Your PDF is 45MB and Gmail rejects anything over 25MB. Or the corporate email server cuts off at 10MB. Splitting a PDF for email is a common problem, and there are several approaches — with "compress first" being the best starting point before resorting to splitting.
Split Any PDF Into Email-Sized Parts
Free, local, private. Works in Chrome on any computer.
Add to Chrome — FreeEmail Attachment Limits by Provider
| Email Provider | Max Attachment Size | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Gmail | 25MB | Files over 25MB auto-convert to Google Drive links |
| Outlook / Office 365 | 20MB | Corporate orgs may set lower limits |
| Yahoo Mail | 25MB | Individual attachment limit |
| Apple Mail / iCloud | 20MB (Mail Drop for larger) | Mail Drop sends via link for files 20MB–5GB |
| Corporate servers | Varies (5–25MB) | Often more restrictive than consumer mail |
Step 1: Try Compression First
Before splitting, check if compression reduces the file to an acceptable size. PDF compression typically reduces file size by 40–80% for image-heavy documents.
Compress with Ghostscript (free)
# Screen quality (smallest, 72 DPI)
gs -dBATCH -dNOPAUSE -q -sDEVICE=pdfwrite \
-dPDFSETTINGS=/screen \
-sOutputFile=compressed.pdf input.pdf
# eBook quality (medium, 150 DPI — recommended for email)
gs -dBATCH -dNOPAUSE -q -sDEVICE=pdfwrite \
-dPDFSETTINGS=/ebook \
-sOutputFile=compressed.pdf input.pdfCompress on macOS
- Open the PDF in Preview.
- File → Export as PDF.
- In the Quartz Filter dropdown, select "Reduce File Size."
Step 2: Split If Compression Is Not Enough
If the PDF contains scanned images at high resolution that cannot be compressed further (or if the content should stay at full quality), splitting is the next option.
Calculate pages per part
- Find the current file size (right-click → Properties or Get Info on the file).
- Count total pages (open in Chrome — page count shows in the PDF toolbar).
- Calculate average size per page: file size / page count.
- Calculate pages per part: target size / average page size.
Example: 60MB PDF, 120 pages, target 18MB per email.
Average page size: 60MB / 120 = 0.5MB per page
Pages per part: 18MB / 0.5MB = ~36 pages
Result: 4 emails of ~30 pages each.
Splitting with PDF Merge & Split
- Open PDF Merge & Split and go to the Split tab.
- Add your PDF.
- Choose "Split every N pages" and enter your calculated page count.
- Or enter specific page ranges:
1-30,31-60,61-90,91-120. - Download each part.
- Verify each part's file size before emailing.
Annual-Report-Part-1-of-4.pdf, Annual-Report-Part-2-of-4.pdf, etc. In the email body, note: "I have split this document into 4 parts due to email size limits. Please save all 4 files before reading."
Step 3: Consider Sharing via Link Instead
For very large PDFs, splitting and sending multiple emails is inconvenient for both sender and recipient. File sharing services are cleaner:
| Service | Free limit | Link expires? |
|---|---|---|
| Google Drive | 15GB storage | No (until manually deleted) |
| WeTransfer (free) | 2GB per transfer | Yes (7 days) |
| Dropbox (free tier) | 2GB storage | No |
| OneDrive | 5GB storage | No |
| iCloud Mail Drop | Up to 5GB | Yes (30 days) |
Upload once, send a link. The recipient downloads the complete, unmodified file in one click — no reassembling required.
Split Your PDF — Under a Minute
Works on any PDF regardless of size. Local processing only.
Install PDF Merge & SplitRelated Guides
- How to Split a PDF by Page Numbers
- How to Compress PDFs After Merging
- How to Batch Split Multiple PDFs
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the email attachment size limit?
Gmail allows 25MB, Outlook 20MB, Yahoo Mail 25MB. Corporate servers may be lower (5–10MB). Note that base64 encoding adds ~33% overhead, so a 25MB limit means your PDF should be under ~18MB raw.
How do I split a PDF into parts small enough to email?
Use the PDF Merge & Split Chrome extension: open the Split tab, load your PDF, choose "Split every N pages" and calculate how many pages fit under the target file size.
Is it better to split a PDF or compress it for email?
Try compression first. If a PDF is large due to high-resolution images, compression can reduce file size by 50-80% while keeping it as one complete file. Split only if compression is not sufficient.
What is the best way to send a large PDF that cannot be split?
Use a file sharing service instead: Google Drive, WeTransfer (free for files up to 2GB), Dropbox, or OneDrive. Send the recipient a download link instead of an attachment.
How do I tell the recipient which part is which when splitting for email?
Name files clearly: Document-Part-1-of-3.pdf, Part-2-of-3.pdf, Part-3-of-3.pdf. In your email, note that the document is split across multiple attachments and specify the total number of parts.
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