Advice
January 22, 2025

What is the maximum size of an Outlook email?

By
Letsignit

If you're using Outlook, two questions have probably crossed your mind: what is the maximum size of an email, and how can I send a larger file?

These are completely legitimate concerns! Whether for personal or professional use, knowing the sending limits and being able to manage the size of your emails is essential for optimal communication. And honestly, what’s more frustrating than an error message telling you your email didn't send because of a file that's too large?

No more headaches! Today, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about the maximum email size in Outlook, along with tips for sending large attachments.

Maximum File Size in an Outlook Email: A Variable Figure Based on Your Account

Taille maxi mail outlook

So, what is the maximum email size in Outlook? Actually, Microsoft’s email service has defined several limits based on the type of account (free or paid) and the version of Outlook you're using.

Thus, on a free Outlook.com account, the maximum size of an email sent from the email service is 25MB. In Office 365, Microsoft’s suite of tools integrated into your desktop, this limit is set to 20MB for a free account, and increases to 150MB on a paid plan.

A note about the said size: it includes not only your attachment but also the text and other elements embedded in the email, such as your professional email signature. Generally, however, these last elements are negligible compared to the size of the attachment.

Why Is There a Maximum Attachment Size in Outlook?

Combien de mo par mail outlook

But why impose a size limit on emails and attachments in Outlook? Don't see this as a Microsoft conspiracy to make your life more difficult! In fact, the company only has your best interests at heart.

This size limit has several reasons, including:

  • Security: The size limit protects you from spam, viruses, and other unwelcome surprises.
  • Storage: The larger the emails, the more space they take up on the Outlook server, which could impact the smooth operation and user experience for everyone.
  • Compatibility between different email services: The standard size limit ensures smooth sending and receiving between various services and users.
  • UX (User Experience): Have you ever had to wait for minutes (or hours) to download a large file? With this limit, Microsoft aims to spare you from such frustrating experiences!

Speaking of UX, do you know what can be designed intuitively and in the blink of an eye? Your email signature! Find out how to create your Outlook email signature seamlessly.

Outlook Email Sending Limits Per Day

In addition to the email size limit, Outlook imposes other restrictions to ensure security, proper service functioning, and a smooth experience. Among these restrictions is the daily sending and receiving limit.

This limit, which helps prevent server overload, is not specified by Microsoft. However, it seems that it is set to 300 emails per day with a free account.

Maximum Number of Recipients for an Email in Outlook

Nombre maximum de destinataires dans un mail outlook

The third limitation imposed by Outlook to protect its users and ensure a smooth experience is the maximum number of recipients per email.

What is the maximum number of recipients?

Once again, this is a variable figure depending on the type of account.

For Microsoft 365 subscribers, the recipient limit is set to 5000 per day, and the maximum number of recipients per message is set to 500. This value applies to people you have already been in contact with. It increases to 1000 for first-time contacts, also known as "recipients with no relationship."

For free accounts, the recipient limit is not specified by Microsoft but is certainly lower.

How to send an email to more than 100 people on Outlook?

To send an email to a large number of people, regardless of your Outlook account, the best solution is to create a contact group.

Here’s how to do it:

  • Go to Outlook.com and sign in to your account.
  • Click on Contacts in the navigation bar.
  • Under Home, select New Contact Group.
  • Enter the group name in the dialog box.
  • Under Contact Group, click Add Members.
  • You can then select From Outlook Contacts/From Address Book/New E-mail Contact.
  • Click OK.
  • Select Save & Close.

Additional tip for your communication campaign to be a real success: add an impactful Outlook signature with your company’s branding to your email!

Sending a Large File via Outlook Email: Our Guide

Comment envoyer un fichier de plus de 30 mo par mail

Can't quite accept the size limit imposed by Outlook? No problem – there are several methods to send emails with larger attachments.

Solutions for Sending Larger Files

1Compress your file

Zip! In the time it takes to say it, you can compress your large file into a zip file using dedicated software. WinZip or 7-Zip, for example, are two very effective free services.

2Use a large file sharing service

Another practical and quick option for sending your larger files is to use a file-sharing service. With Dropbox or WeTransfer, among others, upload your photo/video/experimental art film of 4 hours, then insert the link into your email, and you’re good to go!

3Use OneDrive, Outlook's file sharing and storage cloud

For its subscribers, Microsoft offers a file-sharing and real-time collaboration cloud service called OneDrive. With this tool easily accessible from your email, there's no need to get frustrated by error messages due to a file that's too large. Simply upload the file to OneDrive, and your collaborators will have immediate access.

How to Send a File Larger Than 30MB via Email?

Want to send a file exceeding the standard 25MB limit in an Outlook email? In addition to the methods mentioned below, you can also send the file in multiple parts, if the nature of the file allows it (for example, a video split into several parts).

Microsoft 365 subscribers can also ask Outlook administrators to increase the size of their attachments. This approach doesn't always work, so be sure to prepare strong arguments! And don't forget: as a paying user, you have access to OneDrive. So much less time-consuming, so much more peaceful...

By the way, if you have a paid account for your professional activity, don’t forget to create your Outlook 365 signature to enhance your communication.

Out of inspiration? Check out our Outlook signature templates!

About the author
About Letsignit
Letsignit is an email signature management solution that enables organizations to transform their employees' email signatures into a powerful 1-1 engagement medium for their brands and campaigns.

Questions
Fréquentes

1

Is it possible to track the number of clicks on email signatures?

Yes, with the 'Campaigns' offer, it is possible to track the number of clicks on the email signatures of all your employees in the 'Statistics' area of the platform.

