Find the Exchange Online limits for a variety of service areas, including address book limits, mailbox storage limits, and reporting and message trace limits, to name just a few.
Note
If you need assistance with a task or if you are troubleshooting a problem, you might find the following articles helpful:
The limits in Microsoft Exchange Online fit into one of the following categories:
Important
Feature | Microsoft 365 Business Basic | Microsoft 365 Business Standard | Office 365 Enterprise E1 | Office 365 Enterprise E3 | Office 365 Enterprise E5 | Office 365 Enterprise F3 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Address list limit | 1000 | 1000 | 1000 | 1000 | 1000 | 1000 |
Offline address book (OAB) limit | 250 | 250 | 250 | 250 | 250 | 250 |
Address book policies (ABP) limit | 250 | 250 | 250 | 250 | 250 | 250 |
Global address lists limit | 250 | 250 | 250 | 250 | 250 | 250 |
Feature | Exchange Server 2013 | Exchange Online Plan 1 | Exchange Online Plan 2 | Exchange Online Kiosk |
---|---|---|---|---|
Address list limit | 1000 | 1000 | 1000 | 1000 |
Offline address book (OAB) limit | 250 | 250 | 250 | 250 |
Address book policies (ABP) limit | 250 | 250 | 250 | 250 |
Global address lists limit | 250 | 250 | 250 | 250 |
The amount of mailbox storage available is determined by the mailbox type and the user’s subscription license. Administrators can reduce maximum mailbox sizes per user or globally.
Note
Using journaling, transport rules, or auto-forwarding rules to copy messages to an Exchange Online mailbox for the purposes of archiving is not permitted. A user’s archive mailbox is intended for just that user. Microsoft reserves the right to deny unlimited archiving in instances where a user’s archive mailbox is used to store archive data for other users or in other cases of inappropriate use.
Feature | Microsoft 365 Business Basic | Microsoft 365 Business Standard | Office 365 Enterprise E1 | Office 365 Enterprise E3 | Office 365 Enterprise E5 | Office 365 Enterprise F3 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
User mailboxes | 50 GB | 50 GB | 50 GB | 100 GB | 100 GB | 2 GB |
Archive mailboxes7,8 | 50 GB | 50 GB | 50 GB | Unlimited1 | Unlimited1 | Not available4 |
Shared mailboxes10 | 50 GB2 | 50 GB2 | 50 GB2 | 50/100 GB2,9 | 50/100 GB2,9 | 50 GB2 |
Resource mailboxes | 50 GB3 | 50 GB3 | 50 GB3 | 50 GB3,9 | 50 GB3,9 | 50 GB3 |
Site mailboxes5 | 50 GB | 50 GB | 50 GB | 50 GB | 50 GB | Not available |
Public folder mailboxes | 100 GB6 | 100 GB6 | 100 GB6 | 100 GB6 | 100 GB6 | 100 GB6 |
Group mailboxes | 50 GB | 50 GB | 50 GB | 50 GB | 50 GB | 50 GB |
Note
1 Each user initially receives 100 GB of storage in the archive mailbox. When auto-expanding archiving is turned on, additional storage is automatically added when the 100 GB storage capacity is reached. For more information, see Overview of unlimited archiving in Office 365.
2 To access a shared mailbox, a user must have an Exchange Online license, but the shared mailbox doesn’t require a separate license. Without a license, shared mailboxes are limited to 50 GB. To increase the size limit to 100 GB, the shared mailbox must be assigned an Exchange Online Plan 2 license. If Exchange Online Plan 1 license with an Exchange Online Archiving add-on license is assigned, this will let you enable auto-expanding archiving for an unlimited amount of archive storage capacity. Similarly, if you want to place a shared mailbox on litigation hold, the shared mailbox must have an Exchange Online Plan 2 license or an Exchange Online Plan 1 license with an Exchange Online Archiving add-on license. If you want to apply advanced features such as Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Advanced eDiscovery, or automatic retention policies, the shared mailbox must be licensed for those feature(s).
3 Resource mailboxes don’t require a license. However, without a license, resource mailboxes are limited to 50 GB. To increase the mailbox size, an E3 or E5 license must be assigned. This will increase the mailbox to 100 GB.
