Send Large Files With Google Drive: Steps and Limits

Quick Answer

There are three ways to send a big file with Google Drive, and they all end with a link in the other person's hands.

• From Gmail. Choose Insert files using Drive in a new message, then Drive link, and Gmail sends a link instead of a copy, and it checks that your recipients can open it. Gmail also swaps an oversize attachment for a Drive link on its own.
• From the Drive website. Upload the file, click Share, set General access, copy the link and paste it anywhere.
• From a phone. Upload with the Drive app, set the link under Manage access on an iPhone or Change on Android, or attach the file from the Gmail app.

Each is free while your files fit in Google's 15 GB of free storage. Our post on the Gmail attachment size limit explains why Gmail stops an email at 25 MB, so this post sticks to the Drive steps. We read every step below from Google's own help pages on 2 November 2026 and did not run the phone steps on a phone.

Gmail

Google says that if a file is over Gmail's size limit, or you want to collaborate on it, you should attach it from Drive. The file has to be in Drive first, so if it is only on your computer, upload it with the steps under Drive Website.

On a computer

1. Open Gmail and click Compose.
2. At the bottom of the message, click Insert files using Drive.
3. Select the files you want to send.
4. Choose Drive link or Attachment, then click Insert.

Google says Drive link works for any file stored in Drive, and Attachment only works for files that were not created in Google Docs, Sheets, Slides or Forms. For a large file, choose Drive link.

On an Android phone

1. Open the Gmail app and tap Compose.
2. Tap Attach, then Insert from Drive.
3. Tap the file, tap Select, then tap Send.

Google adds that on Gmail Go you cannot send Drive attachments, so you copy the Drive link and paste it into your email instead.

On an iPhone or iPad

1. Open the Gmail app and tap Compose.
2. Tap Attach.
3. In the "Google Drive" section, tap the file you want to send, then tap Send.

When you attach a Drive file, Gmail checks whether your recipients have access and, if they do not, prompts you to change the sharing settings before the message goes. Google says recipients do not need a Google Account to see or edit a file shared with Anyone with the link. On a work or school account, Google adds that only people with a Google Account can see Drive files you attach in Gmail. A private file is not visible to a recipient without a Google Account, to an address that is not a Google account, or to someone who got the message through a mailing list, unless the mailing list is managed through Google Groups and the file is shared with the Group.

Drive Website

This is the method to use when you want a link for a text message, a chat or a form, not only an email.

Upload the file

1. Go to drive.google.com.
2. At the top left, click New, then File Upload or Folder Upload.
3. Choose the file or folder.

Google's upload page says an uploaded file takes up space in your Drive, even if you upload it to a folder owned by someone else. It also says that a file with the same name uploads as a revision of the file already in Drive, and that you can click Keep both files to avoid that. With Drive for desktop, you drag files into a folder and they upload to Drive.

Share it with a link

1. Select the file and click Share.
2. Under General access, click the down arrow.
3. Choose Anyone with the link.
4. Choose the role, click Copy link, then click Done.

These are the steps on Google's sharing page. For several files, Google's tip on the same page is to add them to a folder and share the folder.

Phone

Google's mobile pages give fewer steps for links than its computer pages, so this section says where they stop.

Upload from a phone

• Android. Open the Google Drive app, tap New, then Upload, and tap the files. Your uploads sit in My Drive until you move them. To save mobile data, open Menu, then Settings, and turn on Transfer files only over Wi-Fi under "Data usage" (Google).
• iPhone and iPad. Open the Google Drive app, tap Add, then File upload, and tap the files. To pick where it lands, tap Location. For cellular data, Google's page points to the iPhone's own setting (Google).

We could not find a Google page that says how long a big upload takes, whether you must keep the app open, or whether an interrupted upload resumes, so we say nothing on those.

