Microsoft has changed how OneDrive cloud storage works on its household Microsoft 365 plans. New Microsoft 365 Family and Premium subscriptions now come with 2 TB of storage shared by everyone on the plan, instead of 1 TB for each person. Up to six people can use one of these plans, so a full household that could hold up to 6 TB under the old rules is now capped at 2 TB in total unless it buys more.
Existing subscribers keep the old allowance for now. Microsoft says the switch reaches them at renewal next year, but its own support pages give two different dates for it.
What Microsoft changed
Microsoft's support page on the change says: "Microsoft 365 subscriptions now use shared cloud storage instead of individual user storage quotas." Family and Premium include 2 TB of shared storage and Microsoft 365 Pro includes 5 TB. "The primary subscriber and up to five additional members draw from the same shared storage pool," the page says. Storage add-ons bought by members also go into the pool.
Files stay private. Microsoft says each member "can access only their own files unless they explicitly share content with others" and that the change affects "how storage is allocated across the subscription, not who can see your files."
Two plans are not affected. Microsoft 365 Basic keeps 100 GB for one person, and Microsoft 365 Personal keeps 1 TB for one person.
Prices stay where they were
Microsoft has not changed US list prices alongside the storage change. Its plan comparison page lists Microsoft 365 Personal at $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year, Family at $12.99 a month or $129.99 a year, and Premium at $19.99 a month or $199.99 a year, with Family and Premium now described as including "2 TB of shared, secure cloud storage". Office Watch, an independent Microsoft Office news site, reports that Microsoft 365 Pro costs $99.99 a month and is billed monthly only.
Office Watch summed up the effect on large households as "a drop from 6 TB to 2 TB at the same price." Microsoft's FAQ asks "Is this change a reduction in storage?" and answers that "total storage varies by plan" and that the shared model "gives you more flexibility". One person using a Family or Premium plan alone does gain: the whole 2 TB pool instead of 1 TB.
Key dates
- New subscriptions: the changes page says new and upgraded subscriptions include shared storage starting 8 October 2026. Microsoft's storage quotas page gives 7 October 2026, and says expired subscriptions that are bought again count as new.
- Existing Family and Premium plans: the change applies at the first renewal on or after 2 May 2027, according to the changes page. The quotas page says renewals starting 1 April 2027.
- Existing Pro plans: the quotas page says they "automatically include 5 TB of shared cloud storage" on 1 November 2027.
Microsoft says existing customers will get an email before the change reaches their plan.
The upgrade catch
Changing plan early can bring the change forward. Microsoft says: "If you're an existing subscriber and upgrade before May 2, 2027, your subscription moves to the shared storage model." Its example is moving from Family to Premium, which leaves that household with 2 TB shared. A downgrade on its own does not trigger the switch; the plan stays on its current model until it renews on or after that date.
What happens if a household is over 2 TB
Microsoft says families over the new limit "don't immediately lose access" to their files. Subscribers near the limit will get notifications, and "if your subscription exceeds the limit, you can continue to access your files for up to one year while you manage your storage." Extra storage can be bought up to a total of 10 TB.
Microsoft's general storage rules are stricter than that one-year window suggests. The quotas page says an account over quota cannot upload, edit or sync new files, that after three months over the limit "your OneDrive account is frozen", and that after six months Microsoft "might delete your OneDrive and all files in it". Microsoft has not said how the one-year allowance for shared plans fits with those rules.
Microsoft also says some existing Family and Premium customers in supported markets "might receive bonus storage" at renewal at no extra cost, and that heavy users "will receive advance notice and transition support."
What to do now
- Check the total storage used by everyone on your plan in the storage area of your Microsoft account dashboard, not just your own usage.
- If the total is over 2 TB, use the time before your renewal to delete, move or archive files, price extra storage, or move heavy users onto their own Personal plan, which keeps 1 TB each.
- Hold off on upgrading from Family to Premium unless you are sure the household fits in 2 TB, because an upgrade moves you to shared storage straight away.
- If you are choosing a cloud storage service now, price the space your household needs today and in two years. One 2 TB pool across six people is a different product from six separate 1 TB accounts.
What is still unknown
Microsoft has not said how much bonus storage eligible subscribers will get, for how long, or which markets qualify. It has not said whether a plan owner will be able to limit how much of the pool each member uses, a gap Office Watch also pointed out. Its two support pages disagree on when existing subscribers move over (1 April or 2 May 2027) and on when new subscriptions started (7 or 8 October). It has also not said what happens to files after the one-year window for a household that is still over 2 TB.
