In a world where almost everything is going online, having access to cloud storage is especially important. With any Microsoft account, you can get 5GB of online storage on OneDrive for free. And, with a Microsoft Office 365 subscription, you can 1TB of OneDrive storage included for no extra cost.
But what if that 1TB of space is not enough for your needs? Or what if you’re on the basic free OneDrive plan is too small for your files and photos?
Well, Microsoft offers plenty of paid OneDrive storage plans. In this guide, we will make sense of it all. We’ll take a look at OneDrive storage plans both for businesses and consumers.
For consumers — $2 a month for 100 GB
If you’re looking to add a small boost to OneDrive without breaking the bank, this first plan is for you. For the price of $2.00 per month, you can add an extra 100 GB to your OneDrive account.
Microsoft recently made changes to this “base” OneDrive storage tier. Previously, it only included 50GB of data for the same price — but now it has doubled. If you’ve previously subscribed to this plan, you’ll be able to get 50GB of additional storage with no added cost.
Keep in mind, buying this plan will not give you any additional access to any additional Office 365 services. That means you won’t get office apps or advanced security settings. You will, however, get access to OneDrive’s advanced sync technology, mobile apps, and Files-on-Demand feature.
For consumers with Office 365 — 200 GB increments starting at $1.99 per month
In the event that you’re already subscribed to Office 365, Microsoft offers an option which can bring you home a maximum of 2TB storage space. Under this plan, you can add storage to your OneDrive account in 200GB increments, at the price of $1.99 per month. For maximum space, you also can add up to a maximum of 2TB for an additional $9.99 per month.
Price per GB can be seen in the graphic below. Please keep in mind that only a primary Office 365 Home account holder can purchase additional storage. Primary Account holder, however, could share a common folder, and allow other users to gain more of this shared space.
OneDrive for Business Plan 1 — $5 per user, month, for 1 TB storage
Now, for businesses. The base paid OneDrive storage plan for businesses comes in at $5 per user, per month with an annual commitment (or $6/mo paid monthly). It includes 1TB of OneDrive storage per user, with a maximum file limit of 15GB. Also included is the ability to create and edit in Word, OneNote, PowerPoint, and Excel in Office.com online. This plan even offers the ability to move and manage files between OneDrive and SharePoint.
OneDrive for Business Plan 2 — $10.00 user, per month, for unlimited personal cloud storage
For businesses, one of the middle options for extra storage in OneDrive is a plan that comes in at $10 per user, per month. This plan offers unlimited storage in OneDrive, but only for more than five users. It also comes with advanced data-loss prevention, as well as an in-place-hold feature to preserve deleted and edited documents for discovery. Everything included in Plan 1 is included as well.
According to Microsoft, this plan will initially include 1 TB/user of OneDrive for Business storage, but admins can increase to 5 TB/user. Additional storage can be requested by contacting Microsoft support. Storage beyond TB/user is also provisioned in SharePoint team sites to individual users.
Office 365 Business Essentials — $5 per month, with 1TB of OneDrive Storage
For most businesses, a great way to get a lot of storage for OneDrive is to just pick an Office 365 Business Essentials Plan. While OneDrive for Business Plan 1 does indeed offer up 1TB of storage, choosing a Business Essentials plan for $6 a month is the better bet.
With this plan, you’ll not only get 1TB of storage included, but you’ll also get access to additional Microsoft Services like Exchange, Teams, and SharePoint. You also can continue to add more storage per user by buying a OneDrive for Business Plan 1 if you ever feel the need.
Which plan has the best bang for the buck?
Indeed, there’s plenty of ways that you can pay to expand storage in OneDrive, but which one is the better option?
If you’re a consumer that needs access to the Microsoft Office apps, buying a $70 Office 365 Home subscription, and then adding storage in 200GB increments to move beyond 1TB is best. This way, you’ll be able to buy space for your storage needs as your space expands, and also enjoy Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for no added cost.
If the Microsoft Office apps are not important, buying the 100GB of OneDrive space (at $2/mo or $24/yr), and paying to add more as you need it is probably a better bet, up to a point, anyway. That’s because Office 365 Home is its own $70 a year subscription, so if you only need 100-200GB and no access to Office 365, you could save some money. Beyond 300GB, though, it’s cheaper to buy Office 365 Home.
As for businesses, picking the $6 per month (or $5 with yearly commitment) Office 365 Business Essentials plans is the best way to get most for the price. However, anyone, regardless if a business or not, can still sign up and free to choose this plan to enjoy 1TB of OneDrive for a year for $60. You’ll get 1TB of storage, and you can always add-in an extra 1TB of storage at the rate of $5 per user, per month with a OneDrive Business Plan if needed.
