Google Workspace storage

Google Workspace storage and Set storage limits and free up storage space

Google Workspace uses a pooled storage system, meaning that storage is shared across users in your organization, making it easier to manage and allocate storage across your organization. Pooled storage can be used for Google Workspace services, such as Google Drive, shared drives, Gmail, Google Chat, and Google Photos.

Your total storage amount depends on your subscription and how many licenses are in your subscription. This number is the maximum amount of storage all of your users combined can use, also known as the “Organization storage limit”. To learn more about this limit, see What are the Drive storage and file size limits? or, for Google Workspace for Education customers, see Understand storage availability and usage.

Provide customers with additional visibility, control, and insights into storage usage across users, groups, and their entire organization.

Admins should consider setting storage limits for individuals to more effectively manage storage across their organization.

New storage tools, customers can quickly and easily:

View a storage usage summary for their organization
View storage used by specific products
View the top users of storage in their organization
View and manage shared drives with the most storage used
View storage limit warnings
Access detailed reports on storage usage
Apply storage limits for individual users

What happens when users go over storage limits

If users exceed their storage quota, they can be blocked from creating Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides, among other service degradations. If your user goes over storage limits:

They can’t upload new files or images to Google Drive.
They can’t back up any photos and videos to Google Photos.
Their ability to send and receive email in Gmail will be impacted. Note: Education customers are exempt from this.
They can’t create new files in collaborative content creation apps like Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drawings, Forms, and Jamboard. Until they reduce storage use, nobody can edit or copy their affected files or submit forms owned by the user.
They can’t record new meetings in Google Meet.

Note: Users over storage quota can still sign in to and access their Google Workspace account and view and download files. Buy more seats