In this post we are going to provide general information about the database capacity (size) of Business Central from a licensing perspective. Keep in mind that we are referring only to Microsoft Cloud systems, and this does not apply to on‑premises installations.
Standard capacity
For each BC application, when the first user is licensed, a certain amount of capacity / included size is provided per tenant.
Let’s look at a concrete example to make it easier to understand:
We are subscribing to Dynamics 365 Business Central Premium for the first time.
- A database of 80 GB is available in the tenant with the first user.
- Each additional full user that is licensed provides extra capacity depending on the type of license.
For example, let’s assume we purchase 20 full users with an Essentials‑type license; the calculation for the database will be: 80 GB + 20 × 2 GB = 120 GB of total capacity.
Expansion of database capacity
If the default capacity is not sufficient, additional capacity is available for Business Central. Therefore, it is possible to increase storage capacity, and there are several options depending on the amount of space needed. This is always available at the tenant level.
Additional capacity for Dynamics 365 Business Central
Microsoft offers the possibility to increase the storage capacity associated with a Dynamics 365 Business Central subscription. Business Central database capacity add‑ons are available in increments of 1 GB or 100 GB.
In addition, the option to license additional environments is also available in Business Central, with a license that provides 1 production environment, 3 sandbox environments, and 4 GB of Business Central database capacity.
Examples
- Suppose we need 20 GB of additional storage space → we would need to purchase 20 × 1 GB as an add‑on. = it costs 20 × 9.40 EUR with an annual subscription = 188 EUR per month (with annual payment, February 2025 prices).
- Suppose we need 60 GB of additional storage space → we could now purchase 60 × 1 GB as an add‑on = it costs 60 × 9.40 EUR with an annual subscription = 564 EUR per month (with annual payment, February 2025 prices).
In this case, it makes sense to purchase the 100‑GB add‑on → here the cost is 468 EUR per month for an annual subscription with annual payment.
- Additionally, if we need another production environment (a second environment), we can acquire an “Additional Environment” — this provides 4 GB of extra storage as well as one production environment and three sandboxes.
Additional information
The capabilities of Dataverse can also be used for Business Central in a limited way, although Business Central does not run on Dataverse by default (at least for now).
To achieve this, virtual tables are used. They connect Business Central tables with Dataverse and link the corresponding data.
The advantage of storing data in Dataverse is clearly the price compared to storage in Business Central.
For example, suppose you have old data that is no longer needed for day‑to‑day business (“cold data,” such as old activity log entries or data from 10 years ago that only needs to be kept for auditing purposes). This data can be offloaded to Dataverse.
Exceeding capacity limits
Exceeding the database storage quota will not interrupt transaction processing in existing environments. Existing environments that grow organically and eventually exceed the quota will remain accessible and available for customers to continue their business operations. You will not be automatically charged for the additional storage consumed by these environments.
However, once capacity limits are exceeded, customers will not be able to create new environments or copy their existing environments until the storage used by current environments is reduced to fit within the quota or additional capacity is purchased. These operations will also be blocked for customers who have more environments than allowed by their subscription and any environment add‑ons they have purchased.
If you want to dive deeper into database capacity management, I invite you to visit Learn and this other link.
ABD: Experts in Business Central
At ABD, we are specialists in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. We are dedicated to helping companies optimize their processes and improve operational efficiency through customized solutions and expert support.
I hope this information has been of interest to you.
If you need assistance with the implementation, configuration, or management of Business Central, don’t hesitate to contact us.
Until the next post.