How to buy more storage on iPhone: the iCloud+ paths and plans

The steps, by iOS version

Apple’s support article, published on 15 September 2026, gives different steps for each version. On an iPhone with iOS 27 and later, open Settings and tap the iCloud Storage Almost Full notification, or tap your name, then iCloud and, under iCloud+ Features, Manage Plan; if you are not yet subscribed, tap iCloud, then Storage (or Almost Full), then Get More Storage. With iOS 18.4 to iOS 26, open Settings, tap your name, tap Subscriptions, then iCloud+ under Active and See All Plans; if you are not subscribed, tap iCloud, scroll down and tap Upgrade to iCloud+. With iOS 18 to 18.3, tap your name, iCloud and Manage Plan. With iOS 17 and earlier, tap your name, iCloud, Manage Account Storage and Change Storage Plan. In every case Apple ends with choosing a plan and following the onscreen instructions.

The same article covers the other devices. On a Mac with macOS Sequoia and later, choose Apple menu, System Settings, click your name, click iCloud and, under iCloud+ Features, Manage Plan, or Upgrade to iCloud+ if you are not subscribed. On a Windows PC, open iCloud for Windows, click Change Storage Plan if you already subscribe, choose a plan, click Next, enter your Apple Account password and click Buy. That is how to buy more storage on iPhone in Apple’s words: the account’s plan, changed from the device, not the phone’s own memory.

The plans, and what they include

Apple’s iCloud+ page, read on 25 October 2026, says you get 5GB of free iCloud storage the first time you sign in to an iPhone, iPad or Mac with your Apple Account. The paid plans on its US page are 50GB at $0.99 a month, 200GB at $2.99, 2TB at $9.99, 6TB at $29.99 and 12TB at $59.99. The 50GB plan adds iCloud Private Relay, Hide My Email, Custom Email Domain, HomeKit Secure Video recordings for one camera and full access to Apple Invites; the 200GB plan adds recordings for five cameras. Apple says all iCloud+ plans can be shared with up to five other family members at no extra cost, and that iCloud+ is included in all Apple One plans and can be combined with an Apple One subscription for more total storage. Prices differ by country and change; check Apple’s page for yours.

What a plan does not add

Several of the questions people ask on this topic are about the phone’s own memory: whether a 64GB iPhone can become 128GB, or 128GB become 256GB. The three Apple pages we read are about iCloud and say nothing about adding internal storage to an iPhone. A forum thread, which carries no date that we could read, says paying for iCloud does not add physical storage to the iPhone, that you cannot buy more internal storage later because the storage chips are fixed to the board, and that low free space slows an iPhone down. The same reply recommends a cleaning app, whose maker it names, and an external flash drive. Those are the forum’s claims, not Apple’s, and we did not test them. For freeing space on the phone itself see freeing up space on an iPhone.

Going back down, or cancelling

Apple’s article on downgrading or cancelling, also published on 15 September 2026, says to download or remove content that exceeds your new storage amount before you downgrade. On an iPhone with iOS 18.4 and later, open Settings, tap your name, tap Subscriptions, then iCloud+ under Active; tap Cancel Subscription to cancel, or See All Plans to choose a smaller one. The change takes effect after your current subscription billing period ends, and Apple says you should see a blue check next to the new plan. If your iCloud storage exceeds the new plan’s capacity, iCloud won’t sync or update your information and iCloud backups won’t complete, until you increase capacity or delete information. Downgrading to the free plan means you no longer have access to features such as Hide My Email, Private Relay, Apple Invites and HomeKit Secure Video support. For what stops working when iCloud fills, see freeing up iCloud storage, and for the subscription screen, cancelling a subscription on iPhone.