Microsoft 365 Personal and Family: cancel, pause or downgrade?
Cancelling isn't always the only choice. Here is what each option does to your account, from Microsoft 365 Personal and Family's own help pages. Applies in: All countries the help pages cover.
Official sources reviewed . How we review sources
| Topic | Cancel Available | Pause Not offered in the help pages we checked | Downgrade Available |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it does | Cancel from your Microsoft account subscriptions page by selecting Cancel subscription. You can keep using the subscription until it expires. | No pause option for Microsoft 365 Personal or Family was found on Microsoft Support. The cancel page offers cancelling or switching plans only. | To move to a plan with fewer features, you cancel your current subscription and pick the new plan on the Cancel page. The plan changes when it renews. |
| What you keep |
| Not stated | Not stated |
| What stops or goes |
| Not stated | Not stated |
| Billing | You can keep using the subscription until it expires. Not all cancellations get a refund. To check refund eligibility, you need to cancel first. | Not stated | You keep using your old subscription until it expires. You are not charged for the new plan until it renews into that plan. |
| Coming back | Renew at Microsoft365.com/renew by choosing the subscription, picking annual or monthly billing, and selecting Renew now. The pages checked do not say whether files are kept. | Not stated | Not stated |
| Source | Cancel a Microsoft 365 subscriptionMicrosoft. Reviewed Renew Microsoft 365 for personal or family useMicrosoft. Reviewed | Cancel a Microsoft 365 subscriptionMicrosoft. Reviewed | Switch between Microsoft 365 subscriptionsMicrosoft. Reviewed |
Cancel
Available- What it does
- Cancel from your Microsoft account subscriptions page by selecting Cancel subscription. You can keep using the subscription until it expires.
- What you keep
- 5GB of free cloud storage, shared by OneDrive and Outlook.com attachments
- What stops or goes
- Storage drops to 5GB of cloud storage. If you cancel Microsoft 365 Family, the people you shared it with also have their storage reduced.
- If you or people you shared with use more than the free allowance, you can't upload, edit or sync new files to OneDrive, and you can't send or receive email in Outlook.com.
- After 6 months over the free allowance, Microsoft may delete your OneDrive and all files in it.
- Billing
- You can keep using the subscription until it expires. Not all cancellations get a refund. To check refund eligibility, you need to cancel first.
- Coming back
- Renew at Microsoft365.com/renew by choosing the subscription, picking annual or monthly billing, and selecting Renew now. The pages checked do not say whether files are kept.
Cancel a Microsoft 365 subscriptionMicrosoft. Reviewed
Renew Microsoft 365 for personal or family useMicrosoft. Reviewed
Pause
Not offered in the help pages we checked- What it does
- No pause option for Microsoft 365 Personal or Family was found on Microsoft Support. The cancel page offers cancelling or switching plans only.
- What you keep
- Not stated
- What stops or goes
- Not stated
- Billing
- Not stated
- Coming back
- Not stated
Cancel a Microsoft 365 subscriptionMicrosoft. Reviewed
Downgrade
Available- What it does
- To move to a plan with fewer features, you cancel your current subscription and pick the new plan on the Cancel page. The plan changes when it renews.
- What you keep
- Not stated
- What stops or goes
- Not stated
- Billing
- You keep using your old subscription until it expires. You are not charged for the new plan until it renews into that plan.
- Coming back
- Not stated
Switch between Microsoft 365 subscriptionsMicrosoft. Reviewed
Cancelling? Check what depends on it first
Exports, sign-ins, linked services and billing through app stores: your cancellation checklist is built from your answers, in your browser.
Plans, prices and options differ by country and by how you pay (for example through Apple or Google). If you pay through an app store, cancel there. Names are trademarks of their owners; we aren't affiliated with Microsoft 365 Personal and Family. Other services