4 Archive mailboxes aren’t included in Exchange Online Kiosk. However, they can be purchased as an add-on through Exchange Online Archiving. For more information, please see the Exchange Online Archiving service description.
5 Site mailboxes were removed from Exchange Online and SharePoint Online in 2017.
6 You are limited to 1,000 public folder mailboxes, and the maximum total size of all public folder mailboxes is 100 TB. Hierarchy Serving mailboxes are limited to 100 public folder mailboxes.
7 Archive mailboxes can only be used to archive mail for a single user or entity (such as a shared mailbox) for which a license has been applied. Using archive mailboxes as a means of storing mail from multiple users or entities is prohibited. For example, an IT administrator can’t create a shared mailbox and have users copy it (through the Cc or Bcc field, or through a transport rule) for the explicit purpose of archiving. Note that a shared mailbox that multiple people use does not actually store email for those individual users. Multiple users have access, and they send emails as the shared mailbox. Therefore, the only emails stored in the shared mailbox are those sent to or from it, as the shared mailbox.
8 If you have created a retention policy in Exchange Online, messages will be automatically moved to a user’s archive mailbox only if the user’s primary mailbox is larger than 10 MB. The retention policy will not run automatically for mailboxes that are smaller than 10 MB.
9 Shared and resource mailboxes don’t require a license. However, without a license, these mailboxes are limited to 50 GB. To increase the mailbox size, an E3 or E5 license must be assigned. This will increase the mailbox to 100 GB.
10 By default, shared mailboxes have an associated active user account with a system-generated (unknown) password. To block sign-in for the associated shared mailbox account, see Block sign-in for the shared mailbox account.
Feature | Exchange Server 2013 | Exchange Online Plan 1 | Exchange Online Plan 2 | Exchange Online Kiosk |
---|---|---|---|---|
User mailboxes | 2 GB1 | 50 GB | 100 GB | 2 GB |
Archive mailboxes8, 9 | 100 GB1 | 50 GB | Unlimited2 | Not available5 |
Shared mailboxes11 | 2 GB1 | 50 GB3 | 50 GB3,10 | 50 GB3 |
Resource mailboxes | 2 GB1 | 50 GB4 | 50 GB4,10 | 50 GB4 |
Public folder mailboxes | 2 GB6 | 50 GB7 | 100 GB7 | Not available |
Group mailboxes | 50 GB | 50 GB | 50 GB | 50 GB |
Note
1 This is the default mailbox size for Exchange Server 2013 organizations. Administrators can change this value for their organization. There isn’t a maximum storage limit for on-premises mailboxes.
2 Each user initially receives 100 GB of storage in the archive mailbox. When auto-expanding archiving is turned on, additional storage is automatically added when the 100 GB storage capacity is reached. For more information, see Overview of unlimited archiving in Office 365. See the Microsoft 365 Roadmap for details about availability for auto-expanding archiving.
3 To access a shared mailbox, a user must have an Exchange Online license, but the shared mailbox doesn’t require a separate license. Without a license, shared mailboxes are limited to 50 GB. To increase the size limit to 100 GB, the shared mailbox must be assigned an Exchange Online Plan 2 license. The Exchange Online Plan 1 license with an Exchange Online Archiving add-on license will increase the size of the Archive mailbox. This will also let you enable auto-expanding archiving for an unlimited amount of archive storage capacity. Similarly, if you want to place a shared mailbox on litigation hold, the shared mailbox must have an Exchange Online Plan 2 license or an Exchange Online Plan 1 license with an Exchange Online Archiving add-on license. If you want to apply advanced features such as Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Advanced eDiscovery, or automatic retention policies, the shared mailbox must be licensed for those feature(s).
4 Resource mailboxes don’t require a license. However, without a license, resource mailboxes are limited to 50 GB. To increase the mailbox size, an Exchange Online Plan 2 license must be assigned. This will increase the mailbox to 100 GB.
5 Archive mailboxes aren’t included in Exchange Online Kiosk. However, they can be purchased as an add-on through Exchange Online Archiving. For more information, please see the Exchange Online Archiving service description.
