Last checked: October 2026. Limits change (Discord changed its limits twice in 2026), so if a platform's help page disagrees with this table, the help page wins.
What are the limits for email and messaging apps?
| Platform | Max file size | Recommended size | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gmail | 25 MB per email (personal) | None set; 1,600–2,048 px suits photos | Bigger attachments become Google Drive links |
| Outlook.com | 25 MB per email | None set; 1,600–2,048 px suits photos | OneDrive files up to 2 GB are shared as links |
| Microsoft 365 (work or school) | 35 MB to send by default | None set; 1,600–2,048 px suits photos | Admins can set up to 150 MB |
| Yahoo Mail | 25 MB per email | None set; 1,600–2,048 px suits photos | Applies to sent and received mail |
| iCloud Mail | 20 MB per email | None set; 1,600–2,048 px suits photos | Mail Drop sends up to 5 GB as a link |
| 16 MB for photos sent as media; 2 GB as a document | Not published | Media is compressed (Standard or HD quality); send as a document to keep the original file | |
| Discord | 20 MB free; 50 MB Nitro Basic; 1 GB Nitro | Not published | Free limit raised from 10 MB on August 13, 2026; Nitro raised from 500 MB on September 29, 2026 |
| Slack | 1 GB per file | Not published | Up to 10 files per message |
What are the limits for social media?
| Platform | Max file size | Recommended size | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Not published | 1,080 px wide; 1.91:1 to 4:5 (for example 1,080 × 1,350) | Wider photos are scaled down to 1,080 px; ratios outside the range are cropped | |
| Not published | Page cover photo: 851 × 315 px | Facebook says cover photos load fastest as sRGB JPG files under 100 KB | |
| X (Twitter) | Photos 5 MB; GIFs 5 MB on mobile, 15 MB on the web | Not published | Animated GIFs get the higher limit only on the web |
| 100 MB | Up to 36 megapixels | GIF, HEIF/HEIC, JPEG, PNG and WebP | |
| YouTube thumbnail | 2 MB from mobile; 50 MB from a computer | 3,840 × 2,160 (16:9); at least 640 px wide | JPG or PNG; Shorts use 2,160 × 3,840 |
What are the limits for online stores?
| Platform | Max file size | Recommended size | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shopify | Under 20 MB | 2,048 × 2,048 px for square products; up to 5,000 × 5,000 px (25 megapixels) | PNG and JPEG recommended; WebP, HEIC, GIF, TIFF, BMP and SVG accepted |
| Etsy | Files over 1 MB may not finish uploading | 2,000 px on the shortest side | JPG, PNG or GIF |
| eBay | 12 MB per photo | About 1,600 × 1,600 px; at least 500 × 500 | Up to 24 photos; JPEG, PNG, WebP, HEIC, AVIF and others |
| Amazon (main image) | See Seller Central | 500–10,000 px on the longest side; over 1,000 px enables zoom | JPEG preferred; pure white background (RGB 255, 255, 255); product fills 85% of the frame |
Store photos deserve their own workflow (zoom, consistency, speed): the e-commerce image size guide covers it.
What about WordPress, Google Docs and Notion?
| Platform | Max file size | Recommended size | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| WordPress | Set by your host (PHP's upload limit; PHP's own default is 2 MB) | Images over 2,560 px are scaled to 2,560 px | The media upload screen shows the maximum upload file size |
| Google Docs | Under 50 MB | Up to 25 megapixels | PNG, JPEG or GIF |
| Notion | 5 MB per file on the Free plan; larger on paid plans (Notion's help page gives different figures for images) | Not published | HEIC, JPEG, PNG, GIF, SVG, TIFF and WebP accepted |
How do I get an image under any of these limits?
- Find the limit in the tables above and note whether it is a file size or a pixel size.
- For a file size, open the compressor and type the limit (minus a few percent) as the Target size, or start from a preset such as Image to 2 MB. For a pixel size, turn on Limit width.
- Choose JPG for photos if you are unsure what the platform accepts, or Same as original to keep the format.
- Compress, download, upload. Nothing leaves your device until you upload it yourself.
Is it better to upload the largest image a platform allows?
No. Platforms that display photos at a fixed size scale bigger uploads down themselves, and WhatsApp compresses photos unless you send them as a document. Uploading at the displayed size (1,080 px for Instagram, 1,600–2,048 px for most stores) saves upload time and avoids a second, rougher compression. If an upload still fails, the image too large to upload guide matches each error message to its fix.