How to Check Storage Space in SharePoint Online? A Step By Step Guide

As we already know how SharePoint Online is streamlining the organization’s workflow due to this it is the first choice of the organizations to manage the documents and sites. Because of managing multiple sites, sometimes admins forget to check the storage of the sites which can further create performance and other issues. 

So,  despite just using its enormous benefits, it is also essential to keep an eye on your storage metric to ensure the proper functioning of the SharePoint sites.

In this guide, we will find out how to check storage space in SharePoint Online to ensure the error-free functioning of SharePoint Online. The proper roadmap is also discussed to get rid of the SharePoint Online storage issues.

Why You Should View Storage Metrics in SharePoint Online?

There are different reasons to check the storage metrics in SharePoint Online. Some of them are as follows:-

1. Microsoft offers different subscription plans that vary according to the user’s requirements. If your account’s Storage is exceeding, then you need to pay extra charges.
2. You need to manage the SharePoint storage for the efficient functioning of the SharePoint sites.
3. To Fulfill the compliance necessities in the organizations, it is also mandatory to view and manage the SharePoint Online storage.
4. Keeping an eye on the SharePoint storage metrics helps you to know the essential storage for SharePoint. It will help you in scaling whenever required.

Check the Storage Quota Assigned to Your Organization

Before going into a deep dive into the storage of SharePoint, let’s take a look at the complete SharePoint storage structure of your organization.

1. Launch Your SharePoint Admin Center with the appropriate credentials.
2. Identify the Settings icon and open it.
3. Go to the Usage section.
4. Now, monitor the whole details of the storage: current usage or remaining storage. 

How to Check Storage Space in SharePoint Online Using the Admin Center of a Site?

Go with the below steps to determine the storage usage of SharePoint sites.

• Step 1. Sign in to SharePoint Online via the Admin credentials.
• Step 2. Open the SharePoint Admin Center and click on Active Sites.
• Step 3. Pick your site and open the URL.
• Step 4. Now, select the Site Contents option and then Site Settings.

• Step 5. Under the Site Collection Administration, choose the Storage Metrics option.

• Step 6. Now, you can view all of the details of the storage and gather the needed information.

How to Check Site Storage in SharePoint Online Using Windows PowerShell?

Let’s see how Windows PowerShell helps to check the storage space of the SharePoint sites.

Step 1. Open the Windows PowerShell as an administrator.

Step 2. Next, execute the below command.

$details = Get-Credential

Provide the username and password in the opened dialog box.

Step 3. Import the Windows PowerShell module by executing the below command.

Import-Module Microsoft.Online.SharePoint.PowerShell

Step 4. Set up a connection between the SharePoint Online and PowerShell module.

Connect-SPOService -Url https://”username”-admin.sharepoint.com -credential $details

Step 5. Lastly, run the below command to know the storage of SharePoint.

Get-SPOSite

How to Check Storage of Document Library in SharePoint Online?

So, let’s find out how to check storage space in SharePoint Online of a particular library.

Step 1. Open the Site and then move to the document library.

Step 2. Hit on Settings and Library Settings.

Step 3. Open the Storage Usage section.

Step 4. Now, you can view all the details such as the total size of the library, versions, etc.

If you find the storage quota is about to exceed, then you can go copy document library from one site to another. 

Steps to View Storage Metrics of Lists in SharePoint Online

Step 1. After opening the SharePoint site where the List is located, Hit Settings.

Step 2. Now choose the List Settings option.

Step 3. Open the Storage Usage.

Step 4. Now, check the item’s size, versions, metadata, etc.

The SharePoint lists start taking up more space whenever they are used at an alarming rate. So, if you find your SharePoint lists become bulkier, then you can move items from one SharePoint list to another.

How to Apply SharePoint Online Storage Settings?

So, after knowing how to check storage space in SharePoint Online of lists, libraries, and sites. It’s time to look for the setting that you can use to manage SharePoint Online storage. 

SharePoint supports a centralized pool to allocate the storage to the sites. It is used to reduce manual intervention to allocate the storage to the SharePoint sites.

In the Automatic option, SharePoint allocates 25TB to each SharePoint site. But after a while when the SharePoint site requires more storage then, it is managed by the SharePoint or Global administrators.

Follow the below steps to assign the storage to the SharePoint sites manually.

1. SharePoint Admin Center and then Open Settings.

2. Click on Site Storage limits and enable the Manual option.

3. Press the Save option. Now go to Active Sites.

4. Select the Site and then click on the Storage option.

5. In the change storage limit, provide the maximum storage and then Save.

How to Optimize SharePoint Online Storage?

Deleting Unnecessary Files:

• Monitor your SharePoint files regularly to distinguish between outdated or unused files.
• Delete the unnecessary files from SharePoint to free up storage space.
• Use SharePoint’s search filter to identify the irrelevant files.

Managing Document Versions:

• Apply the versioning policies for managing the document versions.
• Remove the older versions.
• Configure retention periods for essential documents.

Setting Storage Quotas:

• Establish storage quotas to manage large lists and libraries in SharePoint Online.
• Monitor the assigned quota and modify it as per requirement.

Utilizing Storage Analytics:

• Incorporates SharePoint’s built-in storage analytics tools to analyze the storage.
• Identify the usage patterns and optimize them to get the best out of them.

How to Address SharePoint Online Storage Space Limitations?

There are many scenarios when you need to assign storage to SharePoint sites, lists, and libraries. But as we are already aware of the Microsoft 365 plans. There is a limit on the storage of its apps according to the plans. So, to cut out the extra storage expenses and overcome the storage limitation, you can use the the Industrial Oriented SharePoint Migration Tool.

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By using this tool, you can perform SharePoint tenant to tenant migration and use the SharePoint’s storage more optimally. These are the simple steps that you can follow to accomplish the task.

• Step 1. Run the tool and select O365 for both platforms.
• Step 2. Enable the Sites option from the workload selection.
• Step 3. Enter Office 365 admin credentials.
• Step 4. Map the Source and Destination users.
• Step 5. And, Start Migration.

Conclusion

In this detailed write-up, we have elaborated on the common query of how to check storage space in SharePoint Online. We have discussed different approaches that you can use to check the storage metrics of SharePoint Online. Now it completely depends upon you to choose which method as per your need. In addition, we have also elaborated on the steps that you can take to optimize or address the SharePoint Online storage issues. Hence the query is resolved. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: Should I check my SharePoint Online storage usage regularly?

A: It’s recommended to check your SharePoint Online storage regularly if you are handling large data.

Q2: What are the challenges that I will face if I exceed my SharePoint storage limit?

A: After exceeding the storage limit, you might face performance issues.

Q3: Can I buy more storage to increase my SharePoint Online storage quota?

A: Yes, you can increase storage as per requirement by Microsoft.