Salesforce makes it easy to store customer records, sales data, activities, emails, files, and other business information in one platform. But as your organization grows, so does your data storage Salesforce usage.
When storage starts approaching its limit, administrators need to understand what is consuming space, how much capacity remains, and whether deleting, archiving, or purchasing additional storage is the right solution.
This guide explains Salesforce storage capacity, how to check it, what happens when storage is full, and 15 practical ways to reduce unnecessary usage and control storage costs.
Table of Contents
What Is Salesforce Data Storage?
Salesforce Data Storage is the space used to store structured records within your Salesforce organization.
This can include:
- Accounts
- Contacts
- Leads
- Opportunities
- Cases
- Tasks and Events
- Campaigns and Campaign Members
- Custom objects
- Email Messages
- Orders and Quotes
- Other Salesforce records
Salesforce estimates that many standard records consume around 2 KB of data storage, although the actual amount varies by object and configuration. For example, Person Accounts are estimated at 4 KB, while Campaigns are estimated at 8 KB.
Salesforce Storage Breakdown You Need to Know
| Storage category | What counts toward it | How Salesforce measures it | Typical allocation | Where to monitor it |
| Data Storage | Records such as Accounts, Contacts, Leads, Opportunities, Cases, Tasks, Events, Email Messages, and Custom Objects | Storage is generally allocated per record. Most standard records are approximately 2 KB, while some objects use different estimated sizes. | Most listed editions start with 10 GB per org, with additional allocation based on eligible user licenses. | Setup → Storage Usage |
| File Storage | Salesforce Files, Attachments, Documents, Chatter files, user photos, and other stored file content | Based primarily on the actual size of stored files. Different versions of files can also contribute to usage. | Varies by edition. For example, many editions have 10 GB per org, while Essentials and Starter have 1 GB per org, with additional user-based allocations for some editions. | Setup → Storage Usage |
| Big Object Storage | High-volume records stored in Salesforce Big Objects, such as long-term transaction or audit data | Measured by the number of Big Object records allocated to the org rather than the standard Data/File Storage pools. | Eligible editions generally receive an allocation of 1 million Big Object records per org; higher capacity requires contacting Salesforce. | Managed separately; confirm the allocation with Salesforce |
15 Tips to Increase Available Salesforce Data Storage
Before purchasing more storage, review how your existing capacity is being used.
1. Monitor Salesforce Storage Regularly
Don’t wait until your storage reaches 100%.
Review Data Storage and File Storage regularly and monitor unusual increases. Salesforce’s Storage Usage page shows your current limit, usage, percentage used, and storage breakdown.
2. Identify Your Largest Data Objects
Find which objects consume the most storage.
A large number of Leads may be responsible for your usage in one organization, while Cases, custom objects, or Email Messages may be responsible in another.
Knowing the biggest contributors helps you focus optimization efforts where they will have the most impact.
3. Remove Duplicate Records
Duplicate Accounts, Contacts, Leads, and other records unnecessarily increase data volume.
Use Salesforce duplicate-management tools or an appropriate data-quality solution to identify and merge duplicates.
Don’t delete records automatically without confirming that they are genuinely duplicates.
4. Clean Unnecessary Test Data
Test records created during development or implementation can accumulate over time.
Review old test Accounts, Contacts, Cases, Opportunities, and custom-object records and remove those that are no longer required.
This is particularly useful after major development or migration projects.
5. Review Old and Unused Records
Not every old record needs to remain in active Salesforce storage.
Create retention rules that identify records that are no longer operationally necessary. Before deletion, confirm whether the records are required for reporting, compliance, legal retention, or historical analysis.
6. Optimize Salesforce File Storage
If the real problem is File Storage rather than Data Storage, investigate your files separately.
Salesforce identifies Content Bodies, Documents, Photos, and Attachments among the common contributors to File Storage.
Remove obsolete files, unnecessary attachments, and redundant versions where appropriate.
7. Control File Upload Practices
Users can unintentionally create large storage consumption by uploading multiple versions of the same documents.
Create simple internal guidelines for:
- File naming
- Duplicate uploads
- Document versions
- Large media files
- Outdated attachments
This helps control Salesforce file storage over time.
8. Review Email Storage
Email Messages can consume Data Storage, particularly when HTML email content is involved.
Salesforce notes that storage can vary significantly depending on whether email messages contain HTML or plain text.
Review high-volume email activity if it is contributing significantly to your storage growth.
9. Audit Custom Objects
Custom objects are useful, but unnecessary or poorly managed objects can create significant data growth.
Review:
- Old custom objects
- Unused records
- Duplicate custom data
- Historical records
- Automations creating unnecessary records
Also check whether integrations are continuously creating records that your business no longer needs.
10. Review Integrations
Integrations can create thousands or millions of records automatically.
Check systems connected through APIs, middleware, ETL tools, or other integrations.
Ask:
Is this integration creating every record because the business needs it, or simply because the integration was configured that way?
Reducing unnecessary record creation can prevent storage problems before they happen.
11. Reduce Unnecessary Automation
Flows and other automation can sometimes create additional records, logs, activities, or related data.
Review automation that creates records automatically and confirm that every generated record has a business purpose.
12. Archive Historical Data
Some organizations need historical information but do not need all of it in active Salesforce storage.
Salesforce provides Archive functionality for certain use cases, including Storage Analyzer capabilities that help identify storage-heavy objects and plan archival strategies.
Archiving can be useful when historical information needs to be retained without keeping everything in active operational storage.
13. Create a Data Retention Policy
Instead of cleaning storage reactively, establish rules for how long different types of data should remain active.
