Email Attachment Limits: What Each Provider Actually Allows

Ever tried to email a video or photo album only to get hit with an error message? Email wasn’t designed for large files, and every provider has different limits. Here’s what you need to know.

The Major Players: Sending Limits

Gmail

Limit: 25 MB (combined size of all attachments)

Gmail is actually one of the more generous providers. If you try to attach files larger than 25 MB, Gmail automatically uploads them to Google Drive and sends a link instead. Recipients need a Google account to access these files if they’re large.

Outlook.com / Hotmail

Limit: 34 MB (newer accounts) or 20 MB (older accounts)

Microsoft has gradually increased limits over the years. Like Gmail, Outlook.com automatically switches to OneDrive links for files that exceed the limit. The recipient gets a link that works for 30 days by default.

Yahoo Mail

Limit: 25 MB (total per message)

Yahoo matches Gmail’s 25 MB limit, but doesn’t automatically convert large files to cloud links. You’ll need to manually use a file-sharing service if your attachments exceed this size.

Apple Mail (iCloud Mail)

Limit: 20 MB via SMTP, 5 GB via Mail Drop

Apple Mail has a clever Mail Drop feature. If your attachment exceeds 20 MB, Mail automatically uploads it to iCloud and sends a download link. The file stays available for 30 days. Recipients don’t need an Apple account to download.

ProtonMail

Limit: 25 MB (free accounts) or 50 MB (paid accounts)

The security-focused email provider offers slightly higher limits for paid users, but you’re still nowhere near the gigabyte range many people need for modern files.

Receiving Is Different From Sending

Here’s a catch most people don’t know about: the recipient’s email provider has limits too.

You might successfully send a 24 MB file from Gmail, but if your recipient uses an older email system with a 10 MB receiving limit, they’ll never get it. The email will bounce back or simply disappear into the void.

Corporate email servers often have even stricter limits—sometimes as low as 5-10 MB—because IT departments are managing storage and security for thousands of users.

What Actually Happens When You Exceed the Limit

The experience varies by provider:

• Immediate rejection: Your email client shows an error before sending. Most modern providers do this.
• Silent failure: The email appears to send, but the recipient never gets it. More common with receiving limits.
• Bounce-back message: You get an automated reply hours later saying delivery failed. Frustrating because you thought it worked.
• Automatic conversion: The provider uploads to cloud storage and sends a link instead (Gmail, Outlook, Apple Mail).

The Cloud Storage Workaround

Most major providers now default to their cloud storage services for large files:

• Gmail → Google Drive links
• Outlook → OneDrive links
• Apple Mail → Mail Drop links

This solves the size problem, but creates new ones:

1. Expiration dates: Links often expire after 30 days
2. Account requirements: Some require recipients to sign in
3. Privacy concerns: Your file is now on a cloud server you might not have chosen
4. Download limits: Some services cap how many times a file can be downloaded

Better Alternatives for Large Files

When email won’t cut it, you have options:

Dedicated File Transfer Services

Services like WeTransfer, Dropbox Transfer, or Stash are designed specifically for sending large files. They typically offer:

• Much larger size limits (often 2 GB or more)
• No requirement for recipients to have accounts
• Better download experiences with progress indicators
• More control over expiration and access

Cloud Storage Sharing

If you already use Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, or similar services, you can upload the file there and share a link. Good for collaboration, but can be overkill for one-time transfers.

Direct Transfer Apps

For very large files or sensitive data, peer-to-peer transfer apps can send files directly from your device to the recipient’s without using cloud storage. Requires both people to be online simultaneously.

The Bottom Line

Email attachment limits haven’t kept pace with file sizes. A single iPhone video can easily exceed 100 MB, and even a handful of high-quality photos will push you over the 25 MB limit.

Quick reference guide:

• Small documents and compressed photos (< 10 MB): Email is fine
• Medium files (10-25 MB): Most providers can handle it, but check with your recipient
• Large files (25-100 MB): Use your email provider’s cloud link feature or a dedicated file transfer service
• Very large files (> 100 MB): Skip email entirely and use a proper file-sharing solution

The most important thing? Before you hit send, think about both your limit and your recipient’s limit. Just because you can attach 25 MB doesn’t mean they can receive it.

And if you’re regularly running into these limits, it’s time to find a better tool for the job. Email is fantastic for messages, but it was never meant to be a file transfer system.