You can then access a detailed or global view of the number of clicks on the email signatures of each employee. You can use the search option to target a specific signature or a given period. Finally, you have the possibility to export all statistics to an Excel document.

If you launch campaigns with banners inserted in your email signatures, you can also access their performance via this same space.

2

Can we add links to social networks, our website, and appointment-setting applications such as Calendly?

With Letsignit, you can easily add social network icons in your collaborators' email signatures and link to your company pages. Also, our "attributes" feature allows you to manage personalized URLs for each of your collaborators such as their individual LinkedIn profile.

And that's not all: you can add links to an appointment-setting application, allow your customers to leave reviews easily, and integrate our 'Chat on Teams' widget to let anyone start a discussion via Microsoft Teams chat.

3

Can employees update their signature information themselves (number, function, etc.)?

It’s up to you! As an administrator of the Letsignit platform, you choose whether or not to grant modification rights to your employees. These permissions are managed on an attribute-by-attribute basis, which means that you can decide to allow the employee to change their phone number, but not the address of your premises, for example.

This feature applies to all attributes in your directory, including custom attributes created on Letsignit. When your employees change one or more attributes, your directory is obviously not affected.

4

Why it is important to standardize our email signatures on a large scale to ensure our identity and brand image?

It often happens that employees make their email signature their own: custom format, bad fonts, colors inconsistent with the brand standards... all of this has an impact on your brand!

A consistent visual identity is considered authentic and outperforms a perceived weak one by 20%. And, your customers are 2.4 times more likely to buy your products.

With Letsignit, take back control over your brand identity by standardizing all your email signatures. Our tool has many features that allow you to customize your signatures by department, by audience or by subsidiary. Not to mention the possibility of carrying out campaigns within your email signatures thanks to our Campaign offer.

5

What is the user experience like for our employees?

What is the user experience like for our employees?

  • If you opt for the Letsignit Add-in for Outlook, they will have a dedicated space in their Outlook account where they will be able to view the signatures and campaigns assigned to them.
  • If you opt for the Letsignit Desktop APP, they will be able to preview all their signatures and campaigns in this space. If they want to change their default signature to another one when sending an email, this will be done in their signature library in Outlook.

In both cases:

  • They preview their signature before sending an email and choose from signatures assigned to them.
  • Based on the permissions granted, they will also be able to modify their personal information such as their name, position, or address in these spaces.

In short, they have autonomy in their email signature, but you keep control on the field, signatures, and banners they can edit or use.

6

Can my employees have multiple signatures available to them?

With our "multi-signature" feature, your employees can benefit from multiple email signatures. No technical manipulation is required. Thanks to our Add-in for Outlook or the desktop app, they can change their email signatures as they wish with just a few clicks.

Regarding the creation of email signatures, you can make several variations such as:

Everything has been thought of to go further in the personalization process based on the recipient of your emails.

7

Regarding “Green IT,” have you implemented measures to limit the digital footprint of email signatures?

If sending emails has an impact, non-optimized email signatures also have an impact. An unsuitable format or an image that is too heavy considerably increases the size of your signatures... and therefore, your emails.

As a responsible economic actor, we contribute to reducing our CO2 emissions and those of our customers in several ways:

  • Optimization of the weight of signatures and campaigns in emails.
  • Green features: lightening of signatures during response/transfer emails, possibility of not embedding images, implementation of lighter signatures for internal exchanges.
  • Integration of a 'Switch to Teams' widget to encourage your employees to continue their exchanges via chat, rather than email.

As we are increasingly involved in sustainability initiatives, our priority in 2023 is to develop even more green IT functionality.

8

Regarding “Green IT,” have you implemented measures to limit the digital footprint of email signatures?

If sending emails has an impact, non-optimized email signatures also have an impact. An unsuitable format or an image that is too heavy considerably increases the size of your signatures... and therefore, your emails.

As a responsible economic actor, we contribute to reducing our CO2 emissions and those of our customers in several ways:

  • Optimization of the weight of signatures and campaigns in emails.
  • Green features: lightening of signatures during response/transfer emails, possibility of not embedding images, implementation of lighter signatures for internal exchanges.
  • Integration of a 'Switch to Teams' widget to encourage your employees to continue their exchanges via chat, rather than email.

As we are increasingly involved in sustainability initiatives, our priority in 2023 is to develop even more green IT functionality.

Questions
Fréquentes

1

What is the maximum file size per email?

La taille maximum d'un fichier par mail Outlook est définie à 25 Mo pour un compte gratuit, 150 Mo pour les abonnés Microsoft 365.The maximum file size for an email in Outlook is set to 25 MB for a free account and 150 MB for Microsoft 365 subscribers.

2

How to send a large file via Outlook email?

To send a large file via Outlook:

  • Compress your file into a zip file
  • Share your file via a sharing platform
  • Use OneDrive, Outlook's cloud storage
  • If possible, send your attachment in multiple parts

Don't forget: certain elements like your email signature are very lightweight. It allows you to communicate effectively through a visual while taking up minimal space. Simply define the right email signature format!

3

How to increase the size of an Outlook email?

You cannot increase the size of an Outlook email, except by contacting your provider directly. This process doesn't always yield results!

4

How to reduce the size of an image file in Outlook?

To reduce the size of an image file in Outlook:

  • Attach your file to your email.
  • Under File, click on Info.
  • Under Attachments, select Resize large images when sending this message.
  • Send!

There you go, now you know the maximum email size in Outlook and how to send large files! For optimal communication, don't forget to include a professional signature. There are many email signature tools available, such as the intuitive Letsignit solution!

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Looking for a tool to manage your email signatures?

Letsignit allows you to create, manage, and deploy email signatures for all your employees in just a few clicks.
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