Office 365 Extra File Storage Limits, Pricing & Substitute

I recently had to enable the Office 365 Extra file storage add-on for my organization. Here in this write-up, I will share everything from when it is the best time to switch on this add-on to what impact it will have on your organization’s budget.

With these detailed step-by-step instructions, any IT administrator can enhance the total storage capacity. So let us start by discussing the scenarios when you should consider a limit change.

When Do Organizations Need to Increase Office 365 Extra File Storage?

Microsoft’s cloud suite has been an industry favorite for quite some time now. However, regular use of M365 services is likely to increase the number of files/folders stored in the cloud. Sometimes this storage becomes so large that IT administrators have no choice but to use the Office 365 extra file storage facility. By unlocking additional space, the users and the organization as a whole can continue to function without issues.

The most common reason is that users have used up all available space in their account and still need more.

Another reason could be that admins monitored the OneDrive usage and are preemptively procuring more storage for the heaviest users.

Plus, when admins don’t exactly know for what purpose users want new storage, it’s best to get a type of storage that is quite flexible. The O365 extra file storage fills this role perfectly. It is a general-purpose storage that can keep all sorts of data, like Mailbox Items, Teams Chats, OneDrive files, etc.

Moreover, it is useful in situations where admins need granular control over the storage increments. Like the Office 365 Archive Mailbox, here also the storage increases in stages. The only difference is that here the increment happens 1 GB at a time, as opposed to the 100 GB jump users see in the archive.

Charges are transparent, and you only pay for what you use. So it becomes easier for admins to balance the budget with storage requirements without compromising on either. Let’s see the pricing in more detail.

Office 365 Extra File Storage Pricing Breakdown

Here is a tabular representation of how much you will have to pay per account per month.

Region	Currency	Price per GB per Month
United States	USD	0.20–0.25
Europe (EU)	EUR	0.17–0.18
United Kingdom	GBP	0.15
Canada	CAD	0.25–0.27
Australia	AUD	0.29–0.30
India	INR	16.50–17.00
Japan	JPY	28–30
Brazil	BRL	1.05–1.10
South Africa	ZAR	3.50–3.70

 

Also Read: SharePoint Site Storage Limit – Updated Guide for 2025

Looking at the table, we can identify some trends. The prices remain close to each other even when we consider currency conversion. A rough calculation explains to us the biggest complaint users have about this service.

Price * Users * Time = Total Costs

$0.25 x 1000 x 12 = $3000 per TB per year.

3k dollars for just 1TB of data is too much for many organizations, especially when hard drives and SSDs are so readily available.

Note: You might get the service cheaper if you get it through secondary sellers. However, don’t expect any massive discounts. Don’t worry, we have an alternative, and you won’t have to pay for it perpetually. Before we cover it, let’s finish up the requirements and setup of O365 extra file storage.

Prerequisites for Adding Extra Storage in O365

Not every M365 plan qualifies for the extra storage facility. You need to fulfill a basic set of criteria as an organization. Plus, only some very specific types of admin in Office 365 can unlock this facility for your organization. So check that as well. An organization that holds any one of these services can access storage.

• Microsoft 365 Business Basic
• Microsoft 365 Business Premium
• Microsoft 365 Business Standard
• Microsoft 365 E3
• Microsoft 365 E5
• Microsoft 365 F1
• Microsoft 365 F3
• Microsoft 365 for the web with SharePoint Plan 1
• Microsoft 365 for the web with SharePoint Plan 2
• Office 365 Enterprise E1
• Office 365 Enterprise E2
• Office 365 Enterprise E3
• Office 365 Enterprise E5
• Office 365 A3 (faculty)
• Office 365 A5 (faculty)
• SharePoint Online Plan 1
• SharePoint Online Plan 2

Here is the list of license types that do not contain the option to add extra storage:

• Microsoft 365 Personal & Family Plans
• Microsoft 365 Developer License
• Microsoft 365 Education A1

Apart from the license type, depending on your Billing account type

The Microsoft Customer Agreement (MCA) billing account type must be a:

• Billing account owner/contributor
• Billing profile owner/contributor.

For the Microsoft Online Subscription Agreement (MOSA) holders, the requirement is straightforward: they must be a Billing Administrator.

The Global admin can also fill in any of these roles as and when required.

After the license and permission check if the user even needs expanded storage or not. Otherwise, it will just be a waste of money, as you have to pay for the license irrespective of the fact that you use it or not.

Process to Procure the Office 365 Extra File Storage in Admin Center

For MCA accounts:

Step 1. Log in to the Microsoft 365 admin center.

Step 2. Expand Billing in the left pane > Purchase services page (Marketplace)

Step 3. In the View by category, pick Office 365.

Step 4. Look for Office 365 Extra File Storage >> Details.

Step 5. Type the gigabytes number for the storage you need, set a subscription timeline and billing frequency, and then hit Buy.

Step 6. On the Checkout page, use an existing billing profile or make a new one. Here you will see the cost, subscription term, and the renewal date. You can choose a different renewal date than what is selected by default.

Step 7. Review and place an order.

For MOSA accounts, the steps are a little different.

Step 1. Log in to the Microsoft 365 admin center >> Billing >> Your products page.

Step 2. Choose the subscription for which you need this add-on.

Step 3. Click on Find more add-ons in Purchase Services.

Step 4. Select the Office 365 Extra File Storage add-on >> Details

Step 5. Toggle the drop-down list, select the M365 subscription to connect with the add-on, and then hit the Connect to subscription button.

Step 6. When you are on the checkout page, confirm the quantity and click Place order.

Cheaper Alternative to Office 365 Extra File Storage

Get the SysTools Office 365 Backup Tool to download the extra M365 data that doesn’t fit in your existing storage. The biggest advantage of choosing this tool over the extra file storage facility is that this tool is a one-time purchase. Unlike file storage, where you have to pay a hefty price at regular intervals, this tool operates on a single perpetual license.

Admins need not manually filter through what data is kept and what is ignored; they get to apply multiple filtering layers pre-backup to structure the content as per needs. Moreover, because this tool saves the data in a local offline database repository, it is accessible without an internet connection.

Conclusion

We gave the complete instructions on what exactly Office 365 extra file storage is, for whom it is for, and how to use it. Admins now also have the complete idea of its pricing and subscription structure. However, because it is so expensive, not every organization will be able to fit it into its budget. So, as an alternative, they can use the professional backup solution instead.

Read Also: Why Office 365 is Slowing Down the Computer?