Do you sometimes exceed the file limit for email attachments? There are several alternatives to work around this.
Getting an error message when your files are too large to send via email? That can be frustrating. It’s helpful to know what the file limits are, and what the difference is between a free or paid account. If you still want to bypass these limits, we have some alternatives ready for you to send large files without compromising on quality.
Maximum File Size
There is a maximum size for email attachments when sending emails in Outlook. For free users, this amounts to a maximum of 20 MB. A business account enjoys a standard limit of 25 MB, which can be increased up to 150 MB. In all cases, this applies to the total weight of all attachments combined.
Moreover, this limit differs depending on whether you use Outlook via the browser (Outlook.com) or via the Outlook app (desktop or mobile). The maximum attachment size per email for free users via Outlook.com is 20 MB. If you exceed the maximum size here, Outlook will suggest OneDrive as an alternative.
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For business customers using the Microsoft Exchange server, the standard limit is set at 20 MB for outgoing messages, and 25 MB for incoming emails. This limit can be increased by the IT administrator to a maximum of 150 MB. If you use Outlook with an IMAP or POP account, such as Gmail or Yahoo, the limits of your email provider apply. For Gmail, this is 50 MB for incoming messages and 25 MB for outgoing emails. Yahoo offers a maximum file size of 25 MB, iCloud Mail 20 MB, and ProtonMail 25 MB.
Increasing Limits
Within a free account, it is not possible to increase the file limit on Outlook.com. Those who opt for Microsoft’s business account have more freedom. As mentioned earlier, the standard maximum size of email attachments for paying customers is 20 MB, but this can be increased to 150 MB via the Exchange management settings. For this, you need to have administrator rights.
Through the Exchange Admin Center (EAC), you can choose Mailflow > Connectors and select Maximum send size and Maximum receive size. This will be set to 25 MB by default, but you can increase it up to 150 MB. Then click on Save. It can take up to 30 minutes for the change to take effect.
Alternatives
Nowadays, there are various ways to bypass the limits and add your files as attachments through alternative methods. One of the most commonly used is through cloud storage. Well-known examples of this are OneDrive, Dropbox, iCloud, SharePoint, and Google Drive. Sending files via the cloud can be done through an email invitation or direct link. Moreover, the sharer can choose whether participants have access to edit the document or not.
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A second alternative is to compress your files into a ZIP file. This way, you can quickly and easily reduce the size of your images and attachments. Moreover, it ensures that multiple files are combined into one ZIP file, allowing you to bypass the maximum limit on the number of attachments.
Right-click on the file or folder you want to send and select Compress to ZIP file. You can then add this file as an attachment to your email. Afterwards, the recipient can decompress the file, so it is displayed again in its original size. How much space you can save by compressing depends on the type of files.
External Sites
Is compressing to a smaller file still not enough? Then there are also external sites with which you can send files. A classic example is WeTransfer, where you can send both individual files and entire folders. You can generate a download link or specify an email address to which the files will be sent. Recently, the company increased the limit of a WeTransfer link. It now expires after thirty days.
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Two years ago, Synology introduced a WeTransfer alternative for the business world, namely C2 Transfer. Synology strongly focuses on security and provides end-to-end encryption. Moreover, as a sharer, you can send a unique password per email to the recipient, ensuring that not just anyone with the link can access the data.
Once you know the file limits for email attachments, you can send large files more efficiently without encountering error messages. Free Outlook users have less space than business accounts, but with cloud storage, compression, or external services like WeTransfer, you can already go a long way.