Dataverse capacity and pricing explained: database, file and log storage, the add-ons, and when a cleanup beats buying more
Dataverse capacity is the line on a Power Platform or Dynamics 365 bill that nobody chose. It arrives with licenses, pools at the tenant, and announces itself when the admin center turns red and an environment copy fails. This guide explains the three storage types, what your tenant is entitled to, how to read the capacity page, what Microsoft restricts when you run over, the October 2026 list prices of the add-ons per GB per month, and when a cleanup beats a purchase.
Three storage types, and what lands in each
Dataverse meters three capacity types, and they are not interchangeable. Database holds every table, including system tables, plus the indexes that make search fast. File holds attachments and notes (the Attachment and AnnotationBase tables), any column of type file or image, web resources, and the tables that end in Analytics. Log holds the audit table, plug-in trace logs and elastic tables (Microsoft Learn, Dataverse capacity-based storage details, September 2026).
A PDF attached to a case costs file capacity, the cheapest type; a custom table with a million rows costs database capacity, the dearest. And every environment, with or without a database, consumes 1 GB, so an abandoned sandbox still counts.
What your tenant is entitled to: the default plus what each license adds
The Summary tab breaks entitlement into three lines: the org (tenant) default given at sign-up, the capacity added for every user license, and any additional storage you bought (Microsoft Learn, September 2026). The per-license accruals for the Power Platform plans are published (Microsoft Learn, Power Platform licensing FAQs, August 2026): Power Apps Premium and Power Automate Premium add 250 MB database and 2 GB file per user; Power Apps per app adds 50 MB and 400 MB; Power Automate per flow adds 50 MB and 200 MB; none adds log. Dynamics 365 Team Members adds nothing, which is why it is left out of the per-license breakdown (Microsoft Learn, September 2026).
The tenant default depends on which product brought Dataverse in. Microsoft's documentation states 10 GB database, 20 GB file and 2 GB log for a tenant with a qualifying Dynamics 365 or Power Apps per-user license; we could not open the current licensing guide to date that figure, so read it from the org default line on your own capacity page. Two defaults are dated: the per-app and per-flow licenses carry a 5 GB database default, raised from 1 GB in January 2021 (Microsoft Learn, Dataverse capacity-based storage overview, September 2026), and the Copilot Studio tenant license carries 5 GB database, 20 GB file and 2 GB log (Microsoft Learn, August 2026). The default environment also includes 3 GB database, 3 GB file and 1 GB log that do not count against the pool (Microsoft Learn, September 2026).
How to read the capacity page in the Power Platform admin center
Sign in to the Power Platform admin center, open Licensing, then Capacity add-ons. Five tabs appear: Summary, Dataverse, Microsoft Teams, Add-ons and Trial; only tenant admins, Power Platform admins and Dynamics 365 admins see Summary (Microsoft Learn, September 2026).
Read Summary top to bottom: three gauges, one per type; the by-source breakdown of default, user licenses and add-ons; and the environments that use the most. The Dataverse tab repeats the view per environment, and an environment's details show consumption per table, which is where a cleanup starts: a WorkflowLogBase or AsyncOperationBase table at the top of the list is history, not business data. The Dataverse page under Licenses sets prepaid entitlement against usage, flags pay-as-you-go consumption, and carries the See Dataverse capacity per license button; a storage advisor, in preview, recommends cleanups.
Three reading rules. Only default, production and sandbox environments count; trial, preview, support and developer environments do not. Reallocating capacity between environments changes distribution, not the tenant total, so it never fixes a tenant overage. And after a deletion, the report can take up to 72 hours to move (Microsoft Learn, March 2026).
What happens when you exceed capacity
Microsoft first applies cross-capacity borrowing: unused database capacity can cover a log or file overage, unused log capacity can cover a file overage, file covers nothing else, and a database overage cannot be covered at all. What remains is effective consumption, and that is what the notices and restrictions use.
Notices arrive when a type has less than 15 percent remaining, again below 5 percent, and when the tenant is over, with a weekly email while it stays over. Then the lifecycle starts. Stage 1, from the day effective consumption passes the entitlement: environment create, copy, restore and recover are blocked. Stage 2, after 30 days: sandbox environments without pay-as-you-go drop into administration mode, so only admins can enter. Stage 3, after 60 days: sign-in to those sandboxes is blocked for everyone, with the data retained. Production environments do not enter stages 2 and 3, but production work that depends on a blocked copy or restore still stops (Microsoft Learn, September 2026; Microsoft announces the rollout of the restrictions through the Message center).
