How much SharePoint storage does my organisation have?

In most business Microsoft 365 plans 1 TB plus 10 GB per licence purchased. All SharePoint sites and Teams files share that pool. Employees’ OneDrive does not count towards it.

Why is storage full when we have few files?

The space is often taken up by old versions of files, by site recycle bins or by copies held by retention policies. They all count towards storage.

How do I limit the space versions take up?

Set version history limits under Settings in the SharePoint admin center. Microsoft recommends the automatic setting. For existing sites you apply the limit per site or library and can have old versions trimmed.

Is space freed up immediately when I delete files?

No. Deleted files stay in the site’s recycle bin for up to 93 days and count while they are there. It can also take 24 to 48 hours for the figures to update.

Should I buy extra storage?

Only when cleaning up and version limits are not enough. Extra storage is a recurring cost, so it pays to find out first where the space goes.

SharePoint storage almost full? How an SME frees up space in Microsoft 365 without buying extra storage

The files of your teams, departments and Teams channels all live in SharePoint. That storage is shared by the whole organisation. When the pool fills up, staff will at some point no longer be able to save files. Before you buy extra storage, it pays to look at where the space is actually going. It is often not where you expect.

How much SharePoint storage does your organisation have?

With Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Standard and Premium and with the Enterprise plans, the organisation’s storage is 1 TB plus 10 GB per licence purchased. With 20 licences you therefore have about 1.2 TB. That space sits in one central pool that every SharePoint site draws from, including the sites behind Microsoft Teams. Each employee’s personal OneDrive has its own storage and does not count towards this pool.

You can see how much you use in the SharePoint admin center. On the Active sites page you can sort by storage used. Bear in mind that changes from the last 24 to 48 hours are not yet included in those figures.

Where does the space usually go?

Version history. SharePoint keeps a new version of a file with every change. For an Excel file or presentation that several people edit every day, hundreds of versions build up quickly. Every version counts towards storage.
Recycle bins. Deleted files first go to the site’s recycle bin and stay there for up to 93 days. While they are there, they count. So storage does not drop immediately after a big clean-up.
Retention policies. If you have set up a retention policy, SharePoint keeps copies of changed and deleted files in a separate preservation library. Those copies also count towards the site’s storage.
Large files that do not belong there. Video files, exports from old systems, copies of backups or complete photo folders from an event. Often moved across during a file server migration and then forgotten.
Forgotten sites and teams. Projects that have finished but whose site is still fully in place. A clear policy against Teams sprawl helps here.

Freeing up space step by step

Find the largest sites. Sort by storage in the SharePoint admin center and start with the top three or four sites.
Look at what each site contains. From the site settings you open the storage metrics. They show per library and folder how much space is used, including versions.
Set version limits. In the SharePoint admin center you set an organisation default under Settings > Version history limits. Microsoft recommends the automatic setting: it keeps recent versions and thins out older versions by itself. You can also choose a maximum number of versions or a retention period yourself. Note: this organisation setting applies to new libraries. For existing sites you apply the limit per site or library.
Trim existing versions. For existing sites, an admin can first run a report on the storage used by versions and then schedule a job that cleans up old versions. Versions removed this way do not go to the recycle bin and are permanently gone. So check beforehand that this fits your agreements on retention and recovery.
Clean up deliberately. Move or delete large files that do not belong in SharePoint, and archive completed project sites. Agree this with the owners first, so nobody misses a file they will need later.

Only then: buying extra storage

If storage is still tight after the clean-up, you can buy extra storage as an add-on to your subscription. That is a recurring cost per GB. Once you know where the space goes and have set version limits, you only buy what you really need. Also turn on an alert, so you notice in time when storage starts climbing again.

How Floor ICT handles this

Floor ICT maps which sites and libraries use the most space and why. We set suitable version history limits, trim old versions safely with your retention policy and recovery options in mind, and agree with the owners what can go. Only if that is not enough do we advise on extra storage. That way you keep room for new files without unnecessary costs.

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