6 This is the default mailbox size for Microsoft Exchange Server 2013 organizations. Administrators can change this value for their organization. In Exchange Server 2013, you are limited to 100 public folder mailboxes, and the maximum total size of all public folder mailboxes is 50 TB.
7 In Exchange Online, you are limited to 1,000 public folder mailboxes, and the maximum total size of all public folder mailboxes is 50 TB.
8 Archive mailboxes can only be used to archive mail for a single user or entity for which a license has been applied. Using an archive mailbox as a means to store mail from multiple users or entities is prohibited. For example, IT administrators can’t create shared mailboxes and have users copy (through the Cc or Bcc field, or through a transport rule) a shared mailbox for the explicit purpose of archiving.
9 If you have created a retention policy in Exchange Online, messages will be automatically moved to a user’s archive mailbox only if the user’s primary mailbox is larger than 10 MB. The retention policy will not run automatically for mailboxes that are smaller than 10 MB.
10 Shared and resource mailboxes don’t require a license. However, without a license, these mailboxes are limited to 50 GB. To increase the mailbox size, an Exchange Online Plan 2 license must to be assigned. This will increase the mailbox to 100 GB.
11 By default, shared mailboxes have an associated active user account with a system-generated (unknown) password. To block sign-in for the associated shared mailbox account, see Block sign-in for the shared mailbox account.
Exchange Online provides three kinds of notifications when a user’s mailbox is nearing, or at, capacity:
Feature | Microsoft 365 Business Basic | Microsoft 365 Business Standard | Office 365 Enterprise E1 | Office 365 Enterprise E3 | Office 365 Enterprise E5 | Office 365 Enterprise F3 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Warning | 49 GB | 49 GB | 49 GB | 98 GB | 98 GB | 1.96 GB |
Prohibit Send | 49.5 GB | 49.5 GB | 49.5 GB | 99 GB | 99 GB | 1.98 GB |
Prohibit Send/Receive | 50 GB | 50 GB | 50 GB | 100 GB | 100 GB | 2 GB |
Feature | Exchange Server 2013 | Exchange Online Plan 1 | Exchange Online Plan 2 | Exchange Online Kiosk |
---|---|---|---|---|
Warning | 1.9 GB1 | 49 GB | 98 GB | 1.96 GB |
Prohibit Send | 2 GB1 | 49.5 GB | 99 GB | 1.98 GB |
Prohibit Send/Receive | 2.3 GB1 | 50 GB | 100 GB | 2 GB |
Note
1 This is the default value for Exchange Server 2013 organizations. Administrators can change this value for their organization.
These limits are intended to limit mailboxes to known dimensions that can be supported in Exchange Online. The goal of these limits is to prevent an infinite number of mailbox items per folder, an infinite number of folders per mailbox, or an infinite number of public folders per Exchange Online organization. For practical purposes, mailbox folder limits are in effect unlimited and sufficient to support most Exchange Online mailboxes and on-premises mailboxes that are migrated to Exchange Online.
