You can store photos, files, iPhone backups, and more in your iCloud storage. As a result, it's no surprise that you might run out of space eventually.
If your iCloud storage is running low, follow the steps below to upgrade to a paid plan. We'll show you how to do it using any device: iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, or even on a Windows PC.
Unfortunately, you can't use an Android device or a web browser to upgrade your iCloud storage.
Upgrade iCloud Storage on an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch
Follow these steps to upgrade your iCloud storage on an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch:
- Open the Settings app.
- Tap [Your Name] at the top of the screen. If you don't see it, tap Sign In and log into your Apple ID account.
- Go to iCloud > Manage Storage. From this page, you can see a breakdown of your iCloud storage and how it's being used.
- Tap Buy More Storage or Change Storage Plan.
- Select the plan you want to upgrade to and tap Buy in the top-right corner. Then enter your Apple ID details to confirm payment.
Your iCloud storage upgrades immediately after you confirm payment. Apple will continue to bill you every month until you cancel your subscription.
Upgrade iCloud Storage on a Mac
You can upgrade your iCloud storage from a Mac using System Preferences:
- Click the Apple logo in the top-left corner of your screen, then open the System Preferences.
- If you're running macOS Catalina or later, go to Apple ID > iCloud. Otherwise, just click iCloud.
- Next to the iCloud storage chart at the bottom, click Manage.
- Then click Buy More Storage or Change Storage Plan in the top-right corner of the new window.
- Select the iCloud storage plan you want to upgrade to and click Next, then enter your Apple ID password and click Buy.
Once again, your iCloud storage upgrades immediately and Apple starts charging you each month until you cancel your plan.
Upgrading iCloud Storage on a Windows PC
If you're using a Windows PC, you need to install iCloud for Windows to upgrade your iCloud storage. You can also use this app to access your iCloud photos and files in Windows.
Visit the Apple website to download and install iCloud for Windows.
Here's how to upgrade your iCloud storage on a Windows PC:
- Open iCloud for Windows.
- Next to the iCloud storage chart at the bottom, click Storage.
- Click Buy More Storage or Change Storage Plan.
- Select the plan you want to upgrade to and click Next.
- Finally, enter your Apple ID details to confirm the purchase and click Buy.
Your iCloud storage immediately upgrades to the larger plan, and Apple will bill you for this subscription each month until you cancel it.
How Much iCloud Storage Can You Get?
Apple gives everyone 5GB of iCloud storage for free. That doesn't go very far if you want to use iCloud Photos, or if you back up multiple devices to iCloud.
If you need more than 5GB of iCloud storage, Apple gives you three paid options:
- 50GB for $0.99/month
- 200GB for $2.99/month
- 2TB for $9.99/month
You can choose to share the 200GB and 2TB storage plans with anyone else in your Family Sharing group. But you can only use the 50GB storage plan for yourself.
If you already get iCloud storage through an Apple One subscription plan, this iCloud storage adds to what you get through your Apple One plan. That means you could get up to 4TB of iCloud storage by combining the biggest iCloud and Apple One plans.
Make Sure You Get Enough Storage for All Your Files
If you have a Mac, one of the best uses of iCloud storage is to sync your Desktop and Documents folders to iCloud. That way, you can access all the files on your Mac over iCloud using an iPhone or iPad.
The only catch is you usually need quite a lot of iCloud storage to upload all those files. So you need to make sure you upgrade your iCloud storage first.
