Is Google Drive Unlimited Storage?

With over a billion users as of 2018, it’s no doubt that Google Drive is the go-to cloud storage service at the moment. Google Drive has become a favorite for virtual teams with its versatile collaborative features.

Whether you are working alone or as a team member, Google Drive’s tools and functionalities have increased work efficiency for many users.

Google Drive lets users save important files securely to the cloud. It also allows users to access the files from other devices anywhere on the internet.

One of its most valuable functions for collaborations is the smooth integration with other cloud-native apps by Google, such as Google Slides, Docs, and Sheets.

Products and services on Google workspace are also embedded into Google Drive, thus making it a super all-in-one tool.

Most files or products that teams collaborate on would be stored in the cloud to facilitate access. And these files take up space in the available storage. However, just how much of your files can Google Drive take?

Is Google Drive unlimited storage? Well, as you might guess, Google Drive is a bit like a traditional hard drive- but an online one. So, depending on the storage capacity, storage space might run out. But just how and when will storage run out?

What Is the Maximum Capacity of Google Drive?

If you are among the over 1.5 billion active Google account users globally, you already have some storage space accrued to you.

Each Google account comes with a designated 15 gigabytes of storage available, and this is probably the most generous free storage allowance amongst the more popular cloud storage services.

The storage available on your Google Drive is shared between three major Google products.

These are Google Photos, Google Drive, and Gmail. However, not every single file in your Drive counts towards storage.

Some of the files that take up space in your Drive include Google Drive files (Documents, images, videos, audios), files on Google Drive Trash, media files on Google Photos backed up in their original quality, and email messages on Gmail, including attachments.

Media files on Google Photos backed up in high quality and express quality also consumes some space (from June 2021).

However, a couple of items present in your Drive do not count towards storage. Shared files, for example, only take up storage space in the Drive of the original owner. You can view them, but they don’t consume any of your space.

Also, media files on your Google Photos backed up in high quality before June 2021 and haven’t been modified since then don’t take up any space.

Lastly, Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drawing files created before June 2021 and have not been modified after June 2021 do not eat up space.

So, to answer the question of maximum capacity, Google offers every user 15 gigabytes of free storage. But, can the storage capacity be enlarged? Is there any possibility of an unlimited storage capacity for Drive?

As of June 1, 2021, Google Drive ceased to offer “unlimited storage” to users. Google Drive’s former unlimited storage offer meant that media files on Google Photos stored in high quality would not count towards storage.

Only files stored in original quality on the cloud took up from the free storage space. Also, certain files such as Google Sheets files and Google Doc files did not previously count towards storage.

However, Google announced that effective from June 1, 2021, all of these files would begin to count towards storage. The only exception would be for files already existing before that date.

However, older files that meet the new criteria to take up space would not, if they are left unmodified after June 2021. Pixel users are also exempt from this particular storage rule and thus can backup photos in high quality without taking up available space.

There are currently over 4 trillion photos backed up on Google’s servers worldwide. And for the high demand for storage in recent times, Google stated that these recent storage policy changes are to “keep pace with growing demand.”

So, it has become very likely to run low on your Drive storage space. So what then happens when we run out of space?

What Happens if Storage Space Runs Out in Google Drive?

Based on available data, Google has stated that more than 70% of its users will not exhaust the 15-gigabyte cap in three years.

While this might be the fact, you might still find yourself running out of space sooner. When your Google Drive storage space runs out, there are some actions that you would no longer be able to carry out.

For instance, you would no longer send or receive email messages on your Gmail. You would also no longer upload new files to your Drive. Google Photos features will also be frozen, and you might no longer be able to sync files among your devices.

Moreover, all your files shared through Google Drive will no longer be edited or copied by you or your collaborators. This will be a nightmare if you rely on Drive for most of your activities.

Also, Google stated in June 2021 that users who go beyond their storage quota for a period of two years or longer might have their files and content removed by Google.

Therefore, it is advisable that you first try to free up space to return to below your quota to avoid losing files. There are a few ways to ensure that you do not run out of storage space too soon. However, how would you know how much storage space you have left?

How to Check Google Drive Storage Usage

To check your storage status on the Google Chrome browser, follow these steps:

Login to your Google account.
Click on the account profile icon on the top right corner of any Google page.
Among the options, click on “Manage your Google account.”
At the top of the page, search for the “Account storage” option on the search bar. Click on it to see how much storage you’ve used up.

Alternatively, you can go to your Google One account at one.google.com/storage on your PC or mobile browser.

