Google Drive gives you 15 GB of free storage, shared across Gmail, Google Photos, and Google Drive itself

When you create a Google account, you get 15 gigabytes of storage at no cost. This 15 GB pool is not separate for each service — it is one bucket that Gmail, Google Photos, and Google Drive all draw from. If you store 5 GB of emails, 3 GB of photos, and 2 GB of documents, you have used 10 GB total and have 5 GB remaining across all three services combined.

How quickly you hit that limit depends on what you store. A typical email with a photo attachment is about 2 to 5 MB. A high-resolution photo from a smartphone is 3 to 8 MB. A spreadsheet or document is usually under 1 MB unless it contains many images. Video files are much larger — a one-minute video shot on a phone is typically 50 to 150 MB.

You can see exactly how much space you are using by opening Google Drive, clicking the gear icon in the top right, selecting "Settings," and then clicking "Manage storage" in the left menu. That page shows a breakdown: how much Gmail uses, how much Google Photos uses, and how much Google Drive uses.

Key Takeaways

  • Your 15 GB of free storage is shared between Gmail, Google Photos, and Google Drive — not 15 GB in each service.
  • You can check your current usage and see the breakdown by service in Google Drive settings under "Manage storage."
  • Photos and videos take up space much faster than documents or spreadsheets, especially if you shoot in high resolution.
  • Once you reach 15 GB, you cannot upload new files to any of the three services until you delete something or pay for more storage.
  • Google Photos used to offer unlimited storage at high quality, but that ended in June 2021 — photos now count toward your 15 GB limit.

What counts toward your 15 GB limit

Everything you store in Gmail, Google Photos, or Google Drive counts. That includes emails you receive (not just ones you send), attachments, photos you upload, videos, documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and any files you upload to Drive folders.

One exception: files that other people share with you do not count toward your storage. If someone shares a Google Doc with you, it counts toward their storage, not yours. If someone emails you a file, the email counts toward your storage, but if you delete it, the space frees up.

Trash also counts. When you delete a file from Google Drive or Gmail, it goes to trash and still uses storage for 30 days before Google permanently deletes it. If you are running low on space, emptying your trash can free up storage when ready.

How to check what is using your storage

Open Google Drive and click the gear icon in the top right corner. Select "Settings." In the left menu, click "Manage storage." You will see a bar showing your total usage and a breakdown showing how much each service (Gmail, Google Photos, Google Drive) is using.

To see which files in Google Drive are taking up the most space, go to Drive, click the gear icon, select "Settings," then click "Storage" in the left menu. Scroll down to "Largest items" to see your biggest files and folders. This helps you decide what to delete or move if you need to free up space.

For Gmail, you cannot see individual email sizes easily in the web version, but you can search for emails with large attachments by typing "has:attachment" in the search box. Emails with video files or high-resolution photos are usually the culprits.

What happens when you run out of space

Once you reach 15 GB, you cannot upload new files to Google Drive, send or receive emails in Gmail, or upload new photos to Google Photos. Existing files remain accessible — you can still read emails, view documents, and read photos. You just cannot add anything new.

If you are over the limit, Google sends you a warning email. You then have a grace period (usually 30 days, though Google does not publicly may provide this) to delete files or buy more storage. If you do neither, Google may restrict access to your files, though this is rare for personal accounts.

The simplest way to free up space is to delete old emails, empty your trash, or remove photos you no longer need. If you regularly hit the limit, you may want to consider Google One, which is Google's paid storage plan.

Google One: paid storage options

If 15 GB is not enough, Google One offers several paid tiers. The 100 GB plan costs $1.99 per month. The 200 GB plan costs $2.99 per month. The 2 TB plan costs $9.99 per month. These prices are current as of 2024, but Google changes pricing occasionally and by region, so check Google One directly for your location.

When you pay for Google One, the storage applies to the same pool — it adds to your 15 GB. So if you buy 100 GB, you have 115 GB total across Gmail, Google Photos, and Google Drive.

Google One also includes other benefits beyond storage: priority customer support, extended trial periods for some Google services, and discounts on Google Store products. For most people, the storage increase is the main reason to subscribe.

How to free up space without paying

Delete old emails. Search for emails older than a certain date by typing "before:2023/01/01" in Gmail search. Emails with large attachments take up the most space — search for "has:attachment" and sort by size.

Empty your trash. In Gmail, click the trash folder on the left and delete all. In Google Drive, click the trash folder and permanently delete all items. This frees up space when ready.

Remove photos you do not need. Go to Google Photos, select photos or videos you want to delete, and click the trash icon. Then go to trash and permanently delete them.

Move files to an external drive or cloud storage outside Google. You can read files from Google Drive to your computer or move them to another service like Dropbox or OneDrive. This does not free up space in Google Drive itself, but it lets you keep the files somewhere else.

Compress large files before uploading. If you have a video or large image, you can compress it on your computer before uploading to Drive. This saves space but may reduce quality.

Storage limits for shared drives and team accounts

If you use Google Workspace (the paid version for businesses), storage works differently. Each user gets their own storage limit, which is typically 30 GB per person, though this varies by plan. Shared Drives (formerly Team Drives) have their own storage pools separate from individual accounts.

For personal Google accounts, the 15 GB limit applies whether you are using Drive alone or sharing files with others. Shared files still count toward your storage unless someone else owns them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Google Photos backup count toward my 15 GB?

Yes. Google Photos used to offer unlimited storage at "high quality," but that ended on June 1, 2021. Now all photos and videos you upload to Google Photos count toward your 15 GB limit, whether you upload them at original quality or compressed quality.

If someone shares a Google Doc with me, does it use my storage?

No. Shared files count toward the owner's storage, not yours. You can view and edit them, but they do not take up space in your account. If you make a copy of a shared file, the copy then counts toward your storage.

Can I recover files from trash after 30 days?

No. Files in Google Drive trash are permanently deleted after 30 days. Gmail trash is also permanently deleted after 30 days. Once they are gone, you cannot recover them unless you have a backup elsewhere.

What is the difference between Google Drive storage and Google One?

Google Drive is the service where you store files. Google One is Google's paid storage plan that gives you more space. When you buy Google One, you are buying additional storage that works with Google Drive, Gmail, and Google Photos.

Do shared folders count toward my storage limit?

Only the files you own count toward your storage. If you create a folder and share it with others, the files in that folder count toward your storage. If someone else creates a folder and shares it with you, their files count toward their storage, not yours.