Message CenterMajor change

MC1477185Microsoft OneDrive: New pay-as-you-go storage billing option

Summary

Microsoft OneDrive introduces a pay-as-you-go storage billing option, allowing admins to let selected accounts exceed licensed storage quotas with automatic usage-based billing. Public preview is available now; general availability starts November 2026. No action is required unless opting in. Compliance impact is minimal.

More information

What and why

We are introducing a pay-as-you-go, consumption-based billing option for additional OneDrive storage. This capability gives administrators more flexibility to manage storage growth by allowing selected OneDrive accounts to exceed their licensed storage quotas when needed, while helping organizations control which users can consume additional storage beyond their licensed storage quotas. Pay-as-you-go storage is currently in public preview for commercial tenants.

Rollout schedule

  • Public Preview (Worldwide): The public preview of this feature is available now to all commercial tenants.
  • General Availability (Worldwide, GCC, GCC High, DoD): Rollout begins in early November 2026 and is expected to complete by early December 2026.

Impact on your organization

Who is affected

  • Microsoft 365 commercial tenant administrators who manage OneDrive storage.
  • Organizations with OneDrive users approaching or exceeding their licensed storage quotas.

Platforms and services

  • OneDrive
  • Microsoft 365 admin and storage management experiences

What will happen

  • Administrators will be able to control which accounts are enabled to use a pay-as-you-go model to provide additional OneDrive storage beyond their licensed storage quotas.
  • Accounts enabled for storage consumption above their licensed storage quotas will be billed automatically based on usage.

Action required and recommendations

No action is required if you do not wish to use pay-as-you-go storage for your organization. We recommend that you:

  • Identify OneDrive accounts approaching or exceeding their licensed storage quotas.
  • Evaluate whether pay-as-you-go storage is appropriate for your organization.

Learn more

Compliance considerations

No compliance considerations identified. Review as appropriate for your organization.