How Much SharePoint Storage with Office 365? [Complete Guide for 2025]

One of the most frequently asked questions by IT admins and business users is: how much SharePoint storage with Office 365 do you actually get? Whether you're planning a digital workplace, migrating to Microsoft 365, or optimizing your SharePoint Online usage, knowing your storage limits is essential.

This guide will walk you through the default SharePoint storage allocation in Office 365, how it's calculated, how you can expand it, and tips to manage it effectively.

Understanding SharePoint Storage in Microsoft 365

When you subscribe to Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365), your organization receives SharePoint Online as part of the plan. SharePoint serves as the backend for many services, including Microsoft Teams and OneDrive for Business, and it plays a key role in file storage and collaboration.

Here's what you get by default:

• A base storage quota of 1 TB per Microsoft 365 tenant
• An additional 10 GB of storage for every licensed user

So, for example, a company with 100 licensed users will have:

• 1 TB base storage
• Plus 100 users × 10 GB = 1,000 GB (or 1 TB)
• Total storage: 2 TB

This storage pool is shared across all SharePoint sites in your tenant.

SharePoint Storage by Microsoft 365 Plan

Most Microsoft 365 business and enterprise plans include the same default SharePoint storage calculation. This includes plans like Business Basic, Business Standard, E1, E3, and E5. Even Microsoft 365 F3 offers SharePoint Online, though it may come with more limited access and storage options.

Each SharePoint Online site (also called a site collection) can hold up to 25 TB of content, but your overall tenant limit will depend on the number of licenses and any additional storage you’ve purchased.

How SharePoint Online Uses Storage

Your SharePoint Online storage quota includes more than just documents. It's used for:

• Files stored in document libraries
• Site pages, templates, and assets
• Media files, images, and logos
• Teams files (since Microsoft Teams stores files in the underlying SharePoint site)
• Shared libraries accessed via Microsoft 365 Groups
• Content synced across OneDrive for Business

Although OneDrive for Business is technically separate and provides 1 TB per user by default, it is built on SharePoint infrastructure and follows similar storage principles.

How to Check Your SharePoint Storage Usage

You can monitor your SharePoint Online storage usage directly through the Microsoft 365 or SharePoint admin centers. Here’s how:

1. Sign in to the Microsoft 365 admin center
2. Navigate to Reports > Usage to view SharePoint file storage data
3. Alternatively, open the SharePoint admin center
4. Go to Active Sites to see each site’s storage usage

For more detailed tracking, PowerShell can be used to generate reports with commands like:

Get-SPOSite -Limit All | Select URL, StorageUsageCurrent, StorageQuota        

This helps identify which sites are consuming the most storage.

Need More Storage? Here's How to Increase It

If your SharePoint storage is running low, you have two main options:

1. Purchase Additional SharePoint Storage

You can buy more storage at any time through the Microsoft 365 admin center. The current price is around $0.20 per GB per month, but this may vary by region.

2. Optimize Existing Storage

Before spending money, consider these tips to reduce unnecessary usage:

• Archive or delete outdated files
• Set up retention policies
• Use OneDrive for personal file storage and avoid duplicating content
• Move infrequently accessed data to Azure Blob Storage or third-party archives

Real Example: 500 Users on Microsoft 365

Let’s break down a real-world scenario to understand how much SharePoint storage with Office 365 you get.

With 500 licensed users, your storage would include:

• 1 TB base quota
• 500 users × 10 GB = 5 TB additional
• Total: 6 TB of SharePoint Online storage

If you need more, you can simply purchase more capacity or redistribute storage across your sites.

Difference Between SharePoint and OneDrive Storage

Although OneDrive and SharePoint both handle file storage, they serve different purposes:

• SharePoint Online is ideal for shared team content and collaboration
• OneDrive for Business is meant for individual user files

Each OneDrive user gets 1 TB by default, and in many enterprise plans, this can be extended to 5 TB or more upon request.

Tips for Managing SharePoint Storage Efficiently

To make the most of your SharePoint Online storage:

• Regularly audit large sites and libraries
• Set up alerts for storage limits
• Encourage users to delete duplicate or unnecessary content
• Leverage tools like Microsoft Purview for data lifecycle and compliance management

Conclusion: Know What You Get and Scale Smartly

To summarize, how much SharePoint storage with Office 365 you receive depends on your plan and number of licensed users. Every tenant starts with 1 TB, plus 10 GB per user license. This pooled storage supports all your SharePoint sites and team content, and it can be expanded easily.

Understanding your storage quota, monitoring usage, and applying smart data governance ensures your Microsoft 365 environment runs efficiently while avoiding unexpected costs.

🧐 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. How much SharePoint storage with Office 365 Business Premium do I get?

With Microsoft 365 Business Premium, your organization gets 1 TB of base SharePoint storage, plus 10 GB for each licensed user. For example, with 20 users, you would have a total of 1 TB + 200 GB = 1.2 TB of storage for SharePoint Online.

2. Can I increase my SharePoint Online storage if I run out?

Yes. If you exceed your allocated storage quota, you can purchase additional SharePoint Online storage directly from the Microsoft 365 admin center. The storage is usually priced per gigabyte per month and added to your tenant’s total pool.

3. What is the maximum storage per SharePoint site?

Each SharePoint Online site (also known as a site collection) can grow up to 25 TB in size. This limit is per site and independent of your total tenant storage, as long as your organization’s total storage quota allows it.

4. Does OneDrive storage count against my SharePoint quota?

No, OneDrive for Business has its storage allocation per user (typically 1 TB). However, since OneDrive is built on the SharePoint platform, it's good practice to manage both together for a full view of your Microsoft 365 storage capacity.

5. How can I check how much SharePoint storage my organization is using?

You can check your current storage usage in the SharePoint admin center under Active Sites. For more detailed reporting, use PowerShell or visit the Microsoft 365 admin center under Reports > Usage.

6. Do Microsoft Teams files use SharePoint storage?

Yes. Files shared in Teams are stored in the SharePoint site behind each team. So, Teams file storage does count against your overall SharePoint Online storage quota.

7. What happens if I exceed my SharePoint storage limit?

Once you reach your SharePoint storage limit, you won’t be able to upload new files or create new sites until more storage is freed up or additional capacity is purchased. Microsoft typically sends alerts when you're nearing your quota.

8. Is SharePoint storage pooled across all users and sites?

Yes. The total storage (base + user-based allocation) is shared across all SharePoint sites in your Microsoft 365 tenant. Admins can manually allocate or restrict site-level quotas if needed.

9. Does deleting files immediately free up SharePoint storage?

Deleted files go to the site recycle bin first, and then to the second-stage recycle bin. They are retained for up to 93 days before being permanently removed, so storage isn't immediately freed. You can manually empty the recycle bin to reclaim space faster.

10. Can I move older data to external storage to save SharePoint space?

Yes, archiving old files to external storage solutions such as Azure Blob Storage, third-party cloud storage, or on-premises systems can help optimize your SharePoint usage and reduce storage costs.