How big a video can you email? Gmail, Outlook, Mail Drop and WhatsApp limits
Gmail and Outlook.com both stop at 25 MB, which is about two minutes of 720p video. Apple's iCloud Mail Drop takes up to 5 GB. WhatsApp takes 100 MB sent as a video, or 2 GB sent as a document. I read each limit on the company's own help page on 8 November 2026. If the video runs longer than a couple of minutes, send a link instead of an attachment, or make the file smaller first.
Most people find these limits the same way: the email won't send, or a 40 MB clip from a phone or an old tape transfer turns into a link they didn't ask for. The numbers aren't hard to remember once you see them side by side.
The limits, as each company states them
| Where you're sending it | The limit | What happens over it |
|---|---|---|
| Gmail (personal account) | 25 MB of attachments | Gmail takes the attachment off and adds it as a Google Drive link |
| Outlook.com | 25 MB per attached file | Share it from OneDrive instead, up to 2 GB |
| iCloud Mail Drop (Apple Mail) | 5 GB per message | The person has 30 days to save the attachment |
| WhatsApp, sent as a video | 100 MB at 720p by default; 64 MB at 480p on a slower connection | Send it as a document instead |
| WhatsApp, sent as a document | 2 GB | Send a link |
| YouTube | 256 GB or 12 hours, whichever is less | Uploads over 15 minutes need a verified account |
| Every video posts as a reel since June 2025, and reels can be any length | Meta's requirements page states no file-size limit |
Sources, each read on 8 November 2026: Gmail Help, Microsoft's Outlook.com sending limits, Apple's Mail Drop limits, WhatsApp's page on sending media, YouTube Help and Meta's requirements for Facebook reels. Limits change, so check the date before you rely on an old answer, this one included.
How much video fits in 25 MB
A video's file size is its length times its bitrate, plus a little for the container. At about 1.6 Mbit/s, which is enough for 720p home video, 25 MB holds about two minutes. At about 0.8 Mbit/s, which suits an old tape transfer at 480p, it holds about four.
| Limit | 1080p at 3.1 Mbit/s | 720p at 1.6 Mbit/s | 480p at 0.8 Mbit/s |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25 MB (Gmail, Outlook.com) | 1 min | 2 min | 4 min |
| 100 MB (WhatsApp video) | 4 min | 8 min | 16 min |
| 2 GB (WhatsApp document, OneDrive) | 1 h 22 min | 2 h 37 min | 5 h 21 min |
| 5 GB (Mail Drop) | 3 h 25 min | 6 h 33 min | 13 h 24 min |
MB here means 1,000,000 bytes, and I held back 4% for the container and for the encoder overshooting its target. The three bitrates are my working numbers for watchable home video, not a standard; busy scenes such as confetti or a windy tree need more.
One catch with email: an attachment travels encoded as text, which makes it about a third bigger on the way. Whether a 24 MB file still gets through depends on how the service counts, so for Gmail I aim for about 18 MB, or let Gmail make its Drive link.
Pick where it's going and how long it runs.
The same sums as the table above, with Gmail's encoding allowance. To make a file smaller, compress it in Crisp; Compress runs at full length on the free copy.
What I measured on my Mac
I took a two-minute stretch of a 1938 home movie (Ivan Besse's reel from the Prelinger Archives, 640×480, 11.6 MB) and ran Crisp's Compress on it with H.264 output, on Crisp 1.0.1921, on 8 November 2026. Small file came out at 5.1 MB, 44% of the original, and Balanced at 6.3 MB, 54%. Either one goes through Gmail or Outlook.com as a plain attachment.
The whole 19-minute reel is 119 MB. On Small file it came out at 51.3 MB: still twice what an email takes, but under WhatsApp's 100 MB. That's the usual shape of it. Compression buys you a factor of two or three, and length decides the rest.
Sending it from a Mac
- Under about two minutes: make it smaller. In Crisp, drop the video in and type it's too big to email, or open Compress and pick Small file, Balanced or Best quality. Typing compress it to 720p also brings the picture size down, which saves the most. The smaller copy is saved next to your original, so check its size in Finder before you attach it. Compress runs at full length on the free copy, which adds a small “crispvideo.app” mark to video exports.
- Longer than that: send a link. In Apple Mail, Mail Drop takes up to 5 GB. Gmail makes a Drive link for you when the attachment is too big, and Outlook.com sends a OneDrive link.
- WhatsApp: send it as a document if you want the file itself to arrive, up to 2 GB. Sent as a video, the default limit is 100 MB at 720p.
On a Mac, Crisp saves HEVC by default, which makes smaller files. If the person might open it on an older Windows PC, choose H.264 (most compatible) as the format before you compress. The full steps for compressing a video on a Mac.
Email size limits, in detail
Why did Gmail turn my video into a Drive link?
Because the attachments added up to more than 25 MB. Gmail takes the attachment off and puts a Google Drive link in the email instead, so the person opens the video from your Drive.
Is the Outlook.com limit 20 MB or 25 MB?
Microsoft's own Outlook.com page says the attachment size limit for files is 25 MB, as of 8 November 2026. Over that, share the file from OneDrive, which allows up to 2 GB.
How long does a Mail Drop attachment last?
Thirty days. Apple's page says the person has 30 days to save Mail Drop attachments after you send the email, and one message can carry up to 5 GB.
Does WhatsApp lower the quality of a video?
Sent as a video, the default limit is 100 MB at 720p, or 64 MB at 480p on a slower connection. Sent as a document, WhatsApp takes the file itself, up to 2 GB.
How long a video can I email?
About two minutes of 720p video fits in 25 MB, or about four minutes of 480p. Anything longer is easier to send as a Mail Drop, Drive or OneDrive link.