How to Calculate SharePoint Online Storage for Microsoft 365 Licenses
Question details
The user needs to know how total SharePoint Online storage is calculated when an organization has multiple Microsoft 365 subscription plans, such as Business Basic, E1, and E5.
- Product
- SharePoint Online
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Managing Microsoft 365 tenant storage and understanding capacity limits based on the number of active user licenses.
- Observed behavior
- The user was unsure if storage increases per subscription type or per individual user license, incorrectly assuming a fixed capacity increase per subscription plan instead of total license count.
Before calculating your total storage, log in to your Microsoft 365 admin center to get an exact count of all active, qualifying licenses purchased across your entire organization.
Calculate Storage Using the Official Formula
Use the standard Microsoft formula to manually calculate your expected tenant storage based on your license count.
SharePoint Online storage is pooled at the tenant level. It is not calculated by simply counting your subscription types (e.g., Business Basic, E1, E5). Instead, it is calculated based on the total number of individual user licenses you have purchased across all qualifying plans.
Every Microsoft 365 organization tenant automatically receives a base SharePoint storage capacity of 1 TB.
Add up the total number of purchased user licenses across all qualifying plans in your organization. For example, if you have 5 Business Basic, 100 E1, and 100 E5 licenses, your total is 205 licenses.
Multiply your total number of qualifying licenses by 10 GB. Using the previous example, 205 licenses × 10 GB = 2,050 GB.
Add the base 1 TB to the additional per-license storage. Total Storage = 1 TB + 2,050 GB (which equals roughly 3 TB of total SharePoint storage).
Check Current Storage in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center
Instead of manually calculating, view your organization's exact SharePoint storage capacity and current usage directly in the admin portal.
Manage Your Documents Efficiently with WPS Office
If you are managing files stored on SharePoint or local drives, WPS Office provides a free, lightweight, and powerful alternative to Microsoft Office. It offers a familiar interface and comprehensive document editing capabilities without the heavy enterprise subscription costs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do all Microsoft 365 subscription types qualify for the additional 10 GB of SharePoint storage?
No. While most standard enterprise and business plans (such as Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Standard, Premium, E1, E3, and E5) contribute to the additional 10 GB per license, certain standalone plans or specific frontline worker licenses (like F1 or F3) may not add to the pooled tenant storage.
How can I buy more SharePoint Online storage if my organization reaches its limit?
If your organization exceeds the base 1 TB plus the 10 GB per license limit, administrators can purchase extra storage. This is done by adding the 'Office 365 Extra File Storage' add-on via the Microsoft 365 Admin Center under Billing > Purchase services.
Does users' OneDrive storage count towards the organization's pooled SharePoint storage limit?
No, OneDrive for Business provides separate, dedicated personal cloud storage for each licensed user (typically 1 TB or more per user, depending on the plan). Files stored in an individual's OneDrive do not consume your organization's pooled SharePoint storage capacity.
