Gmail and Outlook attachment limits for video
Gmail lets a personal account attach up to 25 MB, and Outlook allows 20 MB for internet accounts such as Outlook.com. Video is the file type that most often breaks an email, because a minute of phone footage can easily go past either cap. The two big services publish their limits, and they are not the same. Gmail quietly swaps an oversized file for a Drive link. Outlook counts the attachment and the message body together, and the cap depends on the kind of account you have. Here are the figures, with the page each came from.
Fit a video into an email
A personal Gmail account allows 25 MB. Outlook.com allows 20 MB, and Exchange accounts default to 10 MB, counting the email too. Shrink a video for email or get it under 25 MB before you attach it.
Gmail
| Personal Gmail account | 25 MBSource, checked Oct 2026 |
|---|---|
| Work or school account | Set by your Google Workspace administratorSource, checked Oct 2026 |
| Over the limit | Gmail removes the attachment and adds a Google Drive linkSource, checked Oct 2026 |
Outlook
| Internet accounts such as Outlook.com or Gmail | 20 MBSource, checked Oct 2026 |
|---|---|
| Exchange (business) accounts | 10 MB by defaultSource, checked Oct 2026 |
| What counts toward the limit | The attachment and the email togetherSource, checked Oct 2026 |
Make one now
Leave room for the message
Outlook measures the attachment plus the email around it, and attachments get larger when they are encoded for email. A file that is exactly at the limit will often be refused. Aim for a few megabytes under.
The same habit protects you on Gmail. The 25 MB figure is the ceiling, not a target.
Link or attach
Gmail will turn a big file into a Drive link for you, and Outlook suggests a cloud link for large files too. That works well when the recipient has an account and a good connection.
An attachment is better when you want it to arrive as a file in their inbox, or when the person cannot open links at work. For that, make the video smaller.
What to cut first
Length is the biggest lever. Trim the start and end before anything else. Next, lower the frame size: a message clip rarely needs to be 4K, and 720p looks fine on a laptop.
Shrinking in your browser keeps the video on your device, which suits work footage you would rather not upload to a third party.
Check your account type
If you use a company address, the limit may differ from the personal figures above. Gmail says the Workspace administrator sets it, and Exchange defaults to the lower 10 MB figure. When in doubt, ask whoever runs your mail.
Sending to several people
Remember that each recipient receives their own copy. A 20 MB attachment sent to ten people adds 200 MB to their inboxes, which can fill a small mailbox quickly.
For a wide audience, upload the video once and share a link, or send a short preview clip with a link to the full version.
A preview also helps the recipient decide whether to download the whole thing. Most people would rather watch ten seconds in their inbox than wait for a huge file to arrive on a slow connection.
Questions
What is the Gmail attachment size limit?
For a personal Gmail account the limit is 25 MB. Work and school accounts are set by the Workspace administrator.
What is the Outlook attachment size limit?
Outlook lists 20 MB for internet email accounts and a 10 MB default for Exchange business accounts. The limit includes the email as well as the attachment.
What happens if my video is too big for Gmail?
Gmail removes the attachment and adds it to the message as a Google Drive link instead.
Is a Drive link better than shrinking the video?
It depends on the recipient. A link keeps full quality but needs them to open it. A smaller attachment arrives ready to play.
More platform specs
Discord video specs
Free Discord accounts can upload files up to 20 MB, Nitro Basic up to 50 MB and Nitro up to 1 GB. The cap depends on your account, not the server or channel, and the free limit rose from 10 MB in August 2026, so older advice that says 10 MB is out of date. Below the table you will find the quirks that trip people up, such as how the check differs on a phone, and the quickest ways to bring a recording under the line.
WhatsApp video specs
WhatsApp lets you send files up to 2 GB, up from 100 MB, and that is the only size figure we found that WhatsApp itself states in writing. People searching for the WhatsApp video size limit find answers that vary from one site to the next, and many of them do not come from WhatsApp itself. WhatsApp does not publish a video-specific limit that we could read and verify, so this page does not invent one. What it offers instead is the confirmed number, an honest account of what is unknown, and practical ways to send a clip that is easy for the other person to receive.
LinkedIn video specs
LinkedIn takes videos up to 5 GB and 15 minutes in a post, and is strict about almost nothing else. A normal phone recording will usually upload without any changes, which is why most people never look up the limits. The numbers below matter when an upload stalls, when a clip looks soft after processing, or when you are preparing a video for a company Page or an ad, where the rules differ from a personal post. Every row names the LinkedIn help page it came from and the day we last read it, so you can check it yourself.