Why does this shared folder take up 20GB of space, but it only has 1.62GB of actual data?

[N_Kennedy]

I have a basic drop box accout that I rarely use that has maybe 100MB worth of files on it. Had someone share a folder with me so that we could both edit documents for a project we were working on. After sharing the folder with me I get prompted to upgrade to 3TB to access the files because my 6GB account doesn't have enough space. Upon upgrade the account to the 3TB I download the entire folder just to see what was in it because I felt that 20GB was rather larger for Word and Excel files. Imagine my surprise to find that there was no where near that much data being needed. I should not have need to upgrade my account at all. I honestly feel like dropbox is ripping people off from this experience. So can some explain to me what exactly is happening here? Is it a case where the person sharing a folder can reserve a certain amount of space?

[Lusil]

Hey there @N_Kennedy, let's see what we can find here. 

Could you first have a look at your Plan tab to check what is taking up space?

Also, could you follow these steps to calculate the size of the shared folder from the web?

Looking forward to hearing back from you!