Gmail says your file is too large? How to send big files from Gmail

Gmail says your file is too large because a personal Gmail account allows 25 MB of attachments per message, and email's Base64 encoding makes files about a third bigger in transit. When you go over, Gmail removes the attachment and inserts a Google Drive link instead. To send a big file from Gmail without Drive's access prompts, upload it once and paste a plain link into the email, for example a Link in Seconds link that opens in any browser and shows you when it was viewed.

What is Gmail's attachment size limit?

Google's help page puts the limit for personal accounts at 25 MB, and it counts every attachment on the message together, not each file on its own. Three 10 MB photos are over the limit. Work and school accounts follow whatever the Workspace admin has chosen, so your office Gmail may allow more or less.

Attachments also count toward your Google storage, which is shared by Gmail, Drive and Photos. If that storage is full, Gmail can't send or receive attachments at all, whatever their size.

Why does Gmail say a 22 MB file is too large?

Email still carries attachments as text. Each file is Base64-encoded, which rewrites every three bytes as four characters, so the file grows by roughly 33%, a little more once headers and line breaks are added. A 22 MB file becomes about 30 MB on the wire. The limit applies to that encoded message, not to the size your computer shows. We walk through the maths, provider by provider, in why your 22 MB attachment bounces.

What happens when you attach a file over 25 MB?

Gmail doesn't refuse. It uploads the file to your Google Drive and puts a Drive link in the message where the attachment would have been. That works well when your recipient uses Google and the sharing is set correctly. It goes wrong in a few predictable ways.

Why does the recipient see “request access”?

Before sending, Gmail checks whether your recipients can open the Drive file and asks you to change the sharing if they can't. If you choose to share only with the people on the email, Google notes that recipients without a Google account, recipients at a different address, and anyone reading through a mailing list still can't open it. They land on a request access page and have to wait for you. Our guide to fixing the Google Drive “You need access” page covers every cause.

Other Drive link pitfalls

• Work accounts can block outside sharing. A Workspace admin may stop you sharing files outside your company, so a client never gets in.
• “Anyone with the link” is all or nothing. It fixes access, but anyone the email is forwarded to can open the file too, and you can't tell who did.
• The file eats your storage. Every big file Gmail moves to Drive counts toward the same Google storage as your mail.
• No sign it was opened. Drive doesn't tell a personal account who viewed a shared file.

How do I send a big file from Gmail as a link?

Do on purpose what Gmail does automatically: put the file somewhere and send a link. With Link in Seconds the link needs no account to open, so there is no access request, and it opens right in the browser instead of inside a drive.

1. 1

   Upload the file instead of attaching it

   Sign in to Link in Seconds with a free account and drop the file into the uploader. Free files can be up to 250 MB each.
2. 2

   Copy the link

   You get a short link that opens the file in any browser. Your recipient doesn't need a Google account or any account at all.
3. 3

   Paste the link into your Gmail message

   Write the email as usual and paste the link in the body. A link is a few dozen characters, so the message is tiny and nothing gets swapped or bounced.
4. 4

   Check the view count

   The link's analytics show when it was opened and how many times. If you need to fix the file, replace it and the same link shows the new version.

Every link feature is free on every plan: a password, an expiry date if you want one, a view limit, view-only mode and a QR code. Links never expire unless you set a date. The free plan holds 50 live links and 500 MB in total, with files up to 250 MB each; Pro raises the per-file size to 500 MB.

Gmail Drive link vs a Link in Seconds link

Quick answers

Go deeper

• Send large files via email
• How to send a large PDF that's too big for email
• How to send a video that's too big for email
• Outlook attachment size limit and how to send bigger files