SharePoint Online (SPO) Overview & Storage

Created by Rohit Yadav, Modified on Tue, 16 Sep at 3:36 PM by Rohit Yadav

? SharePoint Online (SPO) Overview & Storage

SharePoint Online (SPO) is a cloud-based collaboration platform provided by Microsoft 365. It allows organizations to create team and communication sites, store documents, and manage content securely while integrating with Teams, OneDrive, and other Microsoft apps.

1️⃣ What is SharePoint Online?

? Centralized document storage and sharing
?‍?‍? Collaboration with teams across the organization
? Security, compliance, and access control
? Mobile and offline access
? Integration with Microsoft 365 apps like Teams, Power Automate, and OneDrive

2️⃣ How SharePoint Online Works

? Part of the Microsoft 365 cloud environment
? Sites contain document libraries, lists, pages, and web parts
? Access controlled via Microsoft 365 identities (users/groups)
⚡ Integration with Teams for real-time collaboration

3️⃣ SharePoint Online Storage

3.1 Tenant Storage

Every Microsoft 365 tenant receives:

? Base storage: 1 TB
➕ Additional 10 GB per licensed user
Example: 200 users → 1 TB + (200 × 10 GB) = 3 TB total

3.2 Site Storage

? Default quota for new sites: 25 GB
⚙️ Can be increased manually or use auto-managed growth
? Storage is shared across all sites in the tenant

3.3 File Size Limit

Maximum upload size: 250 GB per file ?️

3.4 Additional Storage

? Purchased in GB/TB increments (~$0.20/GB/month)
? Increases tenant storage pool, no new features

4️⃣ SharePoint Online Plans & Comparison

Feature / Plan	Plan 1 (SPO P1)	Plan 2 (SPO P2)	Extra Storage Add-on
Cost (approx)	$5/user/month	$10/user/month	$0.20/GB/month
Base tenant storage	1 TB + 10 GB/user	1 TB + 10 GB/user	Adds extra GB/TB
Max site collection storage	25 TB	25 TB	Follows same rules
File size limit	250 GB	250 GB	Same
Team & communication sites	✅	✅	N/A
Versioning & sharing	✅	✅	N/A
DLP, eDiscovery, Legal Hold	❌	✅	❌
Advanced search	❌	✅	❌
Mobile & offline access	✅	✅	N/A
Purpose	Collaboration	Compliance + Enterprise	Extra storage only

5️⃣ Licenses That Include SharePoint Online

SharePoint Online is included in most Microsoft 365 / Office 365 plans:

Business Plans

Microsoft 365 Business Basic ✅
Microsoft 365 Business Standard ✅
Microsoft 365 Business Premium ✅
Microsoft 365 Apps for Business ❌ (No SharePoint)

Enterprise Plans

Office 365 E1, E3, E5 ✅
Microsoft 365 E3, E5 ✅
Microsoft 365 F1 / F3 ✅ (limited features)

Education Plans

Office 365 A1, A3, A5 ✅
Microsoft 365 A1, A3, A5 ✅

Standalone Plans

SharePoint Online Plan 1 ✅
SharePoint Online Plan 2 ✅

? Note: Apps-only licenses (like Microsoft 365 Apps) do not include SharePoint Online.

6️⃣ How to Check Storage & Site Quota

Go to SharePoint Admin Center → Active Sites → Storage Used
Adjust site quotas during site creation or in Site Settings → Storage Quota

7️⃣ Best Practices

⚡ Use auto-managed storage for modern sites to avoid manual quota management
? Monitor storage usage to plan extra storage purchases
? Choose Plan 2 for compliance, DLP, or legal hold requirements
? Use Plan 1 for standard collaboration without advanced compliance