Backup
Microsoft 365 backup: what Microsoft covers and which backup software you need
What Microsoft 365 keeps itself, why OneDrive is not a backup and what backup software costs for 10 and 50 users: Mindtime, euBackups, Microsoft and more.
Microsoft keeps Microsoft 365 running, but recovering deleted or encrypted data is up to you. We set out what the recycle bins and version history keep, when you need a separate backup and what it costs for 10 and 50 users.
Microsoft 365 backup: the short answer
Microsoft keeps Microsoft 365 running, but recovering deleted, encrypted or overwritten data is your responsibility. The built-in recycle bins keep deleted data for 14 to 93 days; how long old versions of documents are kept depends on the settings. If you want to be able to go back further, or restore a whole mailbox after a ransomware attack, you need a separate backup. On 18 October 2026 we checked the pages of Microsoft and of seven backup packages. A backup for 10 users costs roughly €30 to €40 per month, excluding VAT, with the two packages that publish a price per user. This article is written for companies in the Netherlands and Belgium that use Microsoft 365.
What Microsoft keeps itself
Microsoft works with shared responsibility: Microsoft looks after the data centres, the availability of the service and the security of the platform. What happens to your own files and emails is your responsibility. The built-in features help with small mistakes, but have fixed limits:
| Feature | How long | Source |
|---|---|---|
| SharePoint and OneDrive recycle bin (work or school account) | 93 days, then permanently gone | SharePoint, OneDrive |
| Restoring OneDrive to an earlier point (for example after ransomware) | The last 30 days | Microsoft support |
| Deleted email in Exchange Online | 14 days by default, adjustable to a maximum of 30 days | Microsoft Learn |
| OneDrive of a deleted user | 30 days by default, can be extended by the administrator | Microsoft Learn |
| Version history of documents | Up to the set number of versions or the set period, after which old versions are deleted | Microsoft Learn |
This falls short in three situations. An employee leaves, the account is deleted and only after a few months does it turn out that it still held important emails. Or a mistake or attack is only noticed after more than 93 days. Or you need to restore a whole environment at once. Retention policies and legal holds do keep data, but they are meant for searching and exporting data, not for restoring it quickly. Microsoft says so itself in the frequently asked questions about Microsoft 365 Backup.
OneDrive is not a backup
OneDrive synchronises: whatever you delete on your laptop, or whatever ransomware encrypts on your laptop, also disappears or changes in the cloud. That is why OneDrive can restore your whole OneDrive to a point in the last 30 days. A real backup is a separate copy that survives the loss of data, even if the account is gone or the attack started longer ago. That copy is preferably kept outside the environment where the problem arose.
What do you need? Start with recovery
Choose a backup based on what you want to be able to restore, not on storage. Ask yourself four questions:
- How far back? How long should a deleted email or folder remain recoverable? In the Netherlands, records must legally be kept for 7 years (Belastingdienst, the Dutch Tax Administration); other countries have their own periods. A backup is not the only way to meet that, but a short retention period fits it poorly.
- What exactly? Every package backs up mailboxes, OneDrive and SharePoint. Teams chats, Planner and the users and groups in Entra ID (Microsoft's user management) are not always included.
- How fine-grained a restore? One email or file, a whole mailbox, or a whole site at once after ransomware.
- Where is the copy kept? At Microsoft itself, at a supplier in a country of your choice, or on your own storage. For the GDPR (called AVG in Dutch) a data centre in the EU is the simplest; you sign a data processing agreement with the supplier.
Backup packages for Microsoft 365
We list the packages from our backup software category that back up Exchange, OneDrive and SharePoint in Microsoft 365. Prices exclude VAT and are as the supplier published them on its own site on 18 October 2026.