Feature | Microsoft 365 Business Basic | Microsoft 365 Business Standard | Office 365 Enterprise E1 | Office 365 Enterprise E3 | Office 365 Enterprise E5 | Office 365 Enterprise F3 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Maximum number of messages per mailbox folder | 1 million | 1 million | 1 million | 1 million | 1 million | 1 million |
Warning for number of messages per mailbox folder | 900,000 | 900,000 | 900,000 | 900,000 | 900,000 | 900,000 |
Maximum number of messages per folder in the Recoverable Items folder | 3 million | 3 million | 3 million | 3 million | 3 million | 3 million |
Storage quota for Recoverable Items folder in the primary mailbox (not on hold) | 30 GB | 30 GB | 30 GB | 30 GB | 30 GB | 30 GB |
Storage quota for Recoverable Items folder in the primary mailbox (on hold) | 100 GB | 100 GB | 100 GB | 100 GB | 100 GB | 100 GB |
Storage quota for Recoverable Items folder in archive mailbox (not on hold) | 30 GB | 30 GB | 30 GB | Unlimited2 | Unlimited2 | 30 GB |
Storage quota for Recoverable Items folder in archive mailbox (on hold) | 100 GB1 | 100 GB1 | 100 GB1 | Unlimited2 | Unlimited2 | 100 GB1 |
Warning for number of messages per folder in the Recoverable Items folder | 2.75 million | 2.75 million | 2.75 million | 2.75 million | 2.75 million | 2.75 million |
Maximum number of subfolders per mailbox folder | 10,0002 | 10,0002 | 10,0002 | 10,0002 | 10,0002 | 10,0002 |
Warning for number of subfolders per mailbox folder | 9000 | 9000 | 9000 | 9000 | 9000 | 9000 |
Maximum folder hierarchy depth | 300 | 300 | 300 | 300 | 300 | 300 |
Warning for folder hierarchy depth | 250 | 250 | 250 | 250 | 250 | 250 |
Maximum number of public folders | 500,000 | 500,000 | 500,000 | 500,000 | 500,000 | Not available |
Maximum number of subfolders per public folder | 10,000 | 10,000 | 10,000 | 10,000 | 10,000 | Not available |
Warning for number of subfolders per public folder | 9000 | 9000 | 9000 | 9000 | 9000 | Not available |
Note
1 This is the storage quota for the Recoverable Items folder, not the quota for the entire archive mailbox. The storage quota for the archive mailbox is unlimited for users with an Exchange Online Plan 2 license or for users who have both an Exchange Online Plan 1 and an Exchange Online Archiving license. For information about increasing the Recoverable Items quota, see Increase the Recoverable Items quota for mailboxes on hold.
2 The initial storage quota for the Recoverable Items folder in an archive mailbox is 100 GB. When auto-expanding archiving is turned on, additional storage is automatically added when the storage capacity for the Recoverable Items folder is reached. For more information, see Overview of unlimited archiving in Office 365. See the Microsoft 365 Roadmap for details about the availability of auto-expanding archiving. 2 This is a store limit; it is one of the mailbox shape constraints. There can be only 10,000 direct child folders for any given parent. This applies regardless of migration or other clients creating folders.
Feature | Exchange Server 2013 | Exchange Online Plan 1 | Exchange Online Plan 2 | Exchange Online Kiosk |
---|---|---|---|---|
Maximum number of messages per mailbox folder | No limit1 | 1 million | 1 million | 1 million |
Warning for number of messages per mailbox folder | No limit | 900,000 | 900,000 | 900,000 |
Maximum number of messages per folder in the Recoverable Items folder | No limit | 3 million | 3 million | 3 million |
Storage quota for Recoverable Items folder in the primary mailbox (not on hold) | 30 GB | 30 GB | 30 GB | 30 GB |
Storage quota for Recoverable Items folder in the primary mailbox (on hold) | 100 GB | 100 GB | 100 GB | 100 GB |
Storage quota for Recoverable Items folder in archive mailbox (not on hold) | 30 GB | 30 GB | 30 GB | 30 GB |
Storage quota for Recoverable Items folder in archive mailbox (on hold) | 100 GB2 | 100 GB2 | Unlimited3 | Unlimited3 |
Warning for number of messages per folder in the Recoverable Items folder | No limit | 2.75 million | 2.75 million | 2.75 million |
Maximum number of subfolders per mailbox folder | No limit | 1000 | 1000 | 1000 |
Warning for number of subfolders per mailbox folder | No limit | 900 | 900 | 900 |
Maximum folder hierarchy depth | No limit | 300 | 300 | 300 |
Warning for folder hierarchy depth | No limit | 250 | 250 | 250 |
Maximum number of public folders | 1,000,000 | 100,000 | 100,000 | Not available |
Maximum number of subfolders per public folder | N/A | 1,000 | 1,000 | Not available |
Warning for number of subfolders per public folder | N/A | 900 | 900 | Not available |
Note
1 Microsoft recommends no more than 1,000,000 messages per mailbox folder. >
2 This is the storage quota for the Recoverable Items folder, not the quota for the entire archive mailbox. The storage quota for the archive mailbox is unlimited for users with an Exchange Online Plan 2 license or for users who have both an Exchange Online Plan 1 and an Exchange Online Archiving license. For information about increasing the Recoverable Items quota, see Increase the Recoverable Items quota for mailboxes on hold.
