There is nothing more annoying than an email attachment refusing to go through. Nine times out of ten, this happens because the attachment’s file size exceeds the limit imposed by the service provider. If this happens more often than you like, you may want to look at other email service providers and the file size limits they offer. So, without further ado, let’s take a look at the attachment size limits for Gmail, Yahoo Mail, Outlook, Hotmail, and more.
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In This Article
Why do email service providers impose an attachment size limit?
Attachment size limits exist for two major reasons. The first reason is related to server security, as having no storage/attachment size limit can prompt certain malicious entities to send extremely large files over email, leading to a server outage. Capping the file size reduces the chances of these attacks. Once you upload an attachment that exceeds the stipulated limit, your email will get stuck in the outbox.
The rise of cloud storage services has given email service providers further impetus to limit the attachment size. The size limit on Gmail pushes users towards Google Drive, which is highly compatible with the former. The same goes for Office 365/Hotmail and OneDrive. These service providers are able to generate more revenue by charging users for additional storage space on their respective cloud storage services.
Attachment Size Limits for Gmail, Yahoo Mail, Outlook, and more
| Service Provider | Attachment Size Limit |
| Gmail | 25MB (larger attachments are sent as a Google Drive link) |
| Yahoo Mail | 25MB |
| Outlook | 20MB |
| Hotmail | 25MB |
| AOL | 25MB |
| 16MB for media, 2GB for documents | |
| Telegram | 2GB |
| Facebook Messenger | 25MB |
| iMessage | 100MB |
| Google Drive | 15GB free storage |
| iCloud | 5GB free storage |
| Dropbox | 2GB free storage |
| SkyDrive | 7GB free storage |
| One Drive | 5GB free storage |
How do I get around the attachment file size limit?
Every once in a while you may hit the file size limit for email attachments or the media you’re trying to send through an IM app. There’s no need to fret as there are a bunch of things you can do in this scenario. Here are some tips and tricks for you.
- Use a cloud storage service: The best way to get around the file size limit on emails and instant messengers is by using a cloud storage service like Dropbox, Google Drive, or OneDrive. This option doesn’t compromise on media quality and extends the size limit by a comfortable margin.
- Crop your pictures: WhatsApp is notorious for capping the size of all media files at 16MB. The best thing you can do in this scenario is slightly cropping the images to bring their size down. You can crop the images on your smartphone’s native image editor. Even a slight crop that is barely noticeable will also work in this situation.
- Trim videos: Editing the unnecessary parts of a video can bring down its size by a large factor. If your video barely exceeds the file size limit, cut out a couple of seconds from the beginning and the end to make it conform to the limit. This can be done using your phone’s native editor and does not require a third-party app. Read this article to learn more.
- Compress files: PDF documents and other files rarely create any trouble, but if they do, you can easily compress them using a third-party app or an online tool. Websites like SmallPDF, PDF24Tools, and SodaPDF offer free tools for this job. You can even find a PDF compressor tool on Adobe’s official website.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the maximum file size that Gmail allows to be sent as an attachment?
You can send files up to 25MB in size using Gmail. Yahoo and Hotmail have a similar file size limit as well.
Why am I not able to email a file even if it is the same size as the allowed limit?
The file size limit constitutes the size of the attachment as well as the size of the text in the email. This means an attachment which is the exact size as the allowed limit will not go through if there is some text in the email as well.
How do I send a large attachment on Gmail?
You can split the contents of the attachment into multiple emails or use Google Drive to send it all at once. You can also compress the attachment if you don’t mind compromising on the quality.
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Conclusion
These are the attachment size limits imposed by Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo Mail, Outlook and other email service providers. You should also know that the cumulative size of the emails in your Gmail inbox also eats up a significant portion of your free Google storage. Always make sure you delete the spam emails to keep the storage manageable.
