Outlook.com Email Attachment Size Limit

Can't send Outlook.com emails? You might be exceeding these limits

By
Heinz Tschabitscher
Heinz Tschabitscher
Heinz Tschabitscher
Writer
  • University of Vienna
A former freelance contributor who has reviewed hundreds of email programs and services since 1997.
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Updated on February 24, 2020
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Like all email providers, Outlook.com puts a limit on a number of email-related things. There's a per-email file attachment size limit, a per-day sent email limit and a per-message recipient limit. However, these Outlook.com email limits are not unreasonable. In fact, they're much larger than you might assume.

Information in this article applies to Outlook.com and Outlook Online.

Outlook.com Email Limits

The size limit when sending emails with Outlook.com is calculated not only by the size of the file attachments but also by the size of the message, like the body text and any other content. Email size limits for Outlook.com are in place to reduce the potential of spam.

The total size limit when sending an email from Outlook.com depends on whether you attach a file stored on your computer or a file stored on OneDrive. If the file is stored on your computer, the attachment size limit is 34 MB; for a OneDrive file, the attachment size limit is 2 GB.

In addition to the message size, Outlook.com limits the number of emails you can send per day to 300 and the number of recipients per message to 100.

If you created an Outlook.com recently, you might have a low sending quota, which is a temporary restriction. Once you establish credibility with the Outlook.com system, these restrictions will be removed and your account will be upgraded to the standard sending limits.

How to Send Bigger Files Over Email

When you send large files and photos with Outlook.com that exceed the available size limit, you'll be prompted to first upload the files to OneDrive. This makes it easier for Outlook to send the file and ensures that the recipient is not restricted by their email service's size limits. This takes the burden off of your account and also theirs if their provider doesn't accept large files.

Email Attach options in Outlook.com
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Another option to send large files is to first upload the files to a cloud storage service like Dropbox, Google Drive, or OneDrive. Then, when it's time to attach the files to the email, choose Cloud locations instead of Computer to send files that are uploaded online.

Sharing files via OneDrive enables you to send larger files and collaborate with others in real time on those files. The attachment size limit for OneDrive files is 2GB.

If you want to send something even bigger, either email the files in small chunks, make a compressed ZIP file of the attachments, store the files online and share download links to them, or employ another file sending service.

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