type full_path: Path
+        :param transport: Open transport instance.
+        :type transport: Transport
+        :raises RuntimeError: When `du` command cannot be successfully executed.
+        :return: Total size of directory recursively in bytes.
+        :rtype: int
+        """
+        try:
+            total_size = 0
+            contents = self.listdir_withattributes(full_path)
+
+            for item in contents:
+                item_path = full_path / item['name']
+                # Add size of current item (file or directory metadata)
+                total_size += item['attributes']['st_size']
+
+                # If it's a directory, recursively get size of contents
+                if item['isdir']:
+                    total_size += self._get_size_on_disk_lstat(item_path, transport)
+
+            return total_size
+        except OSError:
+            raise
diff --git a/tests/orm/nodes/data/test_remote.py b/tests/orm/nodes/data/test_remote.py
index 8f08fee37b..434384e8b5 100644
--- a/tests/orm/nodes/data/test_remote.py
+++ b/tests/orm/nodes/data/test_remote.py
@@ -8,25 +8,133 @@
 ###########################################################################
 """Tests for the :mod:`aiida.orm.nodes.data.remote.base.RemoteData` module."""
 
+from pathlib import Path
+
 import pytest
 from aiida.orm import RemoteData
 
 
 @pytest.fixture
-def remote_data(tmp_path, aiida_localhost):
+def remote_data_local(tmp_path, aiida_localhost, num_char: int | None = None):
     """Return a non-empty ``RemoteData`` instance."""
     node = RemoteData(computer=aiida_localhost)
     node.set_remote_path(str(tmp_path))
     node.store()
+
+    if num_char is None:
+        content = b'some content'
+    else:
+        content = b'a' * num_char
+    (tmp_path / 'file.txt').write_bytes(content)
+    return node
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def remote_data_ssh(tmp_path, aiida_computer_ssh):
+    """Return a non-empty ``RemoteData`` instance."""
+    # Compared to `aiida_localhost`, `aiida_computer_ssh` doesn't return an actual `Computer`, but just a factory
+    # Thus, we need to call the factory here passing the label to actually create the `Computer` instance
+    localhost_ssh = aiida_computer_ssh(label='localhost-ssh')
+    node = RemoteData(computer=localhost_ssh)
+    node.set_remote_path(str(tmp_path))
+    node.store()
     (tmp_path / 'file.txt').write_bytes(b'some content')
     return node
 
 
-def test_clean(remote_data):
+@pytest.mark.parametrize('fixture', ['remote_data_local', 'remote_data_ssh'])
+def test_clean(request, fixture):
     """Test the :meth:`aiida.orm.nodes.data.remote.base.RemoteData.clean` method."""
+
+    remote_data = request.getfixturevalue(fixture)
+
     assert not remote_data.is_empty
     assert not remote_data.is_cleaned
-
     remote_data._clean()
     assert remote_data.is_empty
     assert remote_data.is_cleaned
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize('fixture', ['remote_data_local', 'remote_data_ssh'])
+def test_get_size_on_disk(request, fixture):
+    """Test the :meth:`aiida.orm.nodes.data.remote.base.RemoteData.clean` method."""
+
+    remote_data = request.getfixturevalue(fixture)
+
+    # Check here for human-readable output string, as integer byte values are checked in
+    # `test_get_size_on_disk_[du|lstat]`
+    size_on_disk = remote_data.get_size_on_disk()
+    assert size_on_disk == '4.01 KB'
+
+    # Path/file non-existent
+    with pytest.raises(FileNotFoundError, match='.*does not exist, is not a directory.*'):
+        remote_data.get_size_on_disk(relpath=Path('non-existent'))
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    'num_char, sizes',
+    (
+        (1, {'du': 4097, 'lstat': 1, 'human': '4.00 KB'}),
+        (10, {'du': 4106, 'lstat': 10, 'human': '4.01 KB'}),
+        (100, {'du': 4196, 'lstat': 100, 'human': '4.10 KB'}),
+        (1000, {'du': 5096, 'lstat': 1000, 'human': '4.98 KB'}),
+        (int(1e6), {'du': 1004096, 'lstat': int(1e6), 'human': '980.56 KB'}),
+    ),
+)
+def test_get_size_on_disk_sizes(aiida_localhost, tmp_path, remote_data_local, num_char, sizes):
+    """Test the :meth:`aiida.orm.nodes.data.remote.base.RemoteData.clean` method."""
+
+    remote_data = RemoteData(computer=aiida_localhost)
+    remote_data.set_remote_path(str(tmp_path))
+    remote_data.store()
+
+    (tmp_path / 'file.txt').write_bytes(b'a' * num_char)
+
+    authinfo = remote_data.get_authinfo()
+    full_path = Path(remote_data.get_remote_path())
+
+    with authinfo.get_transport() as transport:
+        size_on_disk_du = remote_data._get_size_on_disk_du(transport=transport, full_path=full_path)
+        size_on_disk_lstat = remote_data._get_size_on_disk_lstat(transport=transport, full_path=full_path)
+        size_on_disk_human = remote_data.get_size_on_disk()
+
+    assert size_on_disk_du == sizes['du']
+    assert size_on_disk_lstat == sizes['lstat']
+    assert size_on_disk_human == sizes['human']
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize('fixture', ['remote_data_local', 'remote_data_ssh'])
+def test_get_size_on_disk_du(request, fixture, monkeypatch):
+    """Test the :meth:`aiida.orm.nodes.data.remote.base.RemoteData.clean` method."""
+
+    remote_data = request.getfixturevalue(fixture)
+
+    # Normal call
+    authinfo = remote_data.get_authinfo()
+    full_path = Path(remote_data.get_remote_path())
+
+    with authinfo.get_transport() as transport:
+        size_on_disk = remote_data._get_size_on_disk_du(transport=transport, full_path=full_path)
+    assert size_on_disk == 4108
+
+    # Monkeypatch transport exec_command_wait command to simulate `du` failure
+    def mock_exec_command_wait(command):
+        return (1, '', 'Error executing `du` command')
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(transport, 'exec_command_wait', mock_exec_command_wait)
+    with pytest.raises(RuntimeError, match='Error executing `du`.*'):
+        remote_data._get_size_on_disk_du(full_path, transport)
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize('fixture', ['remote_data_local', 'remote_data_ssh'])
+def test_get_size_on_disk_lstat(request, fixture):
+    """Test the :meth:`aiida.orm.nodes.data.remote.base.RemoteData.clean` method."""
+
+    remote_data = request.getfixturevalue(fixture)
+
+    authinfo = remote_data.get_authinfo()
+    full_path = Path(remote_data.get_remote_path())
+
+    with authinfo.get_transport() as transport:
+        size_on_disk = remote_data._get_size_on_disk_lstat(transport=transport, full_path=full_path)
+    assert size_on_disk == 12