How many reads per sample do I need?

A general recommendation would be to have at least 1 - 2 million mapped reads per sample for gene expression analyses, and at least 10 million reads per sample for small RNA discovery.
Depending on the starting sample and the application, aiming for a minimum of 4 - 5 million raw reads per sample would be recommended. For low input RNA amounts or libraries with lower small RNA content, a higher number of reads per sample may be required.