File size limits in 2026: messengers, email and video sites
How big a file you can send in WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, Gmail and Outlook in 2026, from each service's own help pages, and how to get under the limit.
Updated
Short answer: WhatsApp and Telegram take files up to 2 GB, Discord only 20 MB on a free account, and almost every email service stops at 25 MB per message. YouTube and Instagram limit length more than size. The full table is below; every number links to the service’s own help page.
The limits
Messengers and chat
| Service | What | Limit | Larger files |
|---|---|---|---|
| Document | 2 GB source | – | |
| Telegram | File | 2 GB Premium: 4 GB source | – |
| Discord | File | 20 MB Nitro Basic: 50 MB Nitro: 1 GB source | – |
| Messenger | Photo or video | 25 MB source | – |
| Messenger | Document | 100 MB source | – |
| Slack | File | 1 GB source | – |
| Microsoft Teams | File in a chat | 100 MB source | – |
| KakaoTalk | File | 300 MB source | – |
| Video from the gallery | 20 MB source | – | |
| Zalo | File (desktop app) | 1 GB source | – |
| Service | What | Limit | Larger files |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gmail | Attachments per email | 25 MB source | Google Drive link |
| Outlook.com | Attachments per email | 25 MB source | OneDrive link |
| Yahoo Mail | Attachments per email | 25 MB source | – |
| Mail.ru | Attachments per email | 25 MB source | Облако Mail link |
| Yandex Mail | Attachments per email | 25 MB source | Yandex Disk link |
Video sites
| Service | What | Limit | Larger files |
|---|---|---|---|
| YouTube | Video | 15 min verified account: 256 GB or 12 h source | – |
| Reel length (app) | 3 min source | – |
All numbers were checked on the services’ help pages in October 2026.
“Larger files” means what the service does when you go over the limit: Gmail, Outlook.com, Mail.ru and Yandex Mail offer to put the file in their cloud storage and send a link instead. The person gets a link, not an attachment, and the file sits on that cloud until someone deletes it.
Why the same video “fits” in one app and not in another
The limits measure different things.
- Per file or per message. Email limits count all attachments together. Three 10 MB photos are 30 MB, which is over Gmail’s 25 MB.
- Email adds about a third. Attachments are encoded as text on the way, so a 25 MB limit fits roughly 18 to 19 MB of real files. If a 24 MB file bounces, this is why.
- Media or document. WhatsApp compresses photos and videos you send from the gallery and lowers their quality. The same file sent as a document keeps its quality and can be up to 2 GB.
- Size or length. YouTube lets an unverified account upload up to 15 minutes; Instagram Reels are up to 3 minutes. A small file that is too long is still refused.
- Paid plans. Telegram Premium and Discord Nitro raise the limit. The person you send to doesn’t need a paid plan to open the file.
How to get a file under the limit
Video. Pick a target a little below the limit: 18 MB for Discord’s 20 MB, 18 MB for a 25 MB email. A target-size compressor calculates the bitrate from the length of the video, so the result lands under the number you chose. For a long video, cutting it first helps more than squeezing it harder: one minute at good quality is about 10 to 20 MB in 720p.
Photos. A phone photo is 3 to 8 MB. Converting it to JPEG or WebP at around 2000 pixels on the long side usually brings it under 1 MB with no visible difference.
PDF. Scans are the heavy ones, because every page is a photo. Compressing a scanned PDF often makes it several times smaller; a PDF of text and vector drawings rarely shrinks much.
Too long, not too big. Trim the part you need, or split a long video into pieces under the length limit.
All of these work on Nibbo without uploading the file anywhere: the work happens in your browser, on your device, for files up to 3 GB. That matters when the video or scan is personal, and it is faster than uploading a big file just to make it smaller.
Questions
What is the biggest file I can send for free?
Of the services in the table, WhatsApp (as a document) and Telegram both take 2 GB per file without paying. For anything bigger, a cloud link is the usual way.
Why does Gmail say my attachment is too big when it is 22 MB?
Encoding makes attachments about a third larger on the way, so 22 MB becomes roughly 29 MB. Compress the file to about 18 MB, or let Gmail send it as a Google Drive link.
Why won’t Discord send my 22 MB video?
A free account takes 20 MB per file, and Discord checks the size of the original file. Compress it to about 18 MB, or under 50 MB with Nitro Basic, before you send it.
Do these limits change?
Yes, and without much notice: Discord raised its free limit from 10 MB to 20 MB in 2026. Each number in the table links to its source, so you can confirm it before you rely on it.