Share from a phone

• iPhone and iPad. Tap More next to the file, tap Manage access, and under General access tap the right arrow to choose who can open the link (Google).
• Android. The steps are the same, except that under General access you tap Change (Google).
• To name people instead. Tap More, then Share, enter the email address, choose Viewer, Commenter or Editor, and tap Send. To skip the email alert on an iPhone, tap More, then Skip sending notifications before you tap Send (Google).

Google's phone pages do not name a Copy link step or a role step for the link, so we do not write one. If you are on a phone and want a link to paste, the Gmail steps above are the route Google documents.

Access

A Drive link is only as private as the setting you choose. Google's sharing page gives two choices under General access.

Work and school accounts also see a third choice, Your Organization, and Google notes that an organization may limit how you share files outside it.

• Roles. Viewer can view the file and open files in a shared folder, but cannot change, comment or share it. Commenter and Editor give more.
• Notify people. Tick it to send an email alert when you add someone, or untick it to stay quiet.
• A cap. You can share a single file with up to 600 individual email addresses.
• Folders. Everything inside a shared folder inherits its sharing, and you cannot give someone less access to a file than they have to its folder.
• Removing access. Find the person, click the down arrow beside their name, choose Remove access and click Save. On a phone, tap the person's name and choose Remove.
• No download. On a computer, open Share, click Settings, and uncheck the option for Editors, Commenters and Viewers under "People who can download, copy, print, and access".

All of these are from Google's sharing page.

Recipient

The person you send to sees a different screen from yours, and most failed sends go wrong here.

• No sign-in for Anyone with the link. Google says anyone on the internet with the link can open the file without signing in to a Google Account. Google says people who are not signed in show up as anonymous animals, but we confirmed that only for documents, sheets and slides, not for uploaded files.
• Restricted links need the right account. If someone has more than one Google Account, Google says they should sign in to the account the file is shared with.
• Request access. When a "You need access" message shows, the person clicks Request access, can add a reason, and clicks Send request. Google says the owner then gets an email with the requester's name and address, the file's link and name, the message and an option to notify them of the decision (Google). That page is about Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Vids and Forms. We could not confirm that an uploaded video or zip shows the same message, so we do not say it does.

When the download fails

Google lists the causes on its download page.

• The owner turned download off for people with only view or comment access.
• Third-party cookies are blocked. Google says Drive uses them to reach its download server, and blocking them in Chrome prevents downloading.
• Extensions. Google says to turn off all extensions and try again, then turn them on one at a time to find the problem.
• Too many users. The error "Too many users have viewed or downloaded this file recently" is, Google says, temporary and typically resets within 24 hours. Google publishes no number for it. The fix for a viewer is to right-click the file under Shared with me, choose Make a copy, and download the copy.

If you expect a lot of people to open one large file, Google's own advice on that page is to use Google Cloud Storage or dedicated hosting for large files such as ZIP archives and installers, not public Drive links.

File Size Limit

The limits that matter for sending are few. Our post on Google Drive for photographers has the full table, so this is the short version.

• One file: up to 5 TB. Google's file size page says any other file can be up to 5 TB. Files in Google's own formats have smaller limits, listed next.
• Free storage: 15 GB. Google's storage page says a personal account has up to 15 GB shared among Drive, Gmail and Photos.
• Full storage blocks you. At the limit you cannot upload files to Drive, send or receive email in Gmail, or back up photos. If you stay over your quota for 2 years, Google says it might delete your content across Gmail, Drive and Photos (Google).
• A daily cap on work accounts. Google's Workspace help, last updated 26 October 2026, says each user can upload and copy 750 GB to Drive within 24 hours.

By File Type

Google's file size page, read on 4 November 2026, lists a different maximum for each kind of file. The page shows no updated date.

Google's page also says that when you convert an Excel file to Google Sheets, any cell with more than 50,000 characters is removed. It does not say whether Drive converts a Word, Excel or PowerPoint file when you upload it, so we cannot tell you which limit a plain upload falls under.

