SharePoint Storage Costs: The £200/Month Problem No One Talks About

Most organizations don't realize they're paying a premium for SharePoint storage until they hit the limits. Here's the breakdown that will make your finance team wince.

The Real Cost of SharePoint Storage

SharePoint Online storage costs approximately £225 per TB per month. For comparison:

Why the Price Difference?

SharePoint storage includes premium features like:

• Version history and metadata indexing
• Advanced search capabilities
• Workflow integration
• Compliance and retention policies

But here's the thing: not all your files need these premium features. Design files, media assets, and archived documents often just need basic storage and occasional access.

The Hidden Costs

Beyond the base storage cost, SharePoint adds:

• Version overhead - Each file version counts toward your storage limit
• Sync limitations - OneDrive struggles with large files and high file counts
• User frustration - Slow syncing leads to productivity losses

When Does It Make Sense to Switch?

Consider alternatives to SharePoint storage when:

• You have large media files (videos, high-res images, design files)
• Your storage needs exceed 1TB
• Files are accessed occasionally rather than daily
• You don't need SharePoint's collaboration features for those files

The Solution

The ideal approach is hybrid: keep collaborative documents in SharePoint, but move bulk storage to Azure Blob Storage while maintaining a familiar interface for users.

This gives you the best of both worlds - SharePoint's collaboration features where you need them, and cost-effective blob storage for everything else.