For example:
| Data Type | Possible Action |
| Active customer records | Retain |
| Duplicate records | Merge/delete |
| Test data | Delete |
| Outdated files | Review/delete |
| Historical business data | Archive where appropriate |
| Compliance-required records | Retain according to requirements |
The exact retention period should depend on your organization’s business and regulatory requirements.
14. Track Storage Growth
Don’t look only at today’s storage percentage.
Look at how quickly storage is increasing.
If an organization is using 70% today but grows by several percentage points every month, purchasing additional capacity may eventually become necessary even after current cleanup.
15. Forecast Future Storage Needs
Estimate your expected growth based on:
- New users
- New customers
- New records
- Integration volume
- File uploads
- Email volume
- New Salesforce features
- Business expansion
Forecasting gives your team time to optimize or purchase additional capacity before storage becomes an operational issue.
Checkout: Salesforce Data Archiving vs Buying More Storage: Which Saves More?
How to Check Salesforce Data Storage Usage?
Salesforce provides a built-in Storage Usage page for monitoring both Data Storage and File Storage.
Step-by-Step
- Log in to Salesforce.
- Open Setup.
- Enter Storage Usage in the Quick Find box.
- Select Storage Usage.
- Review Data Storage.
- Review File Storage.
- Examine the objects or components consuming the most space.
- Review user-level storage where available.
- Identify unusual or rapidly growing areas.
Salesforce notes that storage calculations are asynchronous, so recent imports or large additions may not appear immediately.
What Happens When Salesforce Storage Is Full?
Reaching 100% does not necessarily mean your production org immediately stops working.
Salesforce states that a production organization at or around 100% can continue running without immediate application effects. However, beyond 100%, performance can eventually degrade, and the exact point depends on the specific implementation.
Full Sandboxes have stricter storage enforcement. For example, a Full Sandbox refreshed from an over-capacity production environment can also exceed its storage limit, preventing new records from being created there.
Therefore, storage should be addressed before it becomes a critical problem.
How to Increase Salesforce Storage?
If optimization isn’t enough, you have several options.
Option 1: Purchase Additional Storage
Salesforce allows eligible organizations to purchase additional storage. Depending on the product and edition, this can be managed through Your Account or through a Salesforce account representative.
Option 2: Add User Licenses
For some Salesforce editions, additional user licenses can increase the organization’s allocated storage.
However, this should not be treated simply as a storage-purchasing strategy. The exact effect depends on the license type and your Salesforce contract.
Option 3: Archive or Remove Data
If the problem is unnecessary or inactive data, reducing your existing storage may be more appropriate than buying more capacity.
Salesforce Additional Storage Cost: What Should You Expect?
There isn’t one universal Salesforce data storage price per GB that applies to every Salesforce customer.
Additional storage pricing can depend on factors such as:
- Salesforce edition
- Storage type
- Amount of additional storage
- Existing licenses
- Contract terms
- Products included in the organization
For this reason, avoid using a generic per-GB price as your budgeting assumption. Check the storage products and pricing available for your specific Salesforce contract.
Should You Delete, Archive, or Buy More Storage?
Use the underlying cause to determine the appropriate approach.
| Situation | Recommended consideration |
| Duplicate records | Clean or merge |
| Test records | Delete |
| Unnecessary files | Delete |
| Historical information still needed | Consider archiving |
| Active business data | Retain |
| Unnecessary automated records | Fix the automation |
| Genuine business growth | Consider additional storage |
| Rapid unexpected growth | Investigate the cause first |
Buying more storage can solve a capacity problem, but it does not solve poor salesforce data management. If unnecessary data continues to accumulate, the same problem will return.
Running Out of Salesforce Storage? Let’s Fix It.
Get expert help to audit your storage, reduce unnecessary data, and plan your Salesforce capacity for future growth.
Salesforce Storage Optimization Checklist
Use this checklist as part of your regular Salesforce administration process.
Monthly
- Check Data Storage usage
- Check File Storage usage
- Identify the largest objects
- Review unusual storage growth
- Check large or unnecessary files
- Review duplicate records
- Check integration-generated data
Quarterly
- Review data retention policies
- Audit custom objects
- Review historical data
- Evaluate archiving opportunities
- Review file management practices
- Check automation and integrations
- Forecast future storage requirements
Before Buying Additional Storage
- Confirm whether the issue is Data or File Storage
- Identify the biggest storage contributors
- Remove unnecessary data
- Review duplicate records
- Review archiving options
- Calculate expected future growth
- Check available Salesforce storage products and pricing
Conclusion
Managing data storage Salesforce usage should be an ongoing part of Salesforce administration rather than a task performed only when storage reaches its limit.
Start by checking Storage Usage, identify your biggest contributors, remove unnecessary data and files, review integrations and automation, and consider archiving historical information where appropriate.
If genuine business growth is the reason for increasing storage consumption, additional Salesforce storage may be the appropriate solution. The key is to understand your current usage first so you can make a data-driven decision about whether to optimize, archive, or purchase more capacity.
FAQs
1. How do I check data storage in Salesforce?
Go to Setup → Storage Usage. Salesforce displays your Data Storage and File Storage limits, current usage, and storage breakdown.
2. What is the difference between Salesforce Data Storage and File Storage?
Data Storage primarily covers Salesforce records, while File Storage covers uploaded files, attachments, documents, photos, and related file content.
3. What happens when Salesforce storage reaches 100%?
Production can continue operating around 100%, but Salesforce warns that performance can eventually degrade when storage goes beyond the available limit. Full Sandboxes have stricter enforcement.
4. Can I buy additional Salesforce storage?
Yes. Salesforce provides options to purchase additional storage, with availability and purchasing methods depending on the organization, edition, and contract.
5. How to delete file storage in salesforce
Go to Files, find unnecessary files, and select Delete. This removes the files and helps free up Salesforce File Storage.