Seamless cloud storage for Windows and Microsoft 365
Visit WebsiteThe Bottom Line
Entry price
From $1.99/mo (free plan available)
Biggest pro
Microsoft integration
Biggest con
Slower sync
TL;DR - OneDrive
- Cloud storage integrated with Microsoft 365
- Real-time collaboration on documents
- 5GB free storage with Microsoft account
What is OneDrive?
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Microsoft integration
- Good value with M365
- PC backup
Cons
- Slower sync
- Less intuitive
Ratings Across the Web
OneDrive holds an aggregate rating of 4.5 out of 5 from 12,492 reviews across Capterra, last checked March 18, 2026.
What people say
“I like that they automatically give you an allowed amount of storage without charge that practically can cover all the storage one person may need if not integrating nor using for company business storage”via Capterra
Ratings aggregated from independent review platforms. Learn more
Key Features
Pricing Plans
Free TrialPricing checked Aug 24, 2026
Free
Basic storage
- 5GB storage
- File sharing
- Mobile app
- Microsoft account
Basic
$1.99/month
Personal
- 100GB storage
- Ad-free Outlook
- Personal Vault
Personal
$6.99/month
Microsoft 365
- 1TB storage
- Office apps
- Advanced security
- Premium features
Family
$9.99/month
Up to 6 users
- 6TB total storage
- 6 users
- All Personal features
Is OneDrive worth the price?
OneDrive is the most cost-effective cloud storage option when paired with Microsoft 365, but it also stands on its own surprisingly well.
The free tier offers 5GB, below Google Drive's 15GB but enough for document backup. The real value starts at Basic ($1.99/month or $19.99/year): 100GB of storage, ad-free Outlook email, and ransomware protection.
Personal at $9.99/month includes 1TB plus the full desktop Office suite, making OneDrive storage essentially free if you need Word, Excel, and PowerPoint anyway. Family at $12.99/month gives up to 6 people 1TB each (6TB total) plus Office apps for everyone, making it the best per-person value in cloud storage.
For business users, OneDrive is bundled with every Microsoft 365 business plan at 1TB/user. The key advantage over Google Drive is deep Windows integration (File Explorer sync, Known Folder Move) and real-time co-authoring in Office desktop apps.
The key weakness: the free tier is stingy, and standalone OneDrive (without Microsoft 365) offers worse value than Google One.
Hidden Costs & Gotchas
The 5GB free tier is far below Google Drive (15GB) and iCloud (5GB with better mobile integration). You will outgrow it quickly if syncing photos or documents.
OneDrive Personal Vault (enhanced-security folder) is limited to 3 files on the free plan. Upgrading to any paid plan unlocks unlimited vault storage.
File size limit is 250GB per file, which is generous. But sync issues can occur with files over 10GB, especially on slower connections, there is no built-in resume for interrupted uploads on the desktop client.
OneDrive for Business storage cannot be expanded per-user on standard Microsoft 365 Business plans. The 1TB limit is hard, you must use SharePoint for pooled team storage or upgrade to Enterprise plans for 5TB/user.
Ransomware detection and file recovery (up to 30 days) is included on paid plans, but the free tier has no version history protection, a deleted or corrupted file is gone.
The desktop sync client can consume significant CPU and bandwidth on initial sync of large libraries. There is no built-in bandwidth throttle on macOS (Windows has one).
Microsoft 365 Basic ($1.99/month) includes 100GB mailbox storage in addition to 100GB OneDrive, but these are separate pools, not combined. You cannot use mailbox quota for file storage or vice versa.
How OneDrive Compares to Competitors
Google Drive offers 3x more free storage (15GB vs 5GB) and better cross-platform web collaboration, making it the default for personal use and Google Workspace teams. Dropbox has the best sync engine and third-party app ecosystem but costs more ($9.99/month for 2TB, no Office apps). iCloud+ is the obvious choice for Apple-only households but has poor Windows support. For Microsoft 365 subscribers, OneDrive is the clear winner, it is included at no extra cost, integrates deeply with Office apps and Windows, and offers business-grade compliance features. The main scenario where OneDrive loses: teams split across Microsoft and Google ecosystems, where Google Drive's web-first approach creates less friction for mixed environments.
How OneDrive's pricing compares
At $1.99/mo, OneDrive is the most affordable of its 3 direct competitors.
Entry paid plan, monthly. Pricing checked Aug 24, 2026.
Reviews
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OneDrive FAQ
How does OneDrive facilitate real-time collaboration?
Which teams benefit most from using OneDrive?
How does OneDrive compare to Google Drive for file synchronization?
What kind of security features does OneDrive offer for sensitive files?
What are the main trade-offs when choosing OneDrive for cloud storage?
How is OneDrive priced?
Can OneDrive be used to back up an entire PC?
Source: microsoft.com