# Email storage limits
Source: https://docs.webgee.com/en/email/how-much-email-storage-space-is-permitted-on-the-shared-or-reseller-plans



There is no hard per-mailbox quota on shared and reseller hosting, but the fair
usage policy sets a ceiling. Applies to shared and reseller plans on cPanel and
DirectAdmin.

## The limits [#the-limits]

* **A combined maximum of 50 GB per cPanel or DirectAdmin user**, across every
  mailbox on that account.
* **The email service must not be used for archiving.** Historical mail that you
  keep but do not use belongs in an archive, not in a live mailbox.

## Why [#why]

WebGee runs NVMe storage, which is what makes sites fast, but mailboxes sit on
the same volume — the control panel cannot separate them onto slower storage.

The real cost is backups. Very large mailboxes contain enormous numbers of small
files, and that is the worst case for backup software: a 50 GB mailbox takes far
longer to back up and restore than a 50 GB database. Accounts with oversized
mailboxes are the ones whose restores fail or run past their window, which
affects everyone on the server.

## What happens if you exceed them [#what-happens-if-you-exceed-them]

WebGee will normally open an abuse case and contact you first. If the account
remains over the limit, email data may be removed.

<Callout type="warn">
  Do not rely on that warning arriving in time to save data you cannot lose.
  Keep your own copy of anything important — see
  [Download a backup of your account](/en/backups/how-to-generate-download-a-website-backup).
</Callout>

## Staying under the limit [#staying-under-the-limit]

* **Empty the Trash, Junk and Spam folders.** These are cleared automatically at
  30 days, but they still count until then — see
  [Files WebGee automatically removes](/en/hosting/understanding-our-internal-auditing-and-cleanup-process).
* **Delete large attachments rather than whole messages.** Most mailbox size is
  a small number of large files.
* **Archive old mail locally.** Most desktop clients can move mail older than a
  set date into a local folder, off the server.
* **Use POP3 for a genuine archive account**, so mail is downloaded and removed
  from the server rather than accumulating.

## Related [#related]

* [Maximum email attachment size](/en/email/what-is-the-maximum-email-attachment-size)
* [Files WebGee automatically removes](/en/hosting/understanding-our-internal-auditing-and-cleanup-process)