Two escape routes short of a purchase or a cleanup. A capacity extension grants 25 percent of consumption for up to 45 days, at most three times in 365 days, once consumption passes 80 percent. Pay-as-you-go links an environment to an Azure subscription so overage is billed on the Dataverse meter, and a linked sandbox leaves the restriction lifecycle; that meter is your Azure charge, not part of the license.
The add-ons and their October 2026 list prices
The add-ons are tenant-level: capacity accrues to the pool and needs no per-environment allocation (Microsoft Learn, Capacity add-ons, December 2025), and Microsoft sells storage in 1 GB increments (Microsoft Learn, September 2026). Prices are Microsoft list prices, October 2026 price list, Commercial segment, annual term, per GB per month. The arithmetic once: the Dataverse Database Capacity add-on is $480.00 per GB per year ÷ 12 = $40.00 per GB per month, which matches Microsoft's Power Apps pricing page (October 2026). The Tier 2 database add-on is $30.00 per GB per month with a 1,000 GB minimum, the Dataverse File Capacity add-on $2.00, the Dataverse Log Capacity add-on $10.00. Month-to-month, the four are $48.00, $36.00, $2.40 and $12.00. Business Central environments use their own Business Central Database Capacity at $10.00 per GB per month.
Buy the type that is in deficit: file capacity cannot resolve a database deficit. Microsoft's sizing formula is required capacity = effective deficit + expected growth + operating buffer - confirmed cleanup not yet reported (Microsoft Learn, September 2026). Charity, Education and Government price lists exist on the plan pages.
A worked sizing example
Suppose a 60-person firm with 30 Power Apps Premium users and 10 Power Automate Premium users, and an org default of 10 GB database, 20 GB file and 2 GB log. The licenses add 40 × 250 MB = 10 GB database and 40 × 2 GB = 80 GB file. Entitlement: 20 GB database, 100 GB file, 2 GB log.
The capacity page shows 27 GB database, 35 GB file and 4 GB log. File has 65 GB spare but cannot lend. Database is 7 GB over and cannot borrow. Log is 2 GB over and could borrow from database, except database has nothing spare. Effective deficits: 7 GB database, 2 GB log. The tenant is in Stage 1 today.
Priced as a purchase, with Microsoft's formula and 3 GB of growth plus 2 GB of buffer on database: a 12 GB database add-on at $40.00 is $480.00 per month, $5,760.00 per year; 3 GB of log at $10.00 is $30.00 per month, $360.00 per year.
Priced as a cleanup: the per-table view shows AsyncOperationBase at 6 GB and WorkflowLogBase at 5 GB, both system job history, and audit records older than two years at 2.5 GB. Bulk deletion jobs for the first two and an audit delete for the third take the tenant to 16 GB database and 1.5 GB log, inside entitlement, and recurring jobs keep it there. The right order here is cleanup first, then a 4 GB to 5 GB database add-on next quarter if the live tables keep growing.
When a cleanup beats an add-on
Microsoft documents 15 cleanup methods by storage type (Microsoft Learn, storage cleanup methods, March 2026). Database: bulk deletion jobs for workflow logs and bulk email, suspended workflows and system jobs, duplicate detection jobs, import jobs, old bulk deletion jobs, activity tables, activity feeds, Exchange sync mappings and trace logs, plus trimming tables out of Dataverse search. File: email attachments and notes with attachments. Log: audit logs and plug-in trace logs. Deleted data cannot be restored, which is why Microsoft also offers long-term retention, which moves eligible inactive records out of active database capacity while keeping them, and why deleting an unused environment, at 1 GB each, is the easiest first step.
Our decision rule: if the deficit sits in job history, logs or old attachments, clean first; if it sits in live business tables such as accounts, cases or custom tables, buy, because deleting records people use is not a plan. Put the two numbers side by side: a 10 GB database add-on is $400.00 per month, $4,800.00 per year, for as long as you keep it. Power Platform Governance and Center of Excellence Setup ($4,950 per project, three weeks) puts the environment strategy, retention and recurring bulk deletion jobs in place once; Managed Power Platform Governance and Support ($750 per month) watches capacity exposure every month.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to allocate a Dataverse add-on to an environment?