| Package | Price | Retention and storage | Where the copy is kept | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mindtime | €3,50 per user per month, €3,00 at 10 users and €2,90 at 50 users; billed annually, excluding VAT | Unlimited storage; the retention period is not stated on the page. Exchange, SharePoint, OneDrive and Teams | Data centres in the Netherlands and Germany | product page |
| euBackups | €3,99 per user per month, or €39,90 per user per year; excluding VAT | Unlimited storage and retention; up to three backups a day. Exchange, OneDrive, SharePoint, Teams and Entra ID | Data centres in Germany | product page |
| Microsoft 365-back-up | $0,15 per GB per month of protected data, in US dollars; you pay as you go through an Azure subscription | Restorable up to 3 months, 6 months, 1 year or 2 years back (1 year by default). Exchange, OneDrive and SharePoint; Teams chats are not on the list | Within Microsoft 365, in the region of your own environment | pricing, overview |
| Keepit | No amounts published; price on request | Restore up to 5 years back (Core Continuity) or 10 years (Business Resilience) | Own cloud in Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, the United Kingdom and outside Europe | pricing page, data centres |
| 365 Total Backup | No amounts published; one fixed fee including storage and support | Unlimited storage and retention, custom retention periods can be set. Also Teams chats, Planner, OneNote and Entra ID | On Hornetsecurity's infrastructure, in a region of your choice | product page |
| Acronis Cyber Protect | Backup Advanced edition required, sold in packs of five users; the purchasing page says 'from €89,99 per year' for the edition, not the price per pack | Unlimited cloud storage for Microsoft 365 backups | Acronis cloud | purchasing page |
| Cove Data Protection | No amounts published; one fixed fee per Microsoft 365 user, cloud storage included | Retention period configurable, up to 10 years | N-able cloud | pricing page |
| Synology Active Backup for Microsoft 365 | No licence costs: Active Backup for Microsoft 365 is a free add-on for a Synology NAS, which you buy yourself | Depends on the disk space on your own NAS. OneDrive, SharePoint, Exchange and Teams | On your own NAS, at the office or wherever you put it | product page |
Mindtime is a Dutch provider, euBackups a German one from Berlin and Keepit a Danish one. Seen from the Netherlands, Microsoft shows its price only in dollars. Keepit, 365 Total Backup and Cove only give a price on request; ask for the price for your number of users and for the retention period you need.
Worked example: 10 and 50 users
With Mindtime and euBackups you pay per user; storage is included. Microsoft charges per GB of data you have protected. For Microsoft we therefore work with an assumption: an average of 50 GB per user of email and OneDrive combined. Shared SharePoint sites come on top of that.
| Package | 10 users | 50 users |
|---|---|---|
| Mindtime (annual licence) | €360 per year (€30 per month) | €1.740 per year (€145 per month) |
| euBackups, monthly | €39,90 per month | €199,50 per month |
| euBackups, annually | €399 per year | €1.995 per year |
| Microsoft 365 Backup, at 50 GB per user | $75 per month for 500 GB | $375 per month for 2.500 GB |
All amounts exclude VAT. With Microsoft the amount depends entirely on the amount of data: at 10 GB per user it is a fifth of the amount in the table, at 100 GB double. Microsoft also charges for mailbox online archives, the second-stage recycle bin of SharePoint and OneDrive, and deleted and older versions of emails. The Microsoft 365 admin centre does not show all of these; Microsoft's pricing page explains how to retrieve them and offers a calculator to estimate the costs.
What to look for when choosing
- Test restoring. During the trial, try restoring one email, one folder and one whole mailbox. Mindtime offers 7 days free, euBackups 30 days.
- Departing employees. Ask how long the backup of a deleted user is kept. With Microsoft 365 Backup it is one year from the time of the backup.
- Immutable copy. A copy that nobody can change or delete (immutable) also protects you if an attacker has taken over an administrator account.
- A copy outside Microsoft. Microsoft 365 Backup keeps the copy within Microsoft 365. That makes restoring fast, but it is not a copy held by another party. If you want one, choose an external supplier or put the copy on your own storage.
Looking for a place for ordinary files too? See cloud storage. Compare Microsoft 365 itself and its alternatives under office software.
Frequently asked questions about Microsoft 365 backup
Does Microsoft back up my Microsoft 365 itself?
Not by default. Microsoft keeps the service running and keeps deleted files for 93 days and deleted email for 14 to 30 days. A backup that lets you go back further is a separate service: Microsoft 365 Backup from Microsoft itself, or a package from another supplier.
What does a Microsoft 365 backup cost?
With the packages that publish a price per user, €2,90 to €3,99 per user per month, excluding VAT, storage included. Microsoft 365 Backup costs $0,15 per GB per month of protected data; at 50 GB per user that is $7,50 per user per month.
Is OneDrive a backup?
No. OneDrive synchronises, so a deletion or encryption on your laptop also ends up in the cloud. You can restore your OneDrive to a point in the last 30 days, but after that the option is gone.
How long should I keep a Microsoft 365 backup?
That depends on what is in it. In the Netherlands, records must be kept for 7 years; other countries have their own periods. Choose a retention period that matches the oldest data you still need to be able to recover.
Where are my backups kept?
That differs per package: with Mindtime in the Netherlands and Germany, with euBackups in Germany, with Microsoft 365 Backup in the region of your own Microsoft environment and with Synology on your own NAS. With Keepit and 365 Total Backup you choose the region.
