Send a large video on WhatsApp: the 2 GB limit, and beyond
WhatsApp squeezes videos to 100 MB and 720p, and caps documents at 2 GB. Checked on 15 September 2026: the method that keeps full quality, and what works past the limit.
The short answer. Sent from the gallery, a WhatsApp video is capped by default at 100 MB and 720p — 64 MB and 480p on a slow connection — and gets recompressed. Sent as a document, it goes through untouched, up to 2 GB.
Past 2 GB, no setting will help: you need to paste a link into the chat instead of the file.
What WhatsApp actually accepts
Checked on 15 September 2026 against WhatsApp's own two help pages on sending media — not a third-party list.
| How you send it | Limit | What happens to the video |
|---|---|---|
| “Photos & videos”, fast connection | 100 MB, 720p | Recompressed, resolution reduced |
| “Photos & videos”, slow connection | 64 MB, 480p | Recompressed harder |
| “Document” | 2 GB | Sent as it is |
| Status | 90 seconds | Maximum length |
| File over 2 GB | — | Refused, whatever the method |
One honest caveat: the same help page also states, a few lines higher, a 64 MB maximum “on all platforms”. Both figures sit side by side on the official site. Go with the cautious one: under 64 MB, a video gets through everywhere; above that, use “Document”.
“Can’t send longer videos”
That is the exact title of WhatsApp's help page on the problem — and almost word for word what people type into a search bar when the upload spins forever or the video simply won't go.
Can’t send longer videos
The page offers four fixes, in this order: check your connection, record at a lower resolution, trim the video, or send it as a document. The first three have one thing in common: they degrade or cut your video. Only the last one leaves it intact — as long as it stays under 2 GB.
Send the video as a document, with no quality loss
It takes ten seconds. The trick is simply not to go through the gallery.
- Open the chat and tap the attachment button.
- Pick Document, not “Photos & videos”.
- Find the video in your phone's files. On an iPhone, if it doesn't show up, save it from Photos to the Files app first.
- Send.
The other person receives the original .mp4 or .mov. It shows up in the chat as a document rather than as a video thumbnail — which is exactly how you know nothing was compressed. They open it with the player on their phone or computer.
One thing to watch: since the file is no longer shrunk, it uses its real gigabytes. Without Wi-Fi they come out of your mobile data allowance, then out of the recipient's when they download it.
Why 2 GB fills up faster than you think
Video isn't measured like a photo. It is measured as a bitrate: megabytes per second of recording.
Pro iPhones can record in ProRes 422 HQ. Apple's ProRes white paper (April 2022 edition, consulted on 15 September 2026) lists that codec at 398 GB per hour at 3840 × 2160 and 30 frames per second — about 6.6 GB a minute. At that rate, WhatsApp's 2 GB document limit holds 18 seconds.
With everyday settings the gap is less brutal, but the outcome is the same for anything long: a full wedding speech, a school play, a match, raw footage from a shoot. And the cap applies per file: WhatsApp won't split anything for you.
The usual workarounds, and what they cost
- Compressing the video. Apps promise to “make it fit” WhatsApp. They do it by destroying the picture: cutting the size by ten means accepting blur, banding and worse sound. For a video that will be edited, screened or kept, that loss is permanent.
- Splitting it into parts. Three 1.9 GB files to download one by one and put back in order. It works, and the person on the other end will remember it.
- Google Drive or iCloud. The link goes through, but the video eats your storage, and the recipient may hit a sign-in prompt or an access request.
- A free transfer service. Fine up to a few gigabytes. Beyond that, depending on the service, a mandatory account, a queue or a monthly quota — our WeTransfer vs SwissTransfer vs Smash comparison spells out who imposes what.
Email is no way out either: Gmail and Outlook cap messages far below what WhatsApp documents allow, as our guide to sending a video by email shows.
Send a link in WhatsApp, whatever the size
WhatsApp carries one thing very well: a link. It is the only thing with no size cap. You stop sending the video and send its address instead.
toobigtoshare takes up to 2 TB per transfer. Drop the video, get a link, paste it into the chat. The other person clicks and downloads the original file, never recompressed. No account to create, for you or for them, and nobody asks for your email address.
A multi-gigabyte video takes a while to upload. If the connection drops midway, the upload resumes where it stopped instead of starting over. The file is deleted after 3 days, on a date and time shown in advance, so everyone in the chat knows how long the link will work. No subscription, nothing to cancel.
Send the video with toobigtoshare — up to 2 TB, no account, one link to paste into WhatsApp.
Frequently asked questions
What is the maximum video size on WhatsApp?
From the gallery, 100 MB at 720p by default on a good connection, and 64 MB at 480p on a slow one, according to WhatsApp's help pages checked on 15 September 2026. Sent as a document, a video can be up to 2 GB and is not recompressed.
Why does WhatsApp lower the quality of my videos?
Because a video sent from the gallery is recompressed to fit the default size limit and scaled down to 720p. To keep the original, send it as a document: the file arrives exactly as it left, up to 2 GB.
How do I send a video larger than 2 GB on WhatsApp?
Not directly: 2 GB is the per-file ceiling whatever the method. Upload the video to a transfer service and paste the link into the chat. toobigtoshare accepts up to 2 TB, with no account on either side.
Does sending as a document use more data?
Yes, because the video is no longer shrunk: a 1.5 GB file uses 1.5 GB to upload, and the same again for the person downloading it. On a mobile plan, wait for Wi-Fi on both ends.
A video too heavy for WhatsApp?
toobigtoshare carries up to 2 TB, at original quality. No account, for you or for the person receiving: one link to paste into the chat. $5.49 per transfer, file deleted after 3 days.