Every upload limit,
one table.
Gmail, Outlook, Discord, WhatsApp, social platforms, cloud drives, government portals — the caps that reject your files, the real-file headroom after encoding, and a local tool for each one. Verified October 2026.
What are the upload limits in 2026? The ones people hit most: Gmail 25 MB (≈18 MB real file), Outlook/Exchange ~35 MB, Discord 10 MB free, WhatsApp 64–100 MB video / 2 GB documents, Instagram 8 MB, Reddit 20 MB, portals 240 KB–2 MB. The rule that explains most rejections: email inflates files by ×1.35 (base64), and every "too large" is solvable locally — see the tool column.
| Service | Limit | Real-file headroom | If you're over it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gmail (personal) | 25 MB total | ~18 MB (base64 ×1.35) | Images · PDFs · the full guide |
| Gmail Workspace Enterprise Plus | 50 MB (since Feb 2026) | ~37 MB | Compress PDF |
| Outlook / Exchange Online | ~35 MB (org-controlled) | ~26 MB | Compress video |
| iCloud Mail | 20 MB | ~15 MB | Compress images |
| Yahoo Mail · Proton Mail | 25 MB | ~18 MB | Compress PDF |
Chat & messaging
| Service | Limit | Notes | If you're over it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 64–100 MB video · 16 MB status · 2 GB documents | Re-compresses heavy video — pre-compress to 720p | Compress video · quality guide | |
| Discord (free) | 10 MB | Nitro tiers raise it | Video · Images |
| Telegram | 2 GB per file | Rarely a problem | — |
| iMessage | ~100 MB practical | Larger files switch to iCloud links | Compress video |
Social platforms
| Platform | Image limit | Notes | If you're over it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 MB (feed image) | Re-encodes everything — pre-size to 1080px | Compress · Crop | |
| X (Twitter) | 5 MB (image) | Higher for some formats/tiers | Compress |
| 20 MB per image | Pre-compress to avoid heavy re-encoding | Compress | |
| YouTube thumbnail | 2 MB | 1280×720 recommended | Compress |
Cloud drives & transfer
| Service | Limit | Notes | If you're over it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Drive | 5 TB per file | — | — |
| Dropbox (web upload) | 2 GB | Desktop app raises it | Compress video |
| WeTransfer (free) | 2 GB per transfer | — | Compress video |
Portals & forms
| Where | Typical cap | Notes | If you're over it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Government / job portals | 240 KB – 2 MB | Sometimes also exact pixel sizes | 200 KB · PDF |
| Indian exam forms (SSC, RRB, IBPS…) | Photo 20–50 KB · Signature 10–20 KB | Exact KB windows, both directions | 50 KB · 20 KB · spec guide |
| School / university LMS (Canvas, Blackboard) | Often 10–50 MB per file | Varies by institution | Compress PDF |
The ×1.35 rule, in one line
Email attachments travel base64-encoded — about 35% bigger than the file on your disk. Multiply by 1.35 before comparing to any email limit; chat apps and social platforms instead re-encode (their own size rules), which is why pre-compressing beats fighting the platform. Looser caps work the same way: the 2 MB and 5 MB targets cover email-friendly photos.
Verified October 2026 against each service's published documentation where available; limits change — check the service before blaming your file. Every tool linked above runs locally in your browser: your documents are never uploaded to a server, ours or anyone's.
What is Gmail's attachment size limit?
25 MB total per message on personal accounts — measured after base64 encoding, which inflates files by about 35%. The practical ceiling is roughly 18 MB of actual file. Workspace Enterprise Plus accounts can send 50 MB since February 2026.
What is WhatsApp's video size limit?
As of 2026 WhatsApp lists 64 MB on slower connections and 100 MB on faster ones for videos (status videos are shorter), plus up to 2 GB for documents. The bigger issue is re-compression — pre-compressing to 720p avoids it, which our WhatsApp guide covers.
Why is my file rejected when it's under the limit?
Email attachments travel base64-encoded (about 35% bigger on the wire), so a 20 MB file becomes ~27 MB and blows a 25 MB limit. Multiply by 1.35 before comparing, or compress the file first.
How do I make a file smaller for a specific limit?
Use the target-size tools: images compress to exact KB targets (20 KB–5 MB), PDFs shrink with the PDF compressor, and videos re-encode to your chosen size — all locally, nothing uploaded.