What to Do When a PDF Is Too Big to Attach to an Email
Key points
- Around 10 MB total is safe for email attachments
- Compress first; if that's not enough, split and send in parts
- For big files, share via a link instead
Email has an attachment size limit. It varies by service and recipient, but here are rough guides.
Typical limits
- Common email: around 10–25 MB in total
- Company inboxes: sometimes limited to 5–10 MB
- Application forms: 2–5 MB
Sending right at the limit can fail on the recipient's side, so leave some margin.
Option 1: compress
Use "Compress PDF" and set something like 5 MB.
Option 2: cut pages
Remove pages you don't need with "Extract or Delete PDF Pages".
Option 3: send in parts
Use "Split PDF" to divide it into halves and send in several emails or attachments.
Option 4: share a link
A cloud share link is less affected by size limits, but check that the recipient accepts links.
For job hunting and similar, attachments are the default unless told otherwise.
Use "Compress PDF" (free)
Tools that go well with this
- Extract or Delete PDF Pages: Keep only the pages you need, or remove the pages you don't.
- Merge PDFs: Combine several PDF files into one, in the order you choose.
- Split PDF: Split a PDF into several files: one page each, every N pages, or by ranges.
More guides for this tool
- How to Compress a PDF to Fit a Size Limit
- Why Text Can't Be Selected in a Compressed PDF
- Choosing Quality When Compressing: Small, Normal or High
- Why Scanned PDFs Are Heavy and How to Lighten Them
- Typical Upload Limits on Application Forms and How to Fit Within Them
- How PDF Compression Works Without Sending Your File Out