Every Google Drive limit, in one table
Last verified
Google Drive's limits fall into three groups. The first is transfer limits. Each user can upload and copy 750 GB within 24 hours, across My Drive and all shared drives combined. A single file can be up to 5 TB, but files larger than 750 GB can't be copied. The second is structure limits: 500,000 items in a shared drive (trash included), 500,000 items directly inside one My Drive folder, 100 levels of folder nesting, and 500 million items created per account. The third is the Drive API, which meters requests in quota units: 1,000,000 per minute per project and 325,000 per minute per user per project. A list call costs 100 units, a download 200 and a read 5.
Storage itself depends on the plan (for example 2 TB per user pooled on Business Standard, 5 TB on Business Plus) and is set by your Google Workspace or Google One subscription. Every value here comes from Google's Workspace Admin Help, Drive Help and developer documentation, verified November 12, 2026. Google's admin page was last updated October 26, 2026. For limits on the files themselves once they are Google Sheets, see Google Sheets limits.
Official reference: Google Workspace Admin Help - Storage and upload limits for Google Workspace
Jump to: Upload, copy and file size limits · Items, folders and shared drives · Google Drive API quotas · When you hit a limit · Staying under it
Upload, copy and file size limits
The 750 GB figure is the limit most bulk migrations and backup automations hit. It applies per user per 24 hours, and copies count toward it. Only the file that crosses the line is allowed to finish: Google says that if a single upload pushes a user past 750 GB, that file completes and further uploads are blocked until the window refreshes. Converted Google Docs, Sheets and Slides files have their own, much smaller, size caps.
| What | Limit | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Upload and copy volume per user | 750 GB per 24 hours | docs ↗ |
| Maximum file size (upload and sync) | 5 TB | docs ↗ |
| Maximum file size for copying | 750 GB | docs ↗ |
| Google Docs document | 1.02 million characters; 50 MB when converted from a text document | docs ↗ |
| Google Sheets spreadsheet | 20 million cells or 100 MB | docs ↗ |
| Google Slides presentation | 100 MB when converted | docs ↗ |
Items, folders and shared drives
Structure limits rarely matter for people, but automations that create one file per record can reach them. A shared drive holds at most 500,000 items, and trashed items count until they are permanently deleted. My Drive has a different rule: up to 500,000 items directly inside any one folder. Both My Drive and shared drives cap folder nesting at 100 levels. Each account can create up to 500 million items in total.
| What | Limit | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Items per shared drive | 500,000 | docs ↗ |
| Items directly in one My Drive folder | 500,000 | docs ↗ |
| Folder nesting depth | 100 levels | docs ↗ |
| Items created per account | 500 million | docs ↗ |
| Storage per user (examples) | Business Standard: 2 TB x users (pooled); Business Plus: 5 TB x users; Enterprise Starter: 1 TB x users; Frontline: 5 GB per user | docs ↗ |
Google Drive API quotas
The Drive API counts quota units per minute, not raw requests, and each method has a fixed cost. Reads cost 5 units, edits 50, lists 100 and downloads 200. There is no daily request cap while you stay within the per-minute quotas. The API's 750 GB upload limit is the same one users hit in the web interface. Per-minute quotas can be raised through the Google Cloud console, but the daily billing threshold can't.
| What | Limit | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Quota units per minute per project | 1,000,000 | docs ↗ |
| Quota units per minute per user per project | 325,000 | docs ↗ |
| Daily billing threshold per project | 400,000,000 quota units | docs ↗ |
| Egress per project per day | 1 TB before charges apply | docs ↗ |
| Read method cost (files.get, permissions.get, etc.) | 5 units | docs ↗ |
| Edit method cost (files.create, files.copy, files.update, etc.) | 50 units | docs ↗ |
| List method cost (files.list, changes.list, etc.) | 100 units | docs ↗ |
| Download method cost (files.get alt=media, files.export, files.download) | 200 units | docs ↗ |
| Upload volume via API | 750 GB per user per day; 5 TB max file; 750 GB max copy | docs ↗ |
What happens when you hit a limit
Upload cap: after 750 GB in 24 hours, further uploads and copies fail until the limit refreshes, within 24 hours. Through the API this surfaces as a 403 rate-limit error, and sync tools such as rclone report 403: Rate Limit Exceeded.
