Microsoft 365 backup

Microsoft keeps your data running. Keeping it recoverable is your job.

Recycle bins and version history cover a few weeks of mistakes. A deleted leaver, a ransomware-encrypted library or a mailbox wiped by an attacker needs a real backup. Here is what Microsoft keeps, what its own backup service covers and costs, and when a separate backup is worth it.

Retention periods and pricing from Microsoft Learn, checked 30 October 2026.

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What Microsoft keeps
Native backup cost in AUD
Third-party compared

Reviewed by Blake Bath, General Manager, on 30 October 2026.

A smiling office manager on the phone at a real estate agency desk while an IT technician works on a laptop beside her, with property keys on hooks behind them. — **The windows that matter**93 days for deleted files. 14 days by default for deleted email. 30 days for a deleted user.

When it matters

Four days you will want a backup.

None of these are covered for long by recycle bins alone.

Someone deletes the wrong thing

A folder emptied, a library cleaned up, a recycle bin purged. Found two months later.

93 days in the recycle bins
Then it is gone
Backup goes further

Microsoft 365 Backup estimate

What Microsoft's own backup would cost for your tenant.

Enter your users and how much data you hold. The estimate uses Microsoft's list price per GB, converted to Australian dollars.

Estimate what Microsoft's own backup would cost. It is billed by the gigabyte you protect, not per user.

UsersAverage mailbox size, GBInclude online archives. The admin centre usage reports show this.Average OneDrive size, GBTotal SharePoint and Teams files, GBDeleted and old versions held, % extraDeleted and versioned content kept for recovery is billed too. 10% is a starting guess.

Microsoft 365 Backup, estimated

A$229a month, about A$9 a user

A$2,742 a year for about 1,073 GB.

Microsoft lists US$0.15 per GB per month, converted at the RBA rate of 0.7040 on 30 October 2026. Billed through Azure, so the AUD amount moves with the exchange rate.
Deleting files does not cut the bill straight away. Deleted content stays billable until it ages out of the recovery window.
Covers Exchange, OneDrive and SharePoint only. Not Teams chats, Entra ID or tenant settings.

Compare with a managed backup

Built in

What Microsoft keeps without a backup.

What	How long	Who can restore
SharePoint and OneDrive deleted files	93 days across both recycle bins	Users and site admins
Whole SharePoint site, after deletion	93 days, then Microsoft support for 14 more days	SharePoint admin, then Microsoft
Deleted email	14 days by default, up to 30	Users, then admins
Deleted user account	30 days	Microsoft 365 admin
Previous file versions	Per library version settings	Users

Retention policies and holds can keep content longer for legal or records reasons, but they are not a restore tool. They preserve, they do not roll back.

Microsoft's paid service

Microsoft 365 Backup: what it covers.

Exchange, OneDrive and SharePointProtected per mailbox, OneDrive account or SharePoint site. Teams files are covered through SharePoint. Teams chats, Entra ID and tenant settings are not.
Recovery window of 3, 6, 12 or 24 monthsSet per policy. Existing policies default to one year. Shortening a window has a 30-day grace period before old points are deleted.
Restore points every 10 minutesFor the last two weeks for sites and OneDrive, then weekly. Exchange keeps 10-minute points for the whole window.
Fast bulk restoresMicrosoft publishes restore speeds of hundreds of sites or mailboxes an hour, which suits a ransomware recovery.
File and folder restoreGranular restore for SharePoint is generally available, as well as whole sites and accounts.
Whole-workload protection (preview)Since September 2026 it can protect new sites, OneDrive accounts or mailboxes automatically, with exclusions.

Billed at US$0.15 per GB per month of protected content through Azure, including deleted and versioned items held for recovery. Restores are free.

A separate copy

When a third-party backup makes sense.

	Microsoft 365 Backup	Third-party cloud-to-cloud
Where the copy lives	Inside Microsoft's service, in your tenant's region	The vendor's storage, outside your tenant
Who can delete it	Your tenant admins, with deletion safeguards	A separate admin account with the vendor
What it covers	Exchange, OneDrive, SharePoint	Varies. Some add Teams, Groups, Planner, Entra ID
How you pay	Per GB protected, through Azure	Usually per user, through your provider
Restore speed at scale	Published, built for bulk recovery	Depends on the vendor and data size

Ask any vendor for its inclusion and exclusion list. Datto, for example, documents that SaaS Protection does not back up one-to-one Teams chats.

Our view

Keep at least one copy that a stolen admin account cannot delete.

For managed clients we use ConnectWise's cloud-to-cloud backup, which keeps the copy in the vendor's cloud under separate administration. That means an attacker who takes over a Microsoft 365 admin account still cannot remove the backup.

Microsoft 365 Backup is a good addition for larger tenants that need fast, large-scale restores. Whichever you choose, test restores on a schedule: a file, a mailbox and a leaver, with the time each took written down. A green backup report is not the same as a restore that worked.

Getting it right

A Microsoft 365 backup plan in five steps.

Step 1List what matters
Mailboxes, sites, OneDrives, shared mailboxes and leavers to keep.
Step 2Set the window
How far back you need to go, within your records and privacy duties.
Step 3Choose the copy
Native, third-party, or both, based on who could delete it.
Step 4Lock down admin
Separate backup admins, MFA and deletion safeguards.
Step 5Test restores
A file, a mailbox and a whole site, timed and recorded.

Related guides

Backup is half of it. Recovery is the other half.

Plan the restore before you need it.

Get help your way

Six ways to reach us. Pick whichever suits you.

Helpdesk hours are Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm AEST. On Advantage and above, emergencies get a response within 1 hour and outages within 2, with 24/7 best-effort escalation.

Questions

What people ask about Microsoft 365 backup.

Does Microsoft back up my Microsoft 365 data?

Not in the way most people mean. Microsoft keeps the service running and gives you recycle bins and version history for a limited time: 93 days for SharePoint and OneDrive deletions, and 14 days by default for deleted email, up to 30. After that, deleted content is gone unless you have a backup. Microsoft 365 Backup is a separate paid service.

How much does Microsoft 365 Backup cost?

Microsoft lists US$0.15 per GB per month of protected content, about A$0.21 at today's rate. It is billed through Azure by how much you protect, including deleted and old versions held for recovery, not per user. Restores are free.

Native Microsoft 365 Backup or a third-party backup?

Microsoft's service is fast at large restores and stays inside Microsoft. A third-party service keeps a copy outside your tenant, under separate administration, and many cover more than mail and files. If a stolen admin account could switch off both your data and your backup, a separate copy matters.

Are Teams chats backed up?

Not by Microsoft 365 Backup, which covers Exchange, OneDrive and SharePoint. Teams files live in SharePoint, so they are covered, but chats are separate. Third-party products vary, and some exclude one-to-one chats, so ask for the vendor's inclusion list.

How long should we keep Microsoft 365 backups?

Long enough to cover a problem found late, and no longer than your records and privacy obligations allow. Microsoft's service offers three months, six months, one year or two years. Microsoft's default is one year. Adjust it for your records and industry rules.

What happens to a leaver's mailbox and OneDrive?

If you delete the user, the account can be restored for 30 days. After that, their mailbox and OneDrive go unless they are on hold or backed up. Decide what to keep before you delete anyone.

Next step