Google Drive Pricing in 2026: Every Plan Compared
Founder and CEO, The Drive AI
TL;DR: Google Drive is free up to 15 GB, shared with Gmail and Google Photos. For more space on a personal account you buy a Google One plan: in the US, as of October 2026, Google AI Plus is $4.99 a month with 400 GB and Google AI Pro is $19.99 a month with 5 TB. For a business, Google Workspace charges per user: $7, $14 or $22 a month on an annual commitment for Business Starter, Standard and Plus, with 30 GB, 2 TB and 5 TB of pooled storage per user.
Disclosure: The Drive AI publishes this guide and makes software that works inside a Google Drive. It is not a Google product and does not sell Google storage. Every price below was read from Google's own pages in October 2026, in US dollars, before tax. Google changes prices and runs promotions, and plans differ by country, so check the page before you buy.
How much does Google Drive cost?
Google Drive costs nothing up to 15 GB. Past that, you pay Google for storage, not for Drive itself: a personal account upgrades through a Google One plan, and a business pays per user for Google Workspace. Drive, Gmail and Google Photos draw on the same allowance, so the plan you need depends on all three.
There are two price lists:
- Google One (one.google.com/about/plans) is for a personal Google account, the kind that ends in @gmail.com. You pay a monthly or yearly fee for more storage, and the higher tiers add Gemini features.
- Google Workspace (workspace.google.com/pricing) is for an organization with its own domain. You pay per user, each user gets a business email address, and the admin controls the accounts.
What is free on Google Drive?
Every Google Account gets 15 GB of storage at no cost. Google's plans page says it is included with all Google Accounts, and its help center lists what draws on it: files in Drive, Gmail messages and attachments (Spam and Trash included), and original-quality photos and videos in Google Photos. There is no separate free allowance for Drive alone.
Photos and email attachments usually fill it first. If you only keep documents, the free tier may be all you need.
What do the Google One plans cost?
As of October 2026, Google's US subscription page (gemini.google/subscriptions) lists these personal plans, each with storage shared across Gmail, Drive and Photos:
- Google AI Plus: $4.99 a month, 400 GB, plus more Gemini usage than the free tier and Gemini in Gmail and Vids.
- Google AI Pro: $19.99 a month, 5 TB, with Gemini's Pro model, Gemini in Gmail, Docs and Vids, YouTube Premium Lite and Google Home Premium (Standard).
- Google AI Ultra: from $99.99 a month, or $199.99 a month for the higher usage tier, with storage starting at 20 TB.
The Google One plans page also lists a Basic plan with 100 GB that can be shared with up to 5 other people. When we loaded that page in October 2026 it served Canadian prices only, so this guide does not quote a US price for Basic; check the page from your own account.
Two things to know before you compare these:
- Plans and storage vary by country. The Canadian version of the same page in October 2026 showed Google AI Plus with 2 TB, not 400 GB. Read the page in your own region.
- Google One AI Premium is no longer listed. The plans page in October 2026 shows no plan by that name. The Gemini plans are now named Google AI Plus, Pro and Ultra.
What does Google Workspace cost?
Google Workspace charges per user, per month. As of October 2026, the US pricing page lists these prices with a one-year commitment, which it says saves 16%:
| Plan | Price per user per month (annual) | Storage per user | Users |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business Starter | $7 | 30 GB, pooled | Up to 300 |
| Business Standard | $14 | 2 TB, pooled | Up to 300 |
| Business Plus | $22 | 5 TB, pooled | Up to 300 |
| Enterprise | Contact sales | 5 TB, more on request | No minimum or maximum |
The page says prices do not include tax, and that storage is pooled: it is shared across the organization rather than locked to each person. A 10-person team on Business Standard has one shared pool, so a heavy user can draw on space a light user does not need.
Annual versus flexible. The page shows the annual price and says the annual commitment saves 16%. The month-to-month (flexible) plan costs more per user; the page we loaded did not show its price, so check it at checkout. Flexible lets you add and remove users each month without a contract.
Promotions. In October 2026 the page advertised up to 50% off the first three months for new customers, and noted the introductory price applies to the first 20 users. There is also a 14-day free trial. Budget for the standard price, not the promotion.
What does each Workspace plan add besides storage?
The tiers differ in more than storage. According to the US pricing page as of October 2026:
- Business Starter: a custom business email address, Gemini in Gmail, video meetings for 100 participants, and security and management controls.
- Business Standard: everything in Starter, plus meeting recording and 150 participants, appointment booking pages, eSignature in Docs and PDFs, Gemini in Gmail, Docs and Meet, and a migration tool.
- Business Plus: everything in Standard, plus Vault for retention and eDiscovery, 500 meeting participants, and stronger endpoint and security controls.
