Sharepoint Storage Calculation

Question

Hi,

Based on the documentation SharePoint Storage should be based on my licenses, plus 1TB.

However, my dashboard is reporting a total of just over 8T.

But based on my licenses it should put me over 20TB.

• E3 licenses: 250 users
• F3 licenses: 2,000 users

Is this expected?

Answer 1

Hi @Raymond Brooks ,

Thank you for reaching out about your SharePoint storage. I understand you're seeing a difference between your expected storage (over 20 TB) and what's currently reported (just over 8 TB), and I’d be happy to help clarify. 

You're correct that SharePoint storage is generally calculated based on a combination of base storage and additional storage per qualifying licensed user. According to the SharePoint Online limits documentation, the standard allocation is: 

• Base Storage: 1 TB per organization 
• Additional Storage: 10 GB per qualifying licensed user 
• Maximum per site collection: 25 TB 

Let's apply this to your licenses: 

• Base Storage: 1 TB 
• Microsoft 365 E3 (250 users): Based on the 10 GB per purchased license rule, this adds 250×10 GB=2,500 GB (or 2.5 TB) 

Regarding Microsoft 365 F3, while the documentation mentions “10 GB per purchased license,” in practice, F3 licenses often do not contribute to the pooled SharePoint storage in the same way as E3 or E5.

Therefore, based on the base storage and E3 licenses contributing to the pooled storage, your calculation would be: 1 TB (base)+2.5 TB (from E3 users)=3.5 TB. 

This 3.5 TB is significantly lower than the "just over 8 TB" you're currently seeing on your dashboard. This discrepancy suggests that other factors are likely contributing to your total allocated storage. 

To verify your current entitlements and usage, we recommend the following steps: 

• Check Storage Usage: Go to the Microsoft 365 Admin Center > Reports > Usage > SharePoint site usage to see how storage is currently distributed across your sites. 
• Review License Details: Navigate to Billing > Your products in the Admin Center to confirm active licenses and their included services. 
• Check for Additional Storage Purchases: Carefully review all your active subscriptions for any add-ons like "Office 365 Extra File Storage," which directly increases your total tenant storage. More details are available here: Office 365 Extra File Storage. 

The calculation and guides you toward understanding your organization's exact SharePoint storage allocation. Please let us know if you find any details about add-ons or specific contract terms, and we can investigate further. 

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