OneDrive holds everyday business files, so it needs an independent backup. ArchiveBridge writes a SHA-256-verified copy to your configured object storage, separate from the user’s Microsoft account, and leaves the Microsoft source untouched.
That protection can save the most when someone leaves: keep their files without carrying their Microsoft 365 licence, paying Microsoft’s archive storage and reactivation charges, or racing its deletion clocks. ArchiveBridge prices the protected data, not the departed seat.
Microsoft automatically archives an unlicensed OneDrive at day 93. Without billing, the content is inaccessible and accumulates toward a 365-day deletion-risk threshold. With billing, storage rent and reactivation fees apply. ArchiveBridge protects a verified copy before those clocks start.
| Path | Published cost basis | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Keep paying a Microsoft licence | From US$5.40/user/month in Microsoft’s current public business list | The example is Business Basic without Teams, paid yearly, with 1 TB per user. Your existing plan may cost more. Commitments can also limit immediate seat reductions. |
| Use Microsoft’s unlicensed archive | US$0.05/GB/month paid storage + US$0.60/GB reactivation | Billing applies to the full consumed storage of every unlicensed OneDrive older than 93 days once enabled. Unpaid archived content is inaccessible and subject to the cumulative deletion clock. |
| Let the clocks run out | No storage bill | The OneDrive proceeds through retention/recycle enforcement and permanent deletion. This is disposal, not backup. |
| Use ArchiveBridge | US$20/TB/month management + optional US$14/TB/month managed storage | A SHA-256-verified copy exists independently of the employee’s Microsoft account. No separate OneDrive or per-seat ArchiveBridge charge. |
Keep ten of Microsoft’s lowest listed 1 TB business seats: US$54/month. Microsoft paid archive for 1 TB: US$51.20/month, plus US$614.40 to reactivate all 1 TB. ArchiveBridge: US$34/month all-in, or US$20/month plus your own storage. This is an illustrative comparison. Use your actual licence commitments, leaver count and consumed bytes.
Microsoft unlicensed-account policy and worked archive example: Microsoft Learn. Published archive rates: Microsoft 365 Archive pricing. Microsoft licence example: OneDrive business plans. ArchiveBridge rates: current price list. Checked 25 Aug 2026.
The configured deletion-retention window changes the route, not the economics: after day 93, safe long-term retention and supported access require Microsoft’s unlicensed-account billing.
Archive enforcement happens whether billing is enabled or not. Without billing the content is inaccessible and accumulates toward the cumulative 365-day nonpayment deletion threshold. With billing, Microsoft’s storage and reactivation charges apply.
Source: Microsoft Learn — Unlicensed OneDrive accounts, checked 25 Aug 2026.
Deleting the user starts the configured retention window. Microsoft’s default is 30 days and the maximum is 3,650. Microsoft says that retention is honoured in the paid archive state. If the OneDrive stays unpaid, the cumulative 365-day rule can put it at risk despite the longer setting. After applicable retention ends, recycle and permanent deletion follow.
Sources: deleted-user retention and unlicensed-account billing, checked 25 Aug 2026.
Protect every eligible OneDrive in scope, or target named users for a planned leaver workflow.
ArchiveBridge copies each file to object storage and records its SHA-256 and storage-version identity.
Do not change the Microsoft licence until the required OneDrive files show as backed up.
Reassign the licence, or reduce paid seats where your subscription or partner agreement permits.
Microsoft warns that annual or partner commitments can prevent an immediate reduction in paid licence quantity. The defensible saving is to free a licence for reassignment, or reduce seats when your agreement permits. Read Microsoft’s licence-removal guidance.
SharePoint archiving removes verified cold originals to reclaim Microsoft storage. OneDrive backup does not remove the source: it protects a verified copy on a schedule while the account is reachable.
Every captured OneDrive file carries a SHA-256 hash and storage-version identity. A mismatch is recorded rather than treated as protected.
Protect all eligible users in the tenant or target selected user principal names. OneDrive backup is configured independently of SharePoint mode.
After the first pass, scheduled runs use Microsoft change tracking where available instead of treating every run as a new full copy.
Once the source account and drive are gone, protected files are recovered by per-file download. Direct recovery into another user’s OneDrive is not part of the shipped product.
Yes. ArchiveBridge backs up OneDrive alongside SharePoint protection. It captures a SHA-256-verified copy in your configured object storage and leaves the Microsoft source untouched. SharePoint archiving (the workflow that removes an original to reclaim tenant storage) is separate and remains SharePoint-only.
Before changing the licence or deleting the user. That gives ArchiveBridge a licensed, reachable source to capture and verify. The protected copy then exists independently of the user's Microsoft account.
The same published ArchiveBridge rates apply to all data under management: US$20 per TB per month for management, plus US$14 per TB per month when ArchiveBridge provides managed storage. There is no separate OneDrive or per-seat licence.
Not as a free vault. Ten years (3,650 days) is the configurable maximum, not the default. Microsoft documents a 30-day default. The deleted user's OneDrive is still unlicensed, and all unlicensed OneDrives reach archive or recycle enforcement at day 93 depending on their retention state. Microsoft says retention is honoured in the paid archive state. If the account remains unpaid, the cumulative 365-day nonpayment rule can put it at risk of deletion despite a longer retention setting or hold.
Archival at day 93 is automatic, even when billing is off. But unpaid archived content is inaccessible and accumulates toward Microsoft's 365-day deletion-risk threshold, so it is not a free long-term recovery service. When unlicensed-account billing is enabled, Microsoft charges US$0.05 per GB per month for every unlicensed account older than 93 days, plus US$0.60 per GB to reactivate an archived account. Microsoft's own 1 TB example is US$51.20 per month plus a US$614.40 reactivation fee.
Tell us how many leavers you expect and how much OneDrive data they hold. We will compare your current licence cost, Microsoft’s archive charges and ArchiveBridge using the same assumptions.