PDF too large to email? Here's how to send it

Make a PDF small enough to email with Quick PDF

1. Open Compress Go to quickpdfapp.com, sign in and open Compress. Choose the PDF from your device; it's processed in your browser, not uploaded.
2. Pick Balanced Balanced is the recommended level: it shrinks the photos and scanned pages inside the file and keeps text sharp and selectable.
3. Check the size Look at the new size. If it's comfortably under your email limit, save the compressed file.
4. Use Smallest if needed Still too big? Compress the original again with Smallest. Every page becomes a compressed image, which saves much more space, but the text can no longer be selected or searched.
5. Split what still won't fit If the file is still over the limit, use Split to cut it into two or more parts by page range and send each part in its own email.
6. Attach and send On a phone, share the file straight to Mail, Gmail or Outlook from the share sheet. On a computer, attach the compressed file from your Downloads folder.

Open Compress PDF

How big can an email attachment be?

Many email services limit attachments to around 20-25 MB. Gmail allows 25 MB, and Outlook.com allows 20 MB. The limit usually applies to the whole message, so three 9 MB files together are already too much.

Two things catch people out:

• Attachments get bigger in transit. Email encodes files in a way that makes them larger than they look on your device, so a file just under the limit can still bounce. Leave some headroom.
• The receiver has a limit too. A work or school inbox may accept less than your own provider sends. If they never got it, ask about their limit.

Option 1: compress the PDF

This is the fix that works most often. Scanned pages and photos make up most of a big PDF's size, and Compress shrinks exactly those.

• Light: small changes, best quality. For files only a little over.
• Balanced: the usual choice. Text stays selectable.
• Smallest: pages become images. Biggest saving, no selectable text.

How much a file shrinks depends on what's in it, so no tool can promise a certain size. A text-only PDF is already small and won't change much. More on this in why is my PDF so large.

Option 2: remove pages or split the file

Look through the document before squeezing it harder. Instruction pages, blank backs of scanned sheets and duplicate copies can all go: use remove pages from a PDF to drop them.

If every page is needed, split it. Split cuts a PDF by page ranges (say 1-10 and 11-20) and gives you the parts in a ZIP. Send them as "Part 1 of 2" and "Part 2 of 2" so the reader knows to expect both.

Option 3: send a link instead of an attachment

When the file has to stay full size, for example detailed drawings or high-resolution photos, upload it to a cloud drive and email the link:

• Gmail offers to send large files as a Google Drive link automatically.
• Outlook can share a file from OneDrive as a link.
• Apple Mail can use Mail Drop for large attachments if you use iCloud.

Check the sharing setting so only the people you send it to can open it, especially for personal documents. Our guide to sending a PDF securely covers passwords and safer sharing.

Before you hit send: a short checklist

• Is it one file or several? If you're attaching several PDFs, add their sizes together. Combining them into one and compressing that single file is often tidier, and it's easier for the receiver to open one attachment. See combining PDFs into one.
• Is it readable? Open the compressed file and zoom in on signatures, small print and numbers before you send it.
• Is it the right file? Compressed copies often get a similar name to the original. Rename it clearly, for example adding "-email" to the end, so you attach the smaller one.
• Does it hold personal details? Think about a password or a private link if it contains account numbers or ID.

Quick fixes on iPhone and Android

• iPhone: when you attach a very large file in the Mail app, it may offer to send it with Mail Drop. To shrink it instead, open quickpdfapp.com in Safari, compress, then tap Share and pick Mail. See reducing PDF size on iPhone.
• Android: compress in Chrome, then share the file to Gmail from the share sheet. If Gmail says the file is too big, it will offer a Drive link instead.
• WhatsApp or Messages may also take the file if email won't, but compressing first makes it quicker for the other person to open.

Questions people ask