Wondering how many files you can send (and receive) through Gmail (and how big they can be)? Find here the maximum file size for an attachment in Gmail.
First, Guess Ace of Spades
Want the best chance of guessing the card that pops up in a stranger’s head if you ask them to “name a card” (and they are a student at the University of British Columbia)?
Guess Ace of Spades. Ask some four people, and you can expect to be right once.
In a study from 2011, no fewer than 25 percent of participants named that very card. Combined with three other cards, the Ace of Spades accounted for half of all named cards.
Now, when you wonder what size of email attachment you can send through Gmail, you do not have to guess—but twenty-five is still not that bad a hunch:
This Is the Maximum Attachment Size in Gmail
Sending from a Gmail Address
When you send an email with attachments, Gmail in general allows for 25 MB.
| Aspect | Interface | Size Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Total message size | Web, Gmail app, API, SMTP | 25 MB |
| Max individual attachment size | Web, Gmail app, API, SMTP | 25 MB |
The general limit on the maximum amount of data you can send in a day (i.e. a rolling 24 hour-period) is 12.5 GB (25 MB per message times the Gmail sending limit of five hundred messages).
Different maximum attachment limits: Gmail can enforce lower limits, especially for new Gmail accounts and when sudden changes in behavior occur.
Example: You have always sent 3–5 emails per day with an average of two attachments per month sprinkled in. Suddenly, your account spews out ten emails per hour with 5 MB-attachments each. Gmail may find that suspicious and enforce a lower max attachment size limit.
More Gmail limits:
How Many Email Addresses You Can BCC in Gmail
These Are the Gmail Limits for Receiving Email
Sending to a Gmail Address
When you send an email to a Gmail address, delivery may fail if the message exceeds the receiving account’s limits. In particular, the following applies:
| Aspect | Size Limit |
|---|---|
| Total message size (all text, headers and attached files in encoded form) | 50 MB |
| Individual attachment file size | 25 MB |
| Attachments per email | 500 |
You can attach up to five hundred files to an email you send to a Gmail address provided no file is larger than 25 MB and all attachments combined with the message itself do not exceed 50 MB.
Important: For receiving, Gmail can enforce lower limits as well if its algorithms detect unusual or unexpected behavior.
This Is the Maximum Attachment Size in Gmail: FAQ
Can I change Gmail’s maximum attachment size limit?
No, you cannot directly influence the max size of files or the maximum number of files you can send through Gmail.
For sending big files (or lots of files), what are my alternatives?
To send big files, you can
- send the file using Google Drive or
- use a large file sending service.
(This is the maximum attachment size in Gmail updated April 2024)