API quotas: exceeding the per-user quota returns HTTP 403 with reason userRateLimitExceeded and message User Rate Limit Exceeded. Backend throttling returns 429 or 403 rateLimitExceeded / Rate Limit Exceeded. A project-level cap set by the owner returns 403 dailyLimitExceeded / Daily Limit Exceeded.
Storage and structure: a full account returns 403 storageQuotaExceeded, The user's Drive storage quota has been exceeded. A full shared drive returns The file limit for this shared drive has been exceeded. Hitting 500 million items returns This account has exceeded the creation limit of 500 million items. To create more items, permanently delete some items.
Staying under the limits
Pace large transfers. Plan migrations at under 750 GB per user per day, or spread them across the users who will actually own the content. Resumable uploads let an interrupted file continue instead of restarting.
Back off on 403/429 rate errors. Google recommends truncated exponential backoff: wait 2^n seconds plus up to 1,000 ms of random jitter, capped at 32 to 64 seconds.
Spend fewer units. Use files.list with field masks and large page sizes, and use changes.list to sync deltas instead of re-listing everything. Batch requests where possible.
Request more quota for per-minute project and user limits in the Google Cloud console.
Restructure. Split content across several shared drives before reaching 500,000 items, and empty the trash, because trashed items still count.
Definitions
Other platforms
Frequently asked questions
What is the Google Drive daily upload limit?
750 GB per user within 24 hours, counting uploads and copies into My Drive and all shared drives together. Once a user reaches it, they can't upload or copy more files until the limit refreshes, which Google says happens within 24 hours. The file that crosses the threshold is allowed to finish uploading.
What is the largest file I can upload to Google Drive?
5 TB per file. Files larger than 750 GB can be uploaded but can't be copied inside Drive; Google suggests downloading and re-uploading instead. Files converted to Google Docs, Sheets or Slides have much smaller limits, such as 100 MB for a spreadsheet or 50 MB for a converted text document.
How many files can a shared drive hold?
500,000 items, counting files, folders, shortcuts and anything still in the shared drive's trash. Trashed items keep counting until they are permanently deleted. When the cap is reached, the Drive API returns teamDriveFileLimitExceeded with the message 'The file limit for this shared drive has been exceeded.'
What are the Google Drive API rate limits?
1,000,000 quota units per minute per project and 325,000 quota units per minute per user per project, with no daily request cap. Each method has a cost: 5 units for reads, 50 for edits, 100 for lists and 200 for downloads. Per-minute quotas can be raised in the Google Cloud console.
What does 'User Rate Limit Exceeded' mean in the Drive API?
It is the 403 userRateLimitExceeded error: the per-user limit was reached, either the per-minute quota from the Google Cloud console or a Drive backend limit. Retry with exponential backoff, reduce the number of calls with batching and field masks, or request a higher per-user quota for your project.
Does the 750 GB limit apply to the Drive API and service accounts?
Yes. Google's API usage limits page states the same 750 GB per user per day across My Drive and shared drives, with copies counting toward it. Service accounts don't have storage quota and can't own files, so they upload into shared drives or act on behalf of a user through OAuth.
How deep can Google Drive folders be nested?
100 levels. My Drive folders can be nested up to 100 folders deep including the parent folder, and a shared drive's folder hierarchy can't exceed 100 nested levels. Automations that create a folder per record should flatten the structure, for example by grouping by year or month instead of nesting by record.
Pace the work instead of tripping the limit
Autonoly workflows run on a schedule or a trigger with per-node retries and timeouts, so a job can be spread out and retried rather than run in one burst. Platform limits still apply in full; no tool can lift them.