No. Storage add-ons accrue to the tenant pool; allocation per environment is optional and only changes how the pool is distributed.
Can I use pay-as-you-go instead of buying add-ons?
Yes, per environment. Overage is billed on the Dataverse meter of the linked Azure subscription, on your Azure bill, and a linked sandbox leaves the restriction lifecycle.
Does Microsoft 365 include Dataverse capacity?
Some Microsoft 365 licenses include limited Dataverse rights for the apps that need them, and Dataverse for Teams; they do not entitle standalone custom apps on Dataverse (Microsoft Learn, Licensing overview for Microsoft Power Platform, August 2026).
Sources
- IT Partner price list, October 2026 (US), Commercial segment: Dataverse Database Capacity add-on (CFQ7TTC0LHRL, SKU 0002), Dataverse Database Capacity add-on Tier 2 (CFQ7TTC0NCD7, SKU 0003), Dataverse File Capacity add-on (CFQ7TTC0LHQ3, SKU 0001), Dataverse Log Capacity add-on (CFQ7TTC0HBSL, SKU 0001), Dynamics 365 Business Central Database Capacity (CFQ7TTC0HD3R, SKU 0001), Power Apps Premium (CFQ7TTC0LH2H), Power Automate Premium (CFQ7TTC0LSGZ)
- Microsoft Learn source files on GitHub (MicrosoftDocs/power-platform, power-platform/admin/), opened: capacity-storage.md ("Dataverse capacity-based storage details"), ms.date 09/30/2026; whats-new-storage.md, ms.date 09/29/2026; capacity-add-on.md, ms.date 12/12/2025; free-storage-space.md (the 15 cleanup methods), ms.date 03/26/2026; pricing-billing-skus.md ("Licensing overview for Microsoft Power Platform"), ms.date 08/25/2026; powerapps-flow-licensing-faq.md, ms.date 08/14/2026
- Microsoft Power Apps pricing page, opened October 2026 (Dataverse Database add-on price per GB per month)
- Not opened: Microsoft's Dynamics 365 and Power Platform licensing guides; the 10 GB, 20 GB and 2 GB tenant default is stated from Microsoft's documentation without a date
- IT Partner services: content/services/ITPWW890IMPOT and ITPWW450MSPRC
| Add-on | Per GB per year, annual term | Per GB per month (÷ 12) | Month-to-month per GB | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dataverse Database Capacity add-on | $480.00 | $40.00 | $48.00 | Fixes a database deficit; database cannot be covered by file or log |
| Dataverse Database Capacity add-on Tier 2 | $360.00 | $30.00 | $36.00 | 1,000 GB minimum purchase |
| Dataverse File Capacity add-on | $24.00 | $2.00 | $2.40 | Attachments, notes, file and image columns |
| Dataverse Log Capacity add-on | $120.00 | $10.00 | $12.00 | Audit, plug-in trace and elastic tables |
| Business Central Database Capacity | $120.00 | $10.00 | $12.00 | Business Central environments only |
Key takeaways
- Database, file and log are separate meters; database is the dearest and the only one that cannot be covered by borrowing from another type.
- Entitlement is the tenant default plus per-license accruals: 250 MB database and 2 GB file per Power Apps Premium or Power Automate Premium user, 50 MB and 400 MB per Power Apps per app license, nothing for Team Members.
- Overage blocks environment create, copy, restore and recover at once; sandboxes without pay-as-you-go go admin-only after 30 days and lock after 60.
- Add-ons at Microsoft list price, October 2026, annual term: database $40.00 per GB per month ($30.00 on the 1,000 GB Tier 2), file $2.00, log $10.00.
- Clean first when the deficit is job history, logs or old attachments; buy when it is live business tables; the per-table view in the admin center tells you which.
If the capacity page already shows a deficit, open the add-on page for the type in deficit and use the quote button: database, file or log, each at Microsoft list price. If you would rather know whether a cleanup gets you there first, Book 30 minutes with Mike with a screenshot of the Summary tab and the top five tables. For a tenant that keeps drifting into overage, Managed Power Platform Governance and Support ($750 per month) includes capacity watching in the monthly review.
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