How to Cancel OneDrive Premium (Microsoft 365) in 2026 — Keep Your Files

OneDrive Premium storage is bundled with Microsoft 365 ($6.99-$9.99/month). Canceling means losing both 1TB of cloud storage AND access to Word, Excel, and PowerPoint desktop apps. Here's the safe way to cancel without losing files.

⚠️ First: Download Your Files

When your subscription ends, OneDrive storage drops from 1TB to 5GB. If you're over 5GB:

• You can't upload new files or sync changes
• Existing files are not deleted immediately — Microsoft gives you 12 months
• After 12 months over quota, Microsoft may delete files to bring you under 5GB

Download everything you need:

1. Go to onedrive.live.com
2. Select all files → Download (downloads as ZIP)
3. Or use the OneDrive desktop app — everything in your OneDrive folder is already on your computer if sync is enabled

How to Cancel Microsoft 365 / OneDrive

1. Go to account.microsoft.com/services
2. Find Microsoft 365 (or OneDrive standalone)
3. Click Manage
4. Click Cancel subscription or Turn off recurring billing
5. Click through the retention screens (Microsoft will offer discounts and show what you're losing)
6. Confirm cancellation

The Retention Gauntlet

Microsoft makes cancellation deliberately confusing:

• Screen 1: "Here's everything you'll lose" (scary list)
• Screen 2: Discounted offer (often 50% off for a few months)
• Screen 3: "Are you really sure?"
• Screen 4: Final confirmation

Keep clicking "Cancel" or "Confirm cancellation" through each screen.

What You Lose

• 1TB → 5GB storage — the biggest impact
• Desktop Office apps — Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook go to read-only mode
• 60 Skype minutes/month
• Advanced security features (Personal Vault, ransomware recovery)
• Family sharing (if on Family plan)

What You Keep (Free)

• 5GB OneDrive storage
• Office web apps — Word, Excel, PowerPoint online at office.com (free, always)
• Outlook.com email — your email address and inbox stay
• OneNote — always free
• Microsoft account — not deleted

Free Alternatives

• Google Drive (15GB free) — 3x more free storage than OneDrive, plus Google Docs/Sheets/Slides
• iCloud (5GB free) — best for Apple ecosystem; 50GB for just $0.99/month
• Google Docs/Sheets (free) — fully replaces Word and Excel for most people
• LibreOffice (free) — desktop Office suite, opens all Microsoft formats, no subscription
• Proton Drive (1GB free) — encrypted cloud storage from Proton

OneDrive Standalone vs Microsoft 365

Make sure you know which product you have:

• Microsoft 365 Personal ($6.99/month) — 1TB OneDrive + Office desktop apps + 1 user
• Microsoft 365 Family ($9.99/month) — 1TB per person × 6 users + Office apps
• OneDrive Standalone 100GB ($1.99/month) — just storage, no Office apps

If you only need storage, the standalone plan is much cheaper. If you only need Office, the web apps are free.

Refund Policy

• Microsoft offers a full refund within 30 days of purchase/renewal for unused subscriptions
• After 30 days: prorated refund at Microsoft's discretion
• Contact support.microsoft.com for refund requests