What is Gmail's video attachment limit?

Gmail accepts attachments up to 25 MB. Anything larger is silently converted to a Google Drive link by Gmail itself, but the recipient then needs Drive access. To send the video as a true attachment, compress it under 25 MB first. We target 19 MB to leave headroom for the email body, the MIME encoding overhead (~33% for base64), and any in-line signatures.

What is Outlook's attachment limit?

Outlook.com and Outlook for the web cap attachments at 20 MB. Outlook desktop (Office 365) defaults to 20 MB, configurable by IT up to 150 MB on Exchange. Using the 19 MB Email preset works for all variants.

What about iCloud Mail and Yahoo?

iCloud Mail caps at 20 MB. Yahoo Mail caps at 25 MB. Both are covered by the 19 MB Email preset. iCloud also has Mail Drop for files up to 5 GB, but that uploads to iCloud first — slower and requires the recipient to download from a link.

Does the video upload to your server?

No. Compression runs entirely in your browser via ffmpeg.wasm. Your video never leaves your device — verifiable in DevTools → Network or by disconnecting from Wi-Fi after page load.

How long does it take?

30–90 seconds for a typical 30-second 1080p clip on a modern laptop. 4K footage takes 2–4× longer.

What quality will I lose?

The Email (19 MB) preset uses H.264 video and AAC audio. For short clips quality is acceptable; for longer footage the bitrate per second drops more aggressively. If quality is critical, use a cloud-share link instead — Gmail will auto-suggest Drive, Outlook has OneDrive, iCloud has Mail Drop.

Video Compressor for Email Attachment

Updated June 2026 · Free, in-browser, hits Gmail / Outlook / iCloud / Yahoo caps

Gmail caps attachments at 25 MB. Outlook and iCloud Mail cap at 20 MB. A 60-second iPhone video is usually 100–200 MB, so it bounces — or Gmail silently converts it to a Drive link your recipient may not be able to open. This page walks through compressing your video to land under the attachment cap, in your browser, with no upload to a third-party service.

Email attachment limits by provider

Provider	Attachment cap	Notes
Gmail	25 MB	Bigger files auto-convert to Google Drive links (recipient needs Drive access).
Outlook.com / Outlook for the web	20 MB	OneDrive auto-share offered above this.
Outlook desktop (Office 365)	20 MB default	Admin-configurable on Exchange up to 150 MB.
iCloud Mail	20 MB	Mail Drop bypasses (uploads to iCloud, recipient gets a link).
Yahoo Mail	25 MB	Bigger files refused (no auto-share).
ProtonMail	25 MB	Free tier; paid plans up to 100 MB total per message.

The lowest common denominator is 20 MB (Outlook / iCloud), so the Email preset targets 19 MB — leaves headroom for the email body, MIME base64 overhead (~33%), and inline signatures.

Compress a video for email in 4 steps

Open the compressor. Click the button below — the Email (19 MB) preset is already selected.
Drop your video. Drag the file or pick it via Choose Videos. Any size accepted (we run locally, no upload).
Wait for compression. The browser computes the right bitrate to land at 19 MB. A typical 30-second 1080p clip takes 30–60 seconds; longer or 4K clips take longer.
Attach and send. The compressed file auto-downloads. Attach to your email — uploads instantly because it's under the cap.

Open the Email-ready compressor

Pre-set to target 19 MB — fits every major email provider.

Open compressor →

Other targets: Discord 25 MB · WhatsApp 16 MB · custom size

Why the browser is better than Drive / OneDrive for short clips

Gmail / Outlook will offer you a cloud-share link for big files. That's fine for documents — but for a short video meant to be watched once and forgotten, it adds friction:

The recipient has to click a link instead of just hitting play in their inbox preview.
The recipient may not have a Google / Microsoft account, or might be on a corporate network that blocks Drive / OneDrive.
The video lives forever on someone else's server, retention controlled by you (or not).
Mobile email apps preview true attachments inline; cloud links open in a separate tab.

For a 30-second clip you want someone to watch right now, compressing to fit as a true attachment beats every cloud-share workflow.

Try it now

Compress your video for email

Free. In your browser. Fits every major provider (Gmail / Outlook / iCloud / Yahoo).

Open compressor (Email 19 MB) →

FAQ

What is Gmail's attachment limit?

25 MB. Larger files are silently converted to Google Drive links by Gmail. Sometimes that's fine; sometimes the recipient can't access Drive or is on a network that blocks it. Compressing under 25 MB sends the video as a true attachment, viewable inline.

Why does the Email preset target 19 MB instead of 20 or 25?

The lowest common cap across major providers is 20 MB (Outlook / iCloud). MIME base64 encoding adds ~33% overhead when the file is wrapped for email transit, so a 19 MB file becomes roughly 25 MB on the wire. 19 MB also leaves room for the email body, your signature, and any other attachments.

Does my video upload to your server?

No. Compression runs entirely in your browser via ffmpeg.wasm. Verifiable in DevTools → Network, or by disconnecting from Wi-Fi after page load.

How long does compression take?

30–60 seconds for a typical 30-second 1080p clip on a modern laptop. 4K takes 2–4× longer (encoding scales with pixels).

Will my recipient see lower quality?

Some loss is inherent in compression. The Email (19 MB) preset uses H.264 with a calculated bitrate that lands under the cap. Short clips look fine; longer footage gets aggressive quality reduction. For high-quality long video, use a cloud share link instead.

What about ProtonMail / Tutanota / other privacy-focused providers?

ProtonMail caps at 25 MB on free, up to 100 MB total per message on paid plans. Tutanota similar. The 19 MB Email preset works for both.

Other compression targets

Part of the Essex Video Compressor docs. Free, in-browser, by Essex Software.