Microsoft 365 Archive

Microsoft 365 Archive is a cold-storage tier that keeps inactive SharePoint sites and files cheaply while they remain searchable and compliant. When a site is archived, all of its content - libraries, folders, files, lists, permissions, and metadata - moves out of your active storage quota into the archive tier, where it no longer counts against your normal storage but is no longer directly accessible to users. Search through Microsoft Purview Content Search, eDiscovery, and end-user search still works, and reactivating a site restores it with all metadata and permissions intact. Archiving is fast regardless of site size and is managed in the SharePoint admin center by SharePoint or Global Administrators. Microsoft 365 Archive is billed at a lower rate for archived storage beyond your included quota, with a separate cost to reactivate. It is the out-of-the-box way to retire aging content without deleting it or paying full storage prices.

Inactive Site Policies, Microsoft 365 Backup, Recycle Bin, Retention Policies, SharePoint Advanced Management (SAM), Site Ownership Policy

Retiring old projects: archive completed project sites whole
Departed teams: keep a former group’s content without active cost
Compliance retention: hold inactive data that must be kept for years
Storage relief: move cold content off the active quota
Mergers and reorgs: park legacy sites pending a decision
Copilot hygiene: keep stale content out of Copilot responses

How It Works

Cold storage tier: archived content leaves the active storage quota
Whole-site archive: libraries, lists, permissions, and metadata move together
Fast operation: archiving completes quickly at any site size
No direct access: users cannot open archived content until reactivation
Search retained: Purview, eDiscovery, and user search still find it
Admin-managed: handled in the SharePoint admin center

Benefits

Lower storage cost: a reduced rate beyond your included quota
Lossless reactivation: metadata and permissions return intact
Searchable while cold: compliance and discovery still work
Copilot optimization: archived content is excluded from Copilot answers
Lifecycle clarity: a clean split between active and inactive content
Out-of-the-box: native to Microsoft 365, no third-party tool

Details

Feature Category: Governance & Compliance

Settings and Management

SharePoint admin center: archive and reactivate from the admin center
Role requirement: SharePoint or Global Administrator manages it
Archive on demand: archive individual sites as needed
File-level archive: a preview extends archiving to individual files
Reactivation: bring a site back to active, fully restored
Notify owners: warn users before a site becomes inaccessible

Limits and Nuances

Not directly accessible: archived content cannot be opened in place
Reactivation cost: bringing content back carries a charge
Template limits: publishing and channel sites cannot be archived
Channel sites partial: Teams with private or shared channels are limited
File archive caveats: pages, OneNote, and agents cannot be file-archived
120-day rule: a reactivated file cannot be re-archived for 120 days

Common Questions About Microsoft 365 Archive

What is Microsoft 365 Archive?

Microsoft 365 Archive is a cold-storage tier for inactive SharePoint sites and files. Archiving moves a site’s entire contents – libraries, lists, files, permissions, and metadata – out of your active storage quota and into a cheaper archive tier. The content stays searchable through Purview, eDiscovery, and end-user search, but users cannot open it directly until the site is reactivated. It is a way to retire aging content without deleting it.

Can users still access archived content?

Not directly. Once a site is archived, its content is no longer accessible to open or edit in place. However, it remains discoverable: full content search works for Purview Content Search, eDiscovery, and end-user search experiences, and those tools can still export it, though export may take longer. To make the content usable again, an administrator reactivates the site, which restores it completely.

What happens when an archived site is reactivated?

Reactivation brings the site back to the active tier with everything intact – all files, lists, permissions, and metadata return exactly as they were, which Microsoft describes as lossless. The site becomes directly accessible again and counts against your active storage quota once more. Reactivation carries a cost, and for the file-level archive preview a reactivated file cannot be archived again for 120 days.

How is Microsoft 365 Archive billed?

It uses a consumption model. Archived storage is charged at a lower rate than active storage, and only for data beyond the storage quota included with your licenses. Reactivating archived content carries its own charge. Because the archive rate is lower than standard SharePoint storage, the feature is aimed at keeping large volumes of inactive data affordably rather than paying full price to keep it active.

What cannot be archived with Microsoft 365 Archive?

At the site level, publishing sites, channel sites, and some legacy site templates are not supported, and Teams sites with private or shared channels are only partially supported. In the file-level archive preview, certain items cannot be archived, including SharePoint pages, OneNote notebooks, and SharePoint agents, and the Site Assets library is excluded. Knowing these boundaries up front avoids surprises when planning what to archive.

When should I bring in help with archiving?

Archiving is most effective as part of a deliberate content lifecycle, not a one-off cleanup. Greg Zelfond, the consultant behind LookBook 365, helps organizations decide what stays active, what gets archived, and what is governed by retention, so storage stays under control without losing anything that matters. If your tenant is filling with old sites no one will admit to owning, that lifecycle planning is the kind of work he does.