Google Workspace: Storage Options Guide
How to proceed if your Google Drive exceeds the storage limit
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As outlined in our news article Transitioning to a Sustainable Google Workspace , the university will apply a 50 GB storage limit for Google Workspace — which includes My Drive and shared drives — starting Sept. 1, 2024. Those who exceed the 50 GB threshold but use less than 500 GB will get an extension until at least Sept. 1, 2025.
If your My Drive or shared drive exceeds Stanford's storage limit and you require more storage than what is provided by the free Google Workspace base service (50 GB), use the resources in this guide to take action.
Remember, Google Drive is just one of the storage solutions available to you. The university supports a variety of storage technologies — one of which may be better suited to your unique requirements.
View common storage solutions
Before you delve into the many offerings, consider that most people at Stanford find one of these three solutions — Oak, GCP, or AWS Glacier — the best fit for their research storage needs. It's recommended that you start by looking at these solutions. If you require a more refined solution, scroll down to access a full menu of Stanford storage technologies.
Research Computing Oak Storage
- Long-term, on-prem storage for research data
- Affordable and scalable, with tight integration to HCP resources
- Must be a PI or faculty member to purchase (not available to individual staff members or students)
- Not suitable for data that contains PII or PHI
- See Oak Storage rates
Google Cloud Platform (GCP)
- Reliable place to compute and store data
- Scalable storage with anywhere, anytime access
- Consider for long-term, unchanging archival storage with no interaction expected
- Pay only for what you use with no minimums; cost may vary substantially from month to month
- Can be used with all data types, including data with PHI
AWS S3 Glacier
- Long-term archival storage from AWS
- Good option for storing large volumes of data
- Intended for "set it and forget it," where archiving retrieval is highly unlikely and data is typically not overwritten
- Pay for what you use with no minimums
- Can be used with all data types, including data with PHI
View all storage solutions
The university provides many storage options. University IT manages some, while others are provided by third-party vendors that meet Stanford security and accessibility standards. Use these two tools to explore storage technologies based on your specific criteria.
Questions to help you choose
Click through some basic questions to get high-level guidance about which storage services are suited to your needs based on the type and amount of data you have and the features you require.
Storage Recommendations tool
Search a menu of solutions and filter options based on the parameters you enter. Click the results for more detailed information. Use the link in the top right to switch to a matrix view for an "at-a-glance" comparison of options.
Purchase more Google Drive storage
If you require space in Google Workspace in excess of the limit, you can purchase more storage in My Drive or shared drives at a rate of $0.15 per GB per year in Fiscal Year (FY) 2025. (Note: FY 2025 begins Sept. 1, 2024.)
- Details on how to order and pay for additional Google Workspace storage will be published soon.
- Orders may be placed starting Aug. 1, 2024.
Request a storage consultation
If you need help deciding where to store your data related to changes to the Google Workspace service, request a storage consultation. Our dedicated consultants will schedule a time to talk with you about your storage options.
Get support and explore other resources
Questions or support
Please read carefully, as the best way to get help depends upon the nature of the request:
- If you have feedback for the project team, please use this form to reach out.
- If you need technical support, please submit a Help request.
- If you have questions about where to store content currently in Google Workspace, please submit a storage consulting request.
Communication
- Transitioning to a Sustainable Google Workspace (Jan. 23, 2024)
- Navigating the Next Era of Google Workspace for Education (Aug. 15, 2023)
