Gmail Sending Limits: Daily Email Limits for Gmail and Google Workspace

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Table of Contents

1. Free Gmail Accounts 2. Google Workspace Accounts 3. Apps Script and the Gmail API 4. Bulk Sender Rules for Gmail 5. Important Things to Know 6. Frequently Asked Questions 7. How to Check Your Email Sending Limit

Gmail limits how many emails you can send in a day, and how many people you can address. If you go over the limit, Google blocks new outgoing mail, usually for 1 to 24 hours. You can still receive emails while the block is in place. On a Google Workspace account, an admin may have to restore the user before sending works again. Accounts that send spam can be blocked permanently.

Gmail has another restriction on the total number of recipients you can email per day so you cannot use CC or BCC to bypass the daily email sending limit. Every address in To, Cc, and Bcc counts. Mail sent from an alias, mail sent by someone with delegated access, and the vacation responder all use your quota.

The daily email sending limit depends on the account and on how the message is sent: from the Gmail website, the mobile app, an email client over SMTP, Google Apps Script, or the Gmail API used by extensions like Mail Merge for Gmail and Document Studio.

Free Gmail Accounts

With a personal @gmail.com account, Gmail blocks sending after more than 500 messages in a day. Ten messages with 50 recipients each stay inside both caps. One message addressed to 500 people uses the whole per-message allowance.

If those people belong to a Google Group, send the message to the group’s own address. Gmail counts that as one recipient, and the group delivers a copy to its members.

Google Workspace Accounts

A paid Workspace user can send 2,000 messages a day. Five messages to the same 10 addresses count as 50 total recipients and 10 unique recipients.

A trial account can send 500 messages a day, with 500 unique external recipients. After you convert to a paid subscription, Google raises the Gmail limits once the domain has paid $100. See why your email quota may not be upgraded yet.

Apps Script and the Gmail API

Scripts that send with MailApp or GmailApp can address 100 recipients a day from a free Gmail account. A Workspace account can address 1,500 recipients a day, or 2,000 a day when every recipient is inside the domain. Each message can include at most 50 recipients.

The script quota resets 24 hours after the first send. On a trial it stays at the lower level until the domain has paid $100 and at least 60 days have passed since that payment. Script sends also consume the Gmail limits for the same account, so the script stops when it hits either quota.

Google Workspace extensions that send through the Gmail API follow those same account limits. A single API message can have at most 500 recipients. Mail Merge for Gmail sends through the API and provides 1,500 limit on Workspace. See how to send a personalized mail merge.

Bulk Sender Rules for Gmail

Since February 2024, Google requires anyone sending more than 5,000 messages a day to personal Gmail addresses to:

Authenticate their domain with SPF, DKIM and DMARC. Include a one-click unsubscribe link in marketing and subscribed messages. Keep their spam complaint rate below 0.3%.

Messages that don’t meet these rules may be rejected or sent to spam. See Google’s email sender guidelines, and make sure your MX records are set up correctly if you use Google Workspace.

Important Things to Know

Bounced emails: Google may temporarily block sending if you mail a large number of addresses that don’t exist. Clean your list and verify email addresses before sending, and use a bounced email report to find the bad ones. Aliases, delegates, and vacation replies: You can send email from a different address, including a non-Gmail address. Mail from that alias, mail a delegate sends from your account, and your vacation responder all count against the same daily limits.

Learn how to send email with Gmail SMTP and how to send mail merge through SMTP.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens if I exceed the Gmail sending limit? Gmail shows a message such as “You have reached a limit for sending mail” and blocks new outgoing mail, usually for 1 to 24 hours. You can still receive email during that time. If a Workspace account is suspended, an admin has to restore it.

When does the Gmail sending limit reset? Gmail uses a rolling 24-hour window. Each message stops counting 24 hours after you sent it. Apps Script resets 24 hours after the script’s first email of that cycle.

Can I increase my Gmail sending limit? A free account stays at 500 messages a day. Google Workspace raises the account to 2,000 messages a day once the trial limits lift.

How to Check Your Email Sending Limit

Gmail has no on-screen counter for the quota you have left. A message fails when you reach a limit.

A script that sends with MailApp can call MailApp.getRemainingDailyQuota(), which returns how many recipients that script can still address today. Mail Merge shows the remaining balance for its own Gmail API quota:

Install the Mail Merge add-on. In Google Sheets, go to Extensions, choose Mail Merge with Attachments, and then click Show Email Quota. The number is how many recipients Mail Merge can still send to today: up to 400 on a free Gmail account, and up to 1,500 on Workspace.