SharePoint storage full: how the quota is really calculated

Your organization's SharePoint storage quota is calculated from a fixed base of 1 TB plus 10 GB per purchased license, regardless of whether the individual license is actively used at all. With 100 licenses, that means 1 TB base plus 1 TB from the licenses, making 2 TB total quota for the entire tenant. This quota is shared by all SharePoint sites together, while OneDrive is billed separately for each user. As of: August 2026.

How exactly is the storage quota calculated?

The formula is base storage plus 10 GB per purchased license, as the SharePoint limits documentation from Microsoft describes in detail, where the base varies by plan between 1 TB for Microsoft 365 Business, Enterprise, and standalone plans, and a flat 1 TB for F1/F3 plans without the license surcharge. Microsoft Teams Essentials calculates differently, with 10 GB storage per user. SharePoint storage is calculated in binary gigabytes, meaning 1 GB equals 2 to the power of 30 bytes, which in practice differs slightly from what some operating systems display.

What all counts toward this quota?

Besides the actual files, older file versions and the recycle bin also count toward the total quota. Microsoft explicitly recommends emptying the recycle bin regularly, because otherwise it ties up storage unnoticed.

• Versions: up to 50,000 major versions and 511 minor versions per file.
• Site collection limit: a maximum of 25 TB per individual site collection, independent of the tenant's total quota.
• Lists and libraries: up to 30 million items per list or library, though permission inheritance can no longer be broken at the list level above 100,000 items.

The individual OneDrive storage of each user is not included in this SharePoint quota, but is managed separately per license.

What happens if the quota is exceeded?

If a tenant remains permanently over its booked quota, Microsoft puts the environment into a read-only mode, in which users can no longer add or change content until sufficient capacity is available again. To avoid this, additional storage can be purchased in increments of 1 GB per tenant, and according to Microsoft documentation in practically unlimited amounts. In the short term, emptying the recycle bin or reducing old file versions is often enough before a purchase becomes necessary.

Which individual limits should you also know?

In addition to the total quota, there are technical upper limits that apply independently of available storage and in practice cause error messages more often than the total quota itself.

• File size: 250 GB per individual file in Teams, SharePoint libraries, OneDrive folders, and Viva Engage conversations.
• List attachment: 250 MB per file attached to a list or library item.
• ZIP download: 20 GB for the automatically generated ZIP folder when downloading multiple files at once.
• Path length: a maximum of 400 characters for the complete decoded path including the file name.

Additionally, invalid characters such as double quotation marks, asterisks, or vertical bars as well as reserved names such as CON or AUX block the creation of files and folders, regardless of available storage space. Anyone who already uses SharePoint as part of broader automation with Microsoft Copilot should know these limits before a knowledge source or synchronization fails because of them.

Frequently asked questions about the SharePoint storage quota

How much storage does my organization get with 100 licenses?

With a base of 1 TB plus 10 GB per license, 100 licenses result in an additional 1,000 GB, for a total of around 2 TB for the entire tenant. This quota applies jointly to all SharePoint sites and does not include the individual OneDrive storage of each user.

Does the recycle bin count toward the quota?

Yes, deleted files in the recycle bin continue to use storage space from the tenant's total quota. Microsoft therefore recommends monitoring and emptying the recycle bin regularly instead of letting it fill up uncontrolled.

Can I buy additional storage?

Yes, additional storage can be purchased in increments of 1 GB per tenant, and according to Microsoft documentation, the purchasable additional amount is not fundamentally capped. Alternatively, cleaning up versions and the recycle bin is often enough before a purchase becomes necessary.

What is the maximum file size I can upload?

The upload limit is 250 GB per individual file, whether in Teams, SharePoint libraries, or OneDrive folders. For attachments to individual list items, however, a significantly lower limit of 250 MB applies.