Outlook com: Sign In, Free Storage and Setup Guide (2026)

Outlook.com is Microsoft’s free web-based email service: you sign in at outlook.com with any address ending in @outlook.com, @hotmail.com, @live.com or @msn.com, or create a new free address there. It runs in any browser, needs no paid subscription, and also gives you a calendar, contacts and access to the free web versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint through the same Microsoft account.

Below is what you actually need to know as of November 2026: how to sign in, what the free tier includes, how storage works, how to connect a third-party mail app, and how to avoid losing an account you rarely use.

How to sign in to Outlook.com

Microsoft’s sign-in help page covers all four consumer domains. The steps are the same for each:

1. Open a browser and go to outlook.com (type it yourself rather than clicking a link in an email).
2. Select Sign in.
3. Enter your full email address, including the @outlook.com / @hotmail.com / @live.com / @msn.com part, and select Next.
4. Enter your password and complete any two-step verification prompt.
5. If asked whether to stay signed in, only say yes on a device you own.

If you had an old Hotmail or MSN address years ago, it still works at the same site. The Australian government’s Be Connected guide makes the same point: the brand changed, the addresses did not.

Creating a new free address

On outlook.com, choose Create free account, pick an address ending in @outlook.com (or @hotmail.com where offered), set a password and complete Microsoft’s verification steps. That creates a Microsoft account, the same sign-in used for OneDrive and Microsoft’s other consumer services.

Can’t get in?

• Forgot password: use the “Forgot password?” link on the sign-in screen. Microsoft sends a code to your recovery phone or email.
• No access to recovery info: Microsoft points people to its Sign-in Helper first and then its account recovery form. Several Microsoft community answers note that the recovery form is unlikely to help if two-step verification is on and you can no longer reach any verification method, so keep your recovery phone and backup email current.
• Watch for fakes: never type your password into a page you reached from an email link. Any email saying your account will be closed unless you “verify” by clicking a link should be treated as phishing until you’ve checked it by going to outlook.com directly.

What the free account includes

Sources: Microsoft’s Outlook email plan page and premium features page. Prices vary by country, so check Microsoft’s page for your region rather than relying on a figure quoted elsewhere.

According to Microsoft, the premium benefits switch on automatically for any Microsoft 365 consumer subscriber whose subscription is linked to an Outlook.com mailbox. Work and school Microsoft 365 accounts are a different product and don’t use Outlook.com.

How Outlook.com storage works

This trips up a lot of people, so it’s worth being precise.

Microsoft’s storage limits page says the free 15 GB mailbox is separate from your OneDrive cloud storage. The mailbox quota covers email, contacts and calendar items. Your free 5 GB of Microsoft cloud storage, however, is shared by OneDrive files, photos and email attachments. That means a OneDrive full of phone photos can stop you sending or receiving mail with attachments even when your inbox looks small.

A note on the paid figure: Microsoft’s own pages are not consistent on this. The English storage-limits page says subscriber mailboxes are capped at 50 GB, while Microsoft’s current Outlook plan comparison and several localised support pages list 100 GB for paid consumer plans. Treat 50 GB as the floor and check the storage meter in your own account for the real number.

Freeing up space

1. In Outlook.com, open Settings and find the storage section to see what’s using space (menu names can change between redesigns).
2. Empty Deleted Items and Junk Email.
3. Sort by size or search for messages with large attachments and delete what you don’t need.
4. Check OneDrive too, since attachments and photos count against the shared cloud quota.

If you’re close to the limit, clear space before it becomes urgent; a full quota can interrupt mail delivery.

Using Outlook.com in other mail apps

You don’t have to use the website. Microsoft’s own Outlook apps for Windows, Mac, iOS and Android add an Outlook.com account automatically when you sign in. For other clients (Apple Mail, Thunderbird, etc.), Microsoft’s POP, IMAP and SMTP settings page lists:

Two things commonly go wrong:

• Authentication method. Microsoft lists OAuth2 / modern authentication. Apps that only support a plain username and password may fail to connect; update the app or use one that supports Microsoft sign-in.
• Wrong outgoing server. Many third-party guides give smtp.office365.com, which is the server for Microsoft 365 business accounts. For a personal Outlook.com address, use smtp-mail.outlook.com.

Microsoft notes that POP and IMAP access may be turned off by default, so check the Forwarding and IMAP section of Outlook.com’s mail settings first.

Keep your account from being closed

If you only check an old Hotmail address occasionally, this section matters most.

Microsoft changed its policy in 2019 so that a Microsoft account can be closed after two years without a sign-in, down from five years before, as Neowin reported at the time. Sources disagree on whether the Outlook.com mailbox itself follows the same two-year clock or a shorter one: some Microsoft community answers describe a separate one-year inactivity rule for the mailbox and OneDrive. Microsoft’s terms can change, so the safe approach is simple:

1. Sign in to outlook.com in a browser at least once every few months.
2. Make sure your recovery phone number and backup email are still current.
3. If you get a closure warning, don’t click its link. Go to outlook.com yourself and sign in; that counts as activity.

Once an account is closed for inactivity, its mail can be deleted permanently, and community reports suggest the address may eventually be reused. Don’t count on getting your old messages back.

Is Outlook.com a good fit for a team?

For personal mail, a side project or a backup address, the free tier is perfectly usable, and the 15 GB mailbox is generous for most people. For a business, it’s usually the wrong tool: each Outlook.com mailbox is a personal account tied to one person’s Microsoft account, so there’s no clean way to hand an address over when someone leaves. Teams that want Outlook should look at Microsoft’s separate Microsoft 365 business plans, which are a different product from the consumer plans covered here.

Details here are accurate as of November 2026, but Microsoft adjusts plan features, storage figures and sign-in options regularly, so confirm anything plan-specific in your own account settings.