3 The initial storage quota for the Recoverable Items folder in an archive mailbox is 100 GB. When auto-expanding archiving is turned on, additional storage is automatically added when the storage capacity for the Recoverable Items folder is reached. For more information, see Overview of unlimited archiving in Office 365. See the Microsoft 365 Roadmap for details about the availability of auto-expanding archiving.
The following limits are applied to every email message.
Feature | Microsoft 365 Business Basic | Microsoft 365 Business Standard | Office 365 Enterprise E1 | Office 365 Enterprise E3 | Office 365 Enterprise E5 | Office 365 Enterprise F3 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Message size limit – Outlook | 150 MB1, 2 | 150 MB1, 2 | 150 MB1, 2 | 150 MB1, 2 | 150 MB1, 2 | 150 MB1, 2 |
Message size limit – OWA | 112 MB1, 3 | 112 MB1, 3 | 112 MB1, 3 | 112 MB1, 3 | 112 MB1, 3 | 112 MB1, 3 |
Message size limit – Outlook for Mac | 150 MB1, 2 | 150 MB1, 2 | 150 MB1, 2 | 150 MB1, 2 | 150 MB1, 2 | 150 MB1, 2 |
Message size limit – migration | 150 MB 1, 4 | 150 MB 1, 4 | 150 MB 1, 4 | 150 MB 1, 4 | 150 MB 1, 4 | 150 MB 1, 4 |
Message size limit – Outlook for iOS and Android | 33 MB | 33 MB | 33 MB | 33 MB | 33 MB | 33 MB |
Size limit for encrypted messages (for subscribers using Office 365 Message Encryption with new capabilities)5 | 25 MB | 25 MB | 25 MB | 25 MB | 25 MB | 25 MB |
Size limit for encrypted messages (for subscribers using Office 365 Message Encryption legacy version)5 | 25 MB | 25 MB | 25 MB | 25 MB | 25 MB | 25 MB |
Subject length limit | 255 characters | 255 characters | 255 characters | 255 characters | 255 characters | 255 characters |
File attachments limit | 250 attachments | 250 attachments | 250 attachments | 250 attachments | 250 attachments | 250 attachments |
File attachment size limit – Outlook | 150 MB | 150 MB | 150 MB | 150 MB | 150 MB | 150 MB |
File attachment size limit – OWA | 112 MB3, 6 | 112 MB3, 6 | 112 MB3, 6 | 112 MB3, 6 | 112 MB3, 6 | 112 MB3, 6 |
File attachment size limit – Outlook for Mac | 150 MB | 150 MB | 150 MB | 150 MB | 150 MB | 150 MB |
File attachment size limit – Outlook for iOS and Android | 33 MB | 33 MB | 33 MB | 33 MB | 33 MB | 33 MB |
Multipart message limit | 250 parts | 250 parts | 250 parts | 250 parts | 250 parts | 250 parts |
Embedded message depth limit | 30 embedded messages | 30 embedded messages | 30 embedded messages | 30 embedded messages | 30 embedded messages | 30 embedded messages |
Note
1 The default maximum message size for Microsoft mailboxes is 25 MB. Microsoft administrators can specify a custom limit between 1 MB and 150 MB. However, the size of message you can send or receive also depends on what your email client or solution supports. For more information about customizing the maximum allowed message size for your organization, see Microsoft supports larger email messages.
2 You can send and receive up to 150 MB messages between users (where the message never leaves the Microsoft datacenters). Messages that are routed outside of the Microsoft datacenters are subject to an additional 33% translation encoding increase, in which case the maximum message size is 112 MB.
3 OWA accounts for the possibility that your message may be subject to the 33% encoding increase and restricts the size of message you can send to 25% less than the configured setting. For example, if you customize your settings for a 100 MB maximum message size, you can send messages no larger than 75 MB.
4 The size of messages to be moved into Exchange Online are computed by Exchange Online. Versions of Exchange prior to Exchange Server 2013 may report a smaller item size. This limit applies to move-based migrations using any supported Exchange Mailbox Replication Service. Other migration methods (Cutover, Staged, IMAP, PST) and other third-party tools are limited by the general message size limit.
