have email box more than 50 Gb

Question

I need around email box space for more than 150 Gb per user for some of the email id in the company . we are on basic business plan . is there any option like pooled storage that is being offered by Gmail . I would like to avoid buying the higher plans M 365 plans as they are expensive .

Answer 1

Dear @Rajeev John,

Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum.

On the Microsoft 365 Business Basic plan, each mailbox is limited to 50 GB for the primary mailbox. Unfortunately, Microsoft does not offer pooled mailbox storage similar to Gmail.

However, you can achieve more than 150 GB per user without upgrading to E3/E5 by using Exchange Online Archiving (EOA) as an add-on for those specific users who need extra space. Here’s how it works:

• Primary mailbox: Remains at 50 GB.
• Archive mailbox: Enable an archive mailbox and turn on Auto-expanding archiving.
  • You can use the Exchange Online auto-expanding archiving feature to enable additional storage space for archive mailboxes. When auto-expanding archiving is turned on, additional storage space is automatically added to a user's archive mailbox until it reaches the storage limit of 1.5 TB. You can turn on auto-expanding archiving for everyone in your organization or just for specific users. For more information about auto-expanding archiving, see Learn about auto-expanding archiving.
• Users access the archive seamlessly in Outlook or Outlook Web App, and retention policies can automatically move older emails to the archive.
• For more information: Exchange Online Archiving service description and Enable auto-expanding archiving

Important Note: Once auto‑expanding is enabled, it can’t be disabled; inactive mailbox recovery is impacted. Plan accordingly. Here are some restrictions: you need to know, before you enable auto-expanding archiving: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/purview/enable-autoexpanding-archiving#before-you-enable-auto-expanding-archiving

Moreover, I totally agree that having flexible mailbox storage options, such as pooled storage, would be extremely valuable for organizations that need more space without upgrading all users to higher-cost plans. This kind of feature could help businesses manage costs while meeting storage needs more efficiently.

Since Microsoft prioritizes features based on customer input, I strongly recommend submitting feedback directly to the Microsoft Product Team. This helps influence future roadmap decisions.

Therefore, to ensure your feedback reaches the right teams, I highly recommend submitting your feedback directly to Microsoft Ideas · Community, where our product development team can know your requirements and ideas for product improvements. If enough users raise ticket for the same idea, Microsoft may consider adding this feature in the future. 

Note: As Microsoft Community moderators, please note that we are not involved in product design decisions and do not have direct access to the development roadmap, we want to assure you that your feedback has been acknowledged and is valued.

I hope this information is helpful. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out.

Thank you for your patience and your understanding. I'm looking forward for your reply.

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Answer 2

In the Microsoft 365 Business Basic plan, the mailbox storage limit is set at 50 GB per user. Unfortunately, there is no option for pooled storage similar to what Gmail offers, and the only way to increase mailbox storage beyond this limit is to upgrade to a higher plan, such as Microsoft 365 Business Premium, which provides a 100 GB mailbox capacity and additional features.

If you need more storage, you may want to consider upgrading to a plan that meets your storage requirements or explore other solutions such as archiving emails to free up space in the primary mailbox. However, pooled storage is not available in Microsoft 365 plans.