Step by step
Upload the file
Drop the file into Enzonic Send. Up to 500 MB works without an account; sign in free for up to 2 GB.
Copy the link
When the upload finishes, copy the share link. You also get a 6-digit code and a QR code.
Paste the link into your email
Write your email as usual and paste the link in the body instead of attaching the file.
Let the receiver download
The receiver clicks the link before it expires. No account or app is needed on their side.
You hit Attach, wait, and get an error: the file is too large. It happens with videos, design files, scanned documents and almost anything from a camera. Email systems cap attachment sizes, and those caps are small compared to modern files.
Email attachment limits at a glance
These are the limits at the time of writing. Providers do change them, and workplace mail servers often set their own.
| Email service | Attachment limit per message | What happens above it |
|---|---|---|
| Gmail | 25 MB | Gmail offers to share the file as a Google Drive link |
| Outlook.com | 20 MB | Outlook offers to upload to OneDrive and share a link |
| Outlook desktop (Microsoft 365) | 20 MB typical | Limit depends on your organization's mail server |
| Workplace / school email | Varies | Set by your IT team; often similar or lower |
Remember the receiver's side too. Even if you can send 25 MB, their server might reject anything over its own limit, and the message bounces.
For the details on each provider, see the Gmail attachment limit and Outlook attachment limit guides.
Why a 20 MB file can still fail
Email was designed to carry text. Attachments get encoded (Base64) so they can travel as text, which inflates them by roughly a third. A 20 MB PDF can become around 27 MB in transit, over Gmail's limit even though the file itself looked small enough. If you're close to the cap, assume it won't fit.
The fix: send a link, not the file
Rather than pushing the file through your email server, upload it somewhere and email the link. The email stays tiny and the file can be hundreds of megabytes.
With Enzonic Send:
- Drop the file in the uploader at the top of this page.
- Copy the link when the upload finishes.
- Paste the link into your email and send it as normal.
That's it. The receiver clicks the link in their inbox and downloads the original file.
What you can send
- Up to 500 MB without an account.
- Up to 2 GB with a free account (email or Google sign-in).
- Several files or a whole folder at once. They're zipped in your browser into one download, with folders kept. See send multiple files.
Options worth setting
- Expiry: 1 hour, 1 day or 3 days anonymously, or up to 7 days signed in. The file is deleted automatically afterwards.
- Password: send it separately, by text or a phone call, not in the same email as the link.
- Download limit: 1, 5, 10, 50 or 100. Set it to 1 if only one person should download.
- Title and message: helps the receiver recognise what they're downloading.
Other ways around email limits
Linking isn't the only option. Depending on the file, one of these might work:
- Compress it. Word documents, spreadsheets, CSVs and code shrink well in a ZIP. Photos, videos and image-heavy PDFs don't. The large PDF guide covers PDF-specific tricks.
- Split it across emails. Possible, but clumsy for both sides. Not recommended for more than two parts.
- Use the provider's own cloud. Gmail's Drive link and Outlook's OneDrive option work if both people are comfortable with those services and sharing permissions.
- Reduce quality. For photos you only need to view, exporting smaller copies can bring them under the limit. Not suitable when the receiver needs the originals.
Checklist when a file won't attach
- Is the file over about 18 MB? Assume email will reject it once encoded.
- Is it already compressed (video, JPEG, HEIC, MP3)? Zipping won't save much.
- Does the receiver need the original quality? Then don't shrink it; send a link.
- Is it private? Add a password and a download limit.
- Will they open it today? A 1-day expiry is tidy. If not, choose 3 days, or sign in for up to 7.
From a phone
On an iPhone, open send.enzonic.com in Safari, tap the upload area, and choose Photo Library or Choose File. On Android, use Chrome and pick the file from the system picker. Once uploaded, tap the copy button and paste the link into the Mail or Gmail app. You can also use the Enzonic Send app.
A note on limits
Enzonic Send is free and ad-supported. The 500 MB anonymous limit is smaller than some other services, and the maximum is 2 GB even when signed in. For most files that won't fit in an email, that's plenty. For larger ones, the large file guide covers your options.
FAQ
What is the largest file I can attach to an email?
At the time of writing, Gmail allows 25 MB per message and Outlook.com 20 MB. Outlook desktop is typically 20 MB, though some workplace servers set their own limits.
Why does my 20 MB file fail when the limit is 25 MB?
Email encodes attachments as text, which makes them roughly a third larger in transit. A file under the stated limit can still go over once encoded.
Can I just zip the file to make it fit?
Sometimes. Documents and text files shrink a lot, but photos, videos and PDFs full of images are already compressed and barely get smaller.
Is sending a link instead of an attachment safe?
You can add a password, a download limit and a short expiry. Enzonic Send encrypts files in transit and at rest, though not end to end.
Does the person I'm emailing need an account?
No. They click the link, or enter the 6-digit code at send.enzonic.com/receive, and download the file in their browser.
Updated 2026-10-17