There, you will find a breakdown of your storage usage. Also, you could access your Google Photos on the web at photos.google.com, then click on the hamburger button at the top left. You will find your storage usage at the bottom of the hamburger menu.

You can also check how much storage space you have left on drive.google.com. Just click on the hamburger button. You will find your storage status at the bottom of the menu.

Owing to how many file types now count towards storage, you might find that you are running out of space. So, what happens when you discover you’re dangerously low on storage space? Here are a few tips to free up storage space on your Google Drive.

How to Free up Space on Google Drive

As stated earlier, not every file on your Google Drive counts towards storage. So, deleting just any file does not guarantee that your storage would free up. Here are a few ways to free up your Google Drive storage.

How to Free up Google Drive Space on Android

Launch the Google One app or website
Tap on Storage
Click on “Free up storage”
Make a selection of the files you want to delete. You can sort the files by size or other criteria by tapping on “Filter.”
After making your selection, tap the “Delete” icon.

Note that files deleted will remain in the trash folder for 30 days and, thus, would still be taking up storage space. To remove it permanently, go to your trash folder and clear it.

How to Free up Google Drive Space on Your PC

Enter the Google One website.
Click on the “Free up account storage” under the “Get your Space back” option
Choose the category you want to delete from and click on “Review and Free.”
Select the files you want to delete. You can also sort through the files using the “Filter” option.
Click on the “Delete” icon
Click on “Permanently delete.”

Sometimes, however, as much as you try to, you might inevitably still need extra storage space for your files. Especially now that several more kinds of files use up the Drive storage. You would need to expand your storage by purchasing extra storage space from Google in such a case. You can buy additional storage within the Google Drive app or upgrade to Google One.

How to Purchase Google More Drive Storage

Even though Google Drive comes with a generous 15 GB cloud space, users have an option to expand it.

Google One is a subscription-based expandable storage service provided by Google. It was made distinct from the Google Drive paid services so that several other Google services can use its functionalities.

The service was announced in 2018 and provided different subscription plans for users. However, the raw storage for the Google One service is inaccessible to users. Media files, emails, and other files can only be added and removed from their respective Google applications (Photos, Gmail and Drive).

Upgrading to Google One increases your storage space to 100 gigabytes or more, depending on the plan you subscribe to.

The subscription plans available for Google One users include the 100GB plan, the 200GB plan, 2TB plan, 5TB plan, 10TB plan, 20TB plan, and 30TB plan.

How Much Is Unlimited Storage on Google Drive?

While the 100GB to 2TB plan is available for both monthly and annual subscriptions, the higher storage plans have only a monthly subscription plan available. As stated earlier, unlimited storage is available for users of Google Workspace Enterprise editions.

Former G-Suite users with the G-Suite Business plan could store files in Drive with no limits on the storage space. Since Google rebranded G-Suite to Google Workspace, unlimited Google Drive storage space is available only to Enterprise subscribers.

On its website, Google describes the storage cap for Enterprise users as “as much as you need.” However, they do not list any actual pricing on the website.

The prices for the other expanded storage are as follows:

100GB (Basic) – $1.99 per month (or $19.99 annually)
200GB (Standard) – $2.99 per month (or $29.99 annually)
2TB (Premium) – $9.99 per month (or $99.99 annually)
5TB – $24.99 per month (or $249.99 annually)
10TB – $49.99 per month
20TB – $99.99 per month
30TB – $149.99 per month

As stated earlier, unlimited storage is available for users of Google Workspace, subscribed to the Enterprise editions. Unlimited storage is also available to users of Google’s G-Suite for Education.

There are two Enterprise plans- the Enterprise plan and the Enterprise Plus plan. Although the prices are not readily available on the Google website, further inquiry reveals that the monthly subscriptions per user are $20 and $30, respectively.

Google One has the option of sharing your Google Drive storage space with as many as five family members at no additional cost.

Conclusion

We have all benefited from Google Drive’s free storage. The convenience brought by such cloud services has made it popular with ordinary users and professionals alike.

The answer to the question “Is Google Drive unlimited storage?” depends on how much you’re willing to spend. While many would probably live all their lives never reaching the free 15 GB cap, many others would, of course, require upgrades sooner or later.

If you require bigger storage space on Drive, Google One offers robust plans to help you expand your Google Drive storage space. These plans stated above also come with many other benefits. If you have to opt for the unlimited plan option, you have the pricey option of subscribing to an Enterprise plan on Google One.

All in all, Google Drive does offer an unlimited storage option. However, it is not free.