Microsoft boosts OneDrive storage to 1TB for Office 365

Nicole Kobie June 24, 2014

Microsoft has bumped up its OneDrive cloud storage to 15GB for free accounts and 1TB for Office 365 users.

Microsoft boosts OneDrive storage to 1TB for Office 365

That 15GB is more than double the previous 7GB allocation, and any OneDrive users – paid or free – will receive up to 5GB extra in 500MB pieces for each person they refer to the service. Microsoft is also doling out 3GB free to anyone who uses the camera backup function.

Microsoft said its data showed three out of four people have less than 15GB stored on their PC – which seems unlikely given the rise of digital photography.

“Factoring in what they may also have stored on other devices, we believe providing 15 GB for free right out of the gate – with no hoops to jump through – will make it much easier for people to have their documents, videos, and photos available in one place,” said program manager Omar Shahine in a post on the Microsoft Office blog.

The storage bump puts Microsoft in the lead versus Dropbox and Google in terms of free allocation. Free Dropbox accounts get a stingy 2GB, although that can be extended by signing up friends. Google offers 15GB of free cloud storage, but that includes Drive, Photos and Gmail.

Microsoft also slashed the price of buying extra storage. It used to cost $7.50/month for 100GB in the US; that’s now been cut to $2/month. In the UK, 100GB used to cost £5. We’re waiting to hear back what the new price UK will be.

Office 365 storage

However, anyone looking to get more than a spare 100GB may do better by flipping to an Office 365 account.

Office 365 users are also getting a storage boost, from 20GB to a whopping 1TB.

Office 365 personal subscriptions cost £6/month, and will come with 1TB to be used by the single user, while Office 365 Home costs £8/month and comes with up to five 1TB OneDrive allocations.

Microsoft had already announced that OneDrive for Business customers were getting 1TB in storage. University students will also be bumped up to 1TB.

The change should roll out across existing accounts this month, Microsoft said.