Sending files too big for email — four alternatives
Mail servers typically reject anything over 25 MB. Here are four realistic ways to deliver bigger files by use case.
Typical attachment limits
- Gmail: 25 MB.
- Microsoft 365 / Outlook: 20–25 MB (admins can raise it).
- iCloud Mail: 20 MB, with Mail Drop adding up to 5 GB.
Option 1: Cloud storage share links
- Drop the file into Google Drive, OneDrive, iCloud Drive, or Dropbox and share the link.
- Supports expiring links and access control — the default for business use.
Option 2: File-transfer services
- WeTransfer, Firefox Send-style successors, and regional services like ギガファイル便.
- Convenient, but enterprise policy often blocks them.
Option 3: Compression and splitting
- Classic trick: split a ZIP into volumes and send several mails.
- Skip it if the recipient's gateway rejects split archives.
Option 4: Dedicated SFTP / SMB
- Large enterprises, finance, and healthcare often land on VPN + SFTP.
- Higher operational overhead but leaves audit trails that satisfy compliance.