iCloud storage full: how to free up space or get more

Knowing the biggest item tells you where cleanup will actually help.

1. On iPhone or iPad, open Settings, tap your name, tap iCloud, then open Manage Account Storage or Storage.
2. On a Mac, open System Settings, click your name, click iCloud, then click Manage.
3. Note the largest categories and start with those.

Apple suggests photos, large files and old backups that are worth removing.

1. Go to Settings > your name > iCloud.
2. Open Recommended for You and review the items listed.

Backups of old devices often sit in iCloud untouched.

1. On iPhone, go to Settings > your name > iCloud > Storage > Backups, then tap a device.
2. To remove a whole backup, tap Turn Off and Delete from iCloud.
3. On a Mac, go to System Settings > your name > iCloud > Manage > Backups, select a backup and click the minus (–) button.

Photos and videos can take up a lot of room, and removing the ones you no longer want is often the quickest cleanup.

1. On iPhone, open Photos, tap Library, tap Select, pick the items and tap Delete.
2. On a Mac, select the items in Photos, press Delete, then click Delete.
3. You can also do this at icloud.com/photos.

Large or forgotten files in iCloud Drive count toward the quota.

1. On iPhone, open Files > iCloud Drive > More > Select, choose items and tap Delete.
2. On a Mac, drag items from the iCloud Drive folder to the Trash.
3. Or use icloud.com/drive.

Photos and videos in long conversations add up.

1. On iPhone, open a conversation and tap the contact's name. Then tap Photos (iOS 26 or later) or See All (iOS 18 or earlier).
2. Tap Edit > Select Photos, choose items, then tap Delete > Delete Attachment.
3. On a Mac, open the conversation, click Info, scroll to Photos, Command-click items, then right-click and choose Delete > Delete Attachment.

Mail in your iCloud address counts toward storage.

1. On iPhone, open your iCloud inbox, tap More > Cleanup Recommendations > iCloud Mail Cleanup.
2. On a Mac, delete messages, then choose Mailbox > Erase Deleted Items.
3. On the web, delete messages and then delete them again from Trash.

Contact images, FaceTime data, Apple Invites and Voice Memos also use space.

1. Go to Settings > your name > iCloud > Storage, choose Contact Images, FaceTime or Apple Invites, and tap Delete Data from iCloud.
2. For Voice Memos, delete the recording, then delete it again from Recently Deleted.

If everything left is worth keeping, more storage is the straightforward answer. The screen you need depends on whether you already pay for iCloud+ or are on the free plan. Check current plan sizes and prices in the purchase screen, as they vary.

1. Free plan, buying for the first time (iPhone or iPad): if a Storage Almost Full notification is showing, you can tap it to go straight to the upgrade options.
2. Free plan, iOS 18 and later up to iOS 26: go to Settings > your name > iCloud, scroll down and tap Upgrade to iCloud+.
3. Free plan, iOS 27 and later: go to Settings > iCloud > Storage > Get More Storage.
4. Free plan, Mac: open System Settings > iCloud and click Upgrade to iCloud+.
5. Already have iCloud+, iOS 27 and later: Settings > your name > iCloud > Manage Plan.
6. Already have iCloud+, iOS 18.4 to 26: Settings > your name > Subscriptions > iCloud+ > See All Plans.
7. Already have iCloud+, iOS 18 to 18.3: Settings > your name > iCloud > Manage Plan.
8. iOS 17 and earlier: Settings > your name > iCloud > Manage Account Storage > Change Storage Plan.
9. Already have iCloud+, macOS Sequoia and later: System Settings > your name > iCloud > Manage Plan under iCloud+ Features. On Sonoma and earlier: iCloud > Manage Plan > Change Storage Plan.
10. Windows: open iCloud for Windows, click Manage > Change Storage Plan, choose a plan, enter your Apple Account password and click Buy.