5 For information about OME with new capabilities, see Set up new Office 365 Message Encryption capabilities built on top of Azure Information Protection.
6 Classic file attachments have a limit of 112 MB, but OneDrive file attachments can be up to 2 GB.
Feature | Exchange Server 2013 | Exchange Online Plan 1 | Exchange Online Plan 2 | Exchange Online Kiosk |
---|---|---|---|---|
Message size limit – Outlook | 10 MB4 | 150 MB1, 2 | 150 MB1, 2 | 150 MB2 |
Message size limit – OWA | 10 MB4 | 112 MB1, 3 | 112 MB1, 3 | 150 MB1, 2 |
Message size limit – Outlook for Mac | 10 MB4 | 150 MB | 150 MB | |
Message size limit – migration | Not applicable | 150 MB 5 | 150 MB 5 | 150 MB 5 |
Message size limit – Outlook for iOS and Android | 25 MB | 33 MB | 33 MB | 33 MB |
Size limit for encrypted messages (for subscribers using Office 365 Message Encryption with new capabilities)6 | 150 MB | 150 MB | 150 MB | 150 MB |
Size limit for encrypted messages (for subscribers using Office 365 Message Encryption legacy version)6 | 25 MB | 25 MB | 25 MB | 25 MB |
Subject length limit | 255 characters | 255 characters | 255 characters | 255 characters |
File attachments limit | 1024 attachments4 | 250 attachments | 250 attachments | 250 attachments |
File attachment size limit – Outlook | 35 MB4 | 150 MB | 150 MB | 150 MB |
File attachment size limit – OWA | 35 MB4 | 112 MB3 | 112 MB3 | 112 MB3 |
File attachment size limit – Outlook for Mac | 35 MB4 | 150 MB | 150 MB | 35 MB |
File attachment size limit – Outlook for iOS and Android | 25 MB | 33 MB | 33 MB | 33 MB |
Multipart message limit | 250 parts | 250 parts | 250 parts | 250 parts |
Embedded message depth limit | 30 embedded messages | 30 embedded messages | 30 embedded messages | 30 embedded messages |
Note
1 Microsoft administrators can specify a custom limit between 1 MB and 150 MB. However, the size of message you can send or receive also depends on what your email client or solution supports. For more information about customizing the maximum allowed message size for your organization, see Microsoft supports larger email messages.
2 You can send and receive up to 150 MB messages between users (where the message never leaves the Microsoft datacenters). Messages that are routed outside of the Microsoft datacenters are subject to an additional 33% translation encoding increase, in which case the maximum message size is 112 MB.
3 OWA accounts for the possibility that your message may be subject to the 33% encoding increase and restricts the size of message you can send to 25% less than the configured setting. For example, if you customize your settings for a 100 MB maximum message size, you can send messages no larger than 75 MB.
4 This is the default limit for Exchange Server 2013 organizations. Administrators can change this value for their organization.
5 The size of messages to be moved into Exchange Online are computed by Exchange Online. Versions of Exchange prior to Exchange Server 2013 may report a smaller item size.
6 For information about OME with new capabilities, see Set up new Office 365 Message Encryption capabilities built on top of Azure Information Protection.
Receiving and sending limits are applied to combat spam and mass-mailing worms or viruses. These limits help to protect the health of our systems and keep our users safe.
Receiving limits apply to the number of messages that an Exchange Online user, group, or public folder can receive.
Feature | Microsoft 365 Business Basic | Microsoft 365 Business Standard Office | Office 365 Enterprise E1 | Office 365 Enterprise E3 | Office 365 Enterprise E5 | Office 365 Enterprise F3 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Messages received | 3,600 messages per hour | 3,600 messages per hour | 3,600 messages per hour | 3,600 messages per hour | 3600 messages per hour | 3600 messages per hour |
Messages received from single sender | 33% of messages received | 33% of messages received | 33% of messages received | 33% of messages received | 33% of messages received | 33% of messages received |
Sending limits apply to the number of recipients, number of messages, and number of recipients per message that a user can send from their Exchange Online account.
