Google Workspace storage FAQ for admins

Here are common questions for admins about storage space for your organization's files. If you're planning to change Google Workspace editions, you want to be sure you get the storage you need.

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What are Google Workspace storage and upload limits?

Google Workspace storage is shared between Google Drive, Gmail, and Google Photos. The amount of storage for each user depends on your edition:

  • Frontline
2 GB per user
  • G Suite Basic

30 GB per user

  • Business Starter

30 GB per user

  • Business Standard

2 TB per user added to pooled storage

  • Business Plus

5 TB per user added to pooled storage

  • Enterprise Essentials
1 TB per user added to pooled storage,
up to a maximum of 25 TB.
  • Enterprise editions

As much as you need.*

For details, contact Google Workspace support.

  • Essentials

    No longer available for new customers

100 GB per user added to pooled storage,
up to a maximum of 2 TB

  • Essentials Starter
15 GB per user
  • Business Essentials
100 GB per user added to pooled storage,
up to a maximum of 2 TB
  • G Suite Business

Unlimited storage

  • Education Fundamentals
  • Education Standard

100 TB pooled cloud storage

Teaching and Learning Upgrade 100 TB pooled cloud storage, plus 100 GB per user added to pooled storage
Education Plus 100 TB pooled cloud storage, plus 20 GB per user added to pooled storage
  • Individual personal accounts
  • Legacy free edition of G Suite

15 GB

* Google Workspace provides flexible pooled storage that is shared across the organization. Enterprise plan customers have 5 TB of pooled storage per user and can request additional storage as needed by contacting Google Workspace support. For more information, see the Google Workspace Services Summary.

If you need more storage, review your storage options for non-Education Google Workspace editions or storage options for Education editions.

Upload limits

Individual users can only upload 750 GB each day between My Drive and all shared drives. Users who reach the 750-GB limit or upload a file larger than 750 GB cannot upload additional files that day. Uploads that are in progress will complete. The maximum individual file size that you can upload or synchronize is 5 TB.

How does pooled storage work?
Pooled storage is shared storage across all of your users for everything in their accounts. This includes, but is not limited to, files from Google Drive, Gmail, and Google Photos. Learn more about pooled storage.
What counts toward storage?

The following files count toward storage:

Google Drive

  • Files in Google Drive, which includes PDFs, images, videos, and Meet recordings.
  • Files created or edited after May 2, 2022 in collaborative content creation apps like Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drawings, Forms, Recorder, and Jamboard.
  • Content in shared drives.

If a file is in more than one folder in Drive, it still counts only once toward your storage quota.

Gmail

  • Messages and attachments, including items in your Spam and Trash folders.

Google Photos

Content created with My Maps doesn't count toward your organization's storage quota.

What happens to users’ additional storage when they get upgraded to pooled storage?
Any additional storage (added by the user or by you in a license) is not added to the user’s pooled storage. And, after the upgrade, the user will not be able to access the additional storage. To avoid continuing charges for additional storage, the user needs to cancel their subscription. If the license you added for them is not automatically canceled, you need to manually cancel it.
How do I know how much storage is being used by my organization?

Starting on May 2, 2022, new and updated Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, Drawings or Jamboard files will count towards your organization's storage quota.

See the storage status for your entire organization

You can see your storage use in a few ways. The easiest is the storage management tool:

  1. Sign in to your Google Admin console.

    Sign in using your administrator account (does not end in @gmail.com).

  2. In the Admin console, go to Menu ""and then"" Storage.
  3. At the top you can see how much Workspace storage your organization is using.

If you can't see the data, you might be able to review the Accounts report:

  1. Go to the article View Apps reports for your organization.
  2. Follow the steps on how to go to the Accounts reportand thenTotal storage used.

See the storage status of a single user

  1. Sign in to your Google Admin console.

    Sign in using your administrator account (does not end in @gmail.com).

  2. In the Admin console, go to Menu ""and then"" Directoryand thenUsers.
  3. Click a user to open their account page.
    At the top of the page, you can see the percentages of mail and Drive storage utilized by the user.
How can users view and manage how much storage they're using?

Your users can see how much space they have available by going to https://drive.google.com/drive/quota.

What is the difference between Google Drive storage and Google Cloud Storage?

Google Workspace storage is best for files that users access and edit frequently or collaborate in through Drive, Gmail, or Photos. Cloud Storage is best for files that users access indirectly through a website or other system your organization’s developers set up.

Do multiple revisions of a file count against my storage limit?

Multiple revisions of a file are available online, but only the latest version is available on your computer. The online revisions don't count toward your storage quota unless you explicitly decide to keep older revisions.

If a file is in multiple Drive folders on the web, does it count against my quota multiple times?

No. Only one version counts against your storage quota.

Do files that have been shared with me count toward my storage quota?

No. Files that have been shared with you in Drive never count toward your storage limit, even if you move them to My Drive. For details, go to Manage files in your Google Drive storage.

What if I use more storage online than I have available on my computer?

With Google Drive for desktop, this is no problem. Your files are stored exclusively online unless you make them available for offline access.

What happens if a user is over their quota or a storage license is removed?

The user can still access any files already in Drive, but they won't be able to add more files until they're under quota or have their quota increased.

Starting May 2, 2022, new and updated Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drawings, Forms, or Jamboard files will count toward Drive storage. Existing files within these products will not count toward storage, unless they’re modified on or after May 2, 2022. If a user is over quota, they can’t create new files in these products. Until they reduce their storage use, neither they nor anyone else can edit or copy their affected files, or submit forms they own. Learn more

If you need more storage, review your storage options for non-Education Google Workspace editions or storage options for Education editions.

Ultimately, you are limited to the amount of storage described in our terms of service, and we reserve the right to disable uploads to Drive if you exceed your limit.

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