Tracking

Drive does not tell you much about who opened a link. This is what Google documents.

• Work and school accounts. Google's admin page says file activity names the people who viewed Google Docs, Sheets and Slides files and when. To see it you need Edit access and the same domain as the owner, and Google says users can choose to hide their views. The dashboard is not listed for Business Starter.
• Personal accounts. Google's view history page says that if the file is not owned by a Google Account through work or school, no one can see the view history.
• Drive log events. Google's Drive log events page, last updated 26 October 2026, lists View and Download events and shows people outside the domain as anonymous. It is for Workspace administrators on supported editions (Frontline Standard and Plus, Enterprise Standard and Plus, Education Standard and Plus, Enterprise Essentials Plus, and Cloud Identity Premium), not for the person who sent the file. So on a personal account we found no view or download record for the sender, and on a work or school account an administrator on a supported edition can see them. We found no Google page describing an alert when someone opens a link.
• Expiry. The expiration date Google describes is set per person, is for work and school accounts, and for folders works only for Viewers. We found no expiry setting on the link itself.

Our post on Gmail read receipts covers what Gmail can show about an opened email.

Options

Drive is not the only way to send a link. These tools also send a file as a link, and Mail Drop works from Apple Mail and iCloud Mail.

These are US dollars for one person, on the cheapest paid plan, on a yearly basis. Google One Basic is 100 GB at $19.99 a year, or $1.99 a month on the monthly plan, from an archived US copy of 2 November. Dropbox Plus is $9.99 a month billed yearly, which is $119.88 a year, from an archived US copy of 2 November. WeTransfer Starter is $84 a year, from its pricing page as read through its US price feed on 2 November, and its free plan allows 10 transfers or 3 GB in any 30-day period. We could not confirm whether tax is included in any of these prices. Our post on Mail Drop has the 5 GB and 30-day details.

Loop

For one file sent once, the Drive link is free and simpler. Loop is a Mac app that turns files into a link in your own Cloudflare storage, and it is the option when the same kind of files go to clients often and you want your name on the link, a password or an expiry on each link, and a Mac notification the first time a reader's browser opens it. It costs $49 once and does not promise a maximum file size, and our Loop vs Google Drive page compares the two.

Limits

Loop is not the right tool for most people sending a file from Drive. Here is what it does not do:

• It does not change Drive or Gmail. It does not raise Gmail's limit or edit Google files. A Loop link is text you paste into a message.
• It does not send the email. There is no Gmail add-on, so you copy the link and paste it in.
• It does not shrink or encrypt a file. The link password guards the link page, not the file.
• It does not alert you by email or phone. Alerts are Mac notifications while Loop is running, once per reader's browser per link.
• It does not work from an iPhone or Windows. The sender needs a Mac and a Cloudflare account. Readers can use a web browser.

Cost

Sending a large file with Drive can cost nothing: Google gives 15 GB free, shared with Gmail and Photos. Past that, Google One Basic with 100 GB is $19.99 a year on the yearly plan, and Google's storage page says you can change between a monthly and an annual fee at any time. The same archived page lists the 2 TB plan, named Google AI Plus, at $99.99 a year. For a business, Google's Workspace billing page, last updated 26 October 2026, lists Business Starter at $84 a year per user with a one-year commitment. Google's storage page gives it 30 GB per user, pooled across the organization.

Files you share with Loop sit in your own Cloudflare account, and the first 10 GB is free. Beyond that Cloudflare charges you directly: its pricing page, updated 30 October 2026, lists $0.015 per GB-month and no data-transfer charge for downloads. Storing 100 GB for a month therefore comes to about $1.35 after the free 10 GB. Cloudflare may ask for a card when you switch storage on.

To try this on your own large files first, Loop gives you 14 days from the first run without asking for payment. Clients who open your link in that time see a small "Shared with Loop" badge, which a licence removes.