How to Backup Office 365 for Free: A Complete Guide (2026)

Business and organizations widely used Microsoft powerful tools like Outlook, Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive etc. But many users have a misconception that Microsoft automatically takes the backup of their Office 365 data, which is not true. Microsoft is responsible for providing advanced services, not to protect from accidental deletions, errors created by users, or ransomware. Backing up your Office 365 data totally depends on yours.

We have good news for you - take a backup of your O365 data for free or without using a third-party tool. With this guide, you can learn how to backup Office 365 and why we need this backup. 

Why You Need to Backup Office 365 Data

Before knowing the process, we need to understand the reasons for taking backup. Here you can see several reasons like:

• Protect from ransomware or malware attacks
• Accidental deletion happens by employees
• Prevent data loss from insider threats
• Microsoft account compromise 

Method 1: Manually export Outlook emails (PST Backup)

Backup of Exchange Online using Outlook built-in export option.

1. Open Outlook desktop app and login with O365 account credential.
2. Click on File > Open & Export > Import/Export.
3. Go to Export to a file, then Next.
4. Select Outlook Data File(.pst), then Next.
5. Choose a mailbox or folders which you want to back up.
6. Save location on your local system.
7. Click on the Finish button.  

Method 2: Backup of files and folders from OneDrive for free

With this method, you can simply download files and folders from OneDrive at zero cost because it offers backup options.

Option A: Syncing with local device

1. Download the OneDrive desktop app on your system.
2. Sign-In and choose files and folders which you want synced locally.
3. Now files are downloaded and automatically updated on your device. 

Option B: Manually direct download

1. Sign-In to OneDrive in your browser.
2. Select the files and folders.
3. Click on Download option 

Method 3: Back Up SharePoint Online Data

You can backup SharePoint sites’ content manually because it doesn't have a simple one-click export feature.

1. Go to the SharePoint site.
2. Open the document library which you want to back up.
3. Select all files or specific folders > click Download.
4. Repeat the same process for each library or site.  

Method 4: Backup of Microsoft Teams Data

The Microsoft Teams data is highly dependent on SharePoint and Exchange; therefore, its backup will require some steps:

●     Chat Messages – These are saved in Exchange Online Mailbox, and their export is not directly possible because it requires eDiscovery tools which are available in higher-tier licenses.

●     Files uploaded via Teams channels – Files will be automatically saved in the SharePoint site connected with the channel, download them just as SharePoint files Backup process (use Method 3).

●     Meeting recordings in Teams – They are saved either in OneDrive or SharePoint as per the configuration and need to be downloaded manually.

Conclusion: 

Office 365 backup is one of the important steps to protect business information. Although Microsoft offers free solutions like exporting emails from Outlook mailbox to PST file and downloading files from OneDrive/SharePoint can be used for individual usage. However, those tools are not scalable and require additional effort from a user.

When it comes to businesses that work with Microsoft 365 accounts, using professional backup software such as MailsDaddy Office 365 Backup Tool might be the best option for securing Office 365 data.