# Maximum email attachment size
Source: https://docs.webgee.com/en/email/what-is-the-maximum-email-attachment-size



WebGee accepts email messages up to **50 MB**. Applies to all WebGee mailboxes.

That figure is the size of the **entire message**, not the attachment alone.
Message headers and encoding count towards it, so an attachment close to 50 MB
will be rejected even though the file itself is under the limit.

<Callout type="warn">
  The recipient's provider has its own limit, and it is often lower — many
  block anything over 20 MB. A message can leave WebGee successfully and still
  be refused at the other end. The limit that matters is the smaller of the two.
</Callout>

## Attachments are larger than the file [#attachments-are-larger-than-the-file]

Email cannot carry binary data directly, so attachments are re-encoded as text
before sending. That encoding adds roughly a third to the size. A 40 MB file
becomes around 54 MB on the wire and will not send.

As a rule of thumb, keep individual attachments under **35 MB** to stay inside a
50 MB limit.

## Send large files another way [#send-large-files-another-way]

Email was never designed to transfer large files, and using it that way is slow
and unreliable regardless of the limit. For anything substantial, send a link
instead of a file:

* A cloud storage service such as Dropbox, Google Drive or OneDrive.
* A one-off transfer service such as WeTransfer.
* Your own hosting account, if the recipient can be given a direct URL.

Links also avoid filling both mailboxes with a copy of the same file, which is
what pushes accounts towards their
[storage limit](/en/email/how-much-email-storage-space-is-permitted-on-the-shared-or-reseller-plans).

## Related [#related]

* [Email storage limits](/en/email/how-much-email-storage-space-is-permitted-on-the-shared-or-reseller-plans)
* [Email sending limits](/en/email/email-sending-limits)