For most small teams the real decision is Starter or Standard. Starter's 30 GB per user fills quickly if people keep video or design files in Drive. Plus matters when you need to retain and search records for legal or compliance reasons.
Google Drive plans compared
All prices as of October 2026, US dollars, before tax, from Google's own pages.
| Plan | Who it is for | Price | Storage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | Any Google Account | $0 | 15 GB, shared with Gmail and Photos |
| Google One Basic | Personal | US price not shown to us | 100 GB |
| Google AI Plus | Personal | $4.99 a month | 400 GB |
| Google AI Pro | Personal | $19.99 a month | 5 TB |
| Google AI Ultra | Personal | From $99.99 a month | From 20 TB |
| Business Starter | Business, per user | $7 a month, annual | 30 GB pooled |
| Business Standard | Business, per user | $14 a month, annual | 2 TB pooled |
| Business Plus | Business, per user | $22 a month, annual | 5 TB pooled |
| Enterprise | Business, per user | Contact sales | 5 TB, more on request |
If you are weighing Google against other providers, Google Drive vs OneDrive vs Dropbox compares the three on storage, sharing and security, and Google Drive vs Dropbox goes deeper on that pair.
What counts against Google Drive storage?
According to Google's help center as of October 2026, your storage holds:
- Files in Google Drive, including PDFs, images and videos.
- Gmail messages and attachments, including Spam and Trash.
- Photos and videos backed up to Google Photos in original quality.
- Google Docs, Sheets and Slides files created or edited after June 1, 2021, plus Meet recordings and Android backups.
What does not count: Docs, Sheets and Slides files last edited before June 1, 2021, and photos backed up in High or Express quality before that date. A file in a folder someone shared with you counts against the owner's storage, never yours.
If you go over, Google says you cannot upload to Drive or back up to Photos, and Gmail may stop sending and receiving. If an account stays over its limit for two years or more, Google may delete its content, after at least three months' notice. Before you upgrade, try the Google Drive storage full checklist. The space is often in Gmail or Photos.
What do you get for the money beyond storage?
On personal plans the extra is mostly Gemini. The Google AI tiers buy higher usage limits in the Gemini app, Gemini inside Gmail and Docs, and on Pro and Ultra, bundled services such as YouTube Premium. If you only want space, the lowest tier that holds your files is the right one.
On Workspace you are buying a managed business account: email on your own domain, accounts the organization controls rather than each person, security and management controls for the admin, and on Standard and above, meeting recording and eSignature. That is why a Workspace seat costs more than a Google One plan of the same size.
What neither price list buys is organization. Drive stores files where they are put and finds them by name and content, but it does not rename a scan called IMG_2041.pdf, file an invoice into the right client folder, or clean up a shared drive several people have filled. That is the gap tools like The Drive AI work in: it connects to an existing Google Drive on the Max and Team plans, and its agent renames and files on request, shows the plan first, and can undo it. Your storage stays with Google either way.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Google Drive free?
Yes, up to 15 GB. Every Google Account includes 15 GB at no cost, shared across Google Drive, Gmail and Google Photos. You only pay when your files, email and photos together need more, either through a Google One plan for a personal account or a Google Workspace subscription for a business.
How much is 2 TB of Google Drive storage?
It depends on the plan and country. In the US as of October 2026, Google Workspace Business Standard includes 2 TB of pooled storage per user at $14 a month on an annual plan. The US personal plans listed on Google's subscription page jump from 400 GB on AI Plus to 5 TB on AI Pro.
Is Google One the same as Google Drive?
No. Google Drive is the file storage app. Google One is the subscription that adds storage to a personal Google Account, shared across Drive, Gmail and Photos, with Gemini features on the higher tiers. Business accounts do not use Google One; their storage comes with each Google Workspace user license.
Does Google Workspace storage belong to each user?
No, it is pooled. Google's pricing page says Workspace storage is flexible pooled storage shared across the organization: 30 GB per user on Business Starter, 2 TB on Standard and 5 TB on Plus. A team's total is the per-user amount times the number of users, and anyone can use the shared pool.
Do shared files count against my Google Drive storage?
No. Google's help center says a file in a shared folder counts only against the storage of its owner, never the person it was shared with. If you copy a shared file into your own Drive, the copy is yours and counts against your storage.
What is the cheapest way to get more Google Drive storage?
For a personal account, the lowest Google One tier sold in your country, which may be Basic or Google AI Plus. Share it with family to split the cost. For a business, Business Starter is cheapest per user, but its 30 GB pooled allowance suits email and documents, not large media files.
Pick the Google plan that fits how much you store, then keep what is in it findable. If your Drive has grown faster than its folders, The Drive AI works inside the Drive you already pay for: ask it to sort a folder, review the plan, and undo anything you do not want.
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