What to do when a PDF is too large to email
In short
Compress the PDF right here on the page: choose the Recommended level or the “under 10 MB” target and download the new version. Scanned PDFs easily go over the usual attachment limits.
Do it right here
The steps, in short
- Check the PDF's sizeOn a computer, right-click the file and choose Properties (Windows) or Get Info (Mac). On a phone, use the Files app.
- Add the document to the tool aboveThe file is processed in your browser and isn't uploaded to a server.
- Choose the levelTry Recommended first. If the document is scanned or still too large, choose Strong or a target size.
- Download and attachOpen the smaller PDF, check that the text is easy to read, then attach it to your email.
Why is a PDF so large?
Usually because of photos or scans saved at high resolution. A document with lots of images can be tens of MB even with only a few pages. More in Why is my PDF so large?
Compression shrinks the images and keeps the document as a PDF. After downloading, zoom into a few pages to make sure the text is still easy to read.
Email providers' attachment limits
- Gmail: 25 MB for attachments. Above that, Gmail puts the file in Google Drive automatically and sends a link.
- Other providers such as Outlook, Yahoo or iCloud have their own limits; check your provider's help pages.
- Work and school accounts can have limits set by the administrator, sometimes much smaller.
Note: attachments grow by about a third when sent, because of the way email encodes them. A 20 MB PDF can already break a 25 MB limit.
If it still won't fit
Remove unnecessary pages with Delete PDF pages or split the document with Split PDF and send it in two emails. For very large files, a cloud storage link is more reliable than an attachment.