How to Share Large Files in SharePoint
Email attachment limits are still a thing — typically 25-50 MB. SharePoint and OneDrive don’t care; they handle files up to 250 GB. For anything large, sharing via link is the only sensible option.
What it is
Most email systems cap attachments at somewhere between 25 MB and 50 MB. Try to send a video, a complex PDF, or a presentation with embedded video, and the email bounces. The traditional workaround was to compress, split, or use third-party services — all clumsy, all unnecessary in a Microsoft 365 environment.
The right approach: upload the file to SharePoint or OneDrive and share a link. There’s no practical size limit (up to 250 GB per file in current Microsoft 365 environments), no recipient inbox impact, and the recipient downloads from a stable URL rather than a fragile email attachment. It’s faster and more reliable.
For genuinely large files (videos, datasets, archives), this becomes essential. But the same approach works just as well for medium files where the 25 MB cap is the only blocker. Build the habit for everything; it scales naturally.
When to use this
- Sharing videos, presentations with embedded media, or large datasets.
- Anytime an email attachment fails or is bounced.
- Distributing zip archives or technical files to colleagues.
- Sending files to external partners who’d otherwise need a third-party tool.
How to do it
- Upload the file to OneDrive or the relevant SharePoint location.
- Wait for upload to complete (large files can take a few minutes).
- Click Share on the file.
- Open Link settings and choose appropriate permissions.
- Set expiry and view-only as appropriate.
- Copy the link.
- Paste into email or chat with context.
Best practices
- Don’t attempt to email large files. Use a link. Always.
- For videos, consider Microsoft Stream. Better for streaming than raw file downloads.
- Compress folders, but only when sharing as a unit. A zip of 50 individual files becomes one downloadable item.
- Set expiry on large external shares. Large files = larger risk if the link leaks.
Common mistakes
- Splitting files to fit email size limits. Worse than the original problem. Use a link.
- Using third-party file transfer services when SharePoint will do. Adds a tool, splits your environment, creates governance gaps.
- Forgetting to test the link. For very large files, verify the recipient can actually download it before assuming they can.
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Get the Sharing Handbook — $27 →FAQ
What’s the maximum file size in SharePoint?
250 GB per file as of 2026 — far larger than email attachments (typically 25 MB) or most other cloud platforms. For videos, datasets, design files, and other large content, SharePoint and OneDrive handle the upload and sharing without compression or splitting. The bottleneck is usually upload time, not file size limits.
Why is my large file upload to SharePoint failing?
Three common causes: network timeout (use the OneDrive sync client for files over 1 GB — it handles resume automatically); blocked file type (.exe, .bat, and certain executables are blocked by default — check tenant settings); or browser memory limits (uploading 50+ GB in a browser tab can fail — use the sync client or upload in chunks).
Can I share large SharePoint files externally?
Yes — external sharing has no separate size limit. The recipient gets a link to the file in your SharePoint, opens it in browser, or downloads it as needed. For very large files, suggest the recipient use ‘Open in app’ rather than downloading — faster and avoids local storage issues.
Should I share large files in Teams or SharePoint?
Either works — Teams files are stored in SharePoint anyway, so the size limits are the same. For collaborative work on large files, use a Teams channel (the file lives in the team’s SharePoint site, accessible to all members). For one-off external sharing of a large file, OneDrive with ‘Specific people’ is the simplest path.