Note
For distribution groups stored in an organization’s address book, the group is counted as one recipient. For distribution groups stored in the Contacts folder of a mailbox, the members of the group are counted individually.
Feature | Microsoft 365 Business Basic | Microsoft 365 Business Standard | Office 365 Enterprise E1 | Office 365 Enterprise E3 | Office 365 Enterprise E5 | Office 365 Enterprise F3 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Recipient rate limit1 | 10,000 recipients per day | 10,000 recipients per day | 10,000 recipients per day | 10,000 recipients per day | 10,000 recipients per day | 10,000 recipients per day |
Recipient limit2 | Customizable up to 1000 recipients | Customizable up to 1000 recipients | Customizable up to 1000 recipients | Customizable up to 1000 recipients | Customizable up to 1000 recipients | Customizable up to 1000 recipients |
Recipient proxy address limit | 400 | 400 | 400 | 400 | 400 | 400 |
Message rate limit3 | 30 messages per minute | 30 messages per minute | 30 messages per minute | 30 messages per minute | 30 messages per minute | 30 messages per minute |
Note
1 After the recipient rate limit is reached, messages can’t be sent from the mailbox until the number of recipients that were sent messages in the past 24 hours drops below the limit. For example, a user sends an email message to 5000 recipients at 09:00 AM, then sends another message to 2500 recipients at 10:00 AM, and then sends another message to 2500 recipients at 11:00 AM, hitting the limit of 10,000 messages. The user won’t be able to send messages again until 09:00 AM the next day.
2 You can customize recipient limits between 1 and 1000 for existing mailboxes and for new mailboxes that will be created in the future. Edit the recipient limit on existing mailboxes individually or in bulk using the Exchange admin center and customize the default setting for new mailboxes via Remote PowerShell. For more information, see Customizable recipient limits in Office 365.
3 When outbound message volumes surpass the message rate limit, any excess in message submission will be throttled and successively carried over to the following minutes. This will typically not block the sender’s account, but Exchange Online isn’t suited to accommodate bulk-mailing scenarios. For this use case, options 2 and 3 here are recommended instead.
Feature | Exchange Server 2013 | Exchange Online Plan 1 | Exchange Online Plan 2 | Exchange Online Kiosk |
---|---|---|---|---|
Recipient rate limit | No limit1 | 10,000 recipients per day2 | 10,000 recipients per day2 | 10,000 recipients per day2 |
Recipient limit | 1000 recipients1 | 1000 recipients | 1000 recipients | 1000 recipients |
Recipient proxy address limit | 400 | 400 | 400 | 400 |
Message rate limit | No limit | 30 messages per minute | 30 messages per minute | 30 messages per minute |
Note
1 This is the default limit for Exchange Server 2013 organizations. Administrators can change this value for their organization.
2 After the recipient rate limit is reached, messages can’t be sent from the mailbox until the number of recipients that were sent messages in the past 24 hours drops below the limit. For example, a user sends an email message to 5000 recipients at 09:00 AM, then sends another message to 2500 recipients at 10:00 AM, and then sends another message to 2500 recipients at 11:00 AM, hitting the limit of 10,000 messages. The user won’t be able to send messages again until 09:00 AM the next day.
For reporting and message trace limits, see the “Reporting and message trace data availability and latency” section in Reporting and message trace in Exchange Online Protection.
These limits control the length of time that items in specific folders in the Inbox can be accessed.
Note
A soft-deleted user mailbox—a mailbox deleted using the Microsoft 365 admin center or the Remove-Mailbox cmdlet in Exchange Online PowerShell and that is still in the Azure Active Directory recycle bin—is recoverable within 30 days.
Feature | Microsoft 365 Business Basic | Microsoft 365 Business Standard | Office 365 Enterprise E1 | Office 365 Enterprise E3 | Office 365 Enterprise E5 | Office 365 Enterprise F3 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Deleted Items folder retention period | No limit1 | No limit1 | No limit1 | No limit1 | No limit1 | No limit1 |
Retention period for items removed from the Deleted Items folder | 14 days1 | 14 days1 | 14 days1 | 14 days1 | 14 days1 | 14 days1 |
Junk Email folder retention period | 30 days | 30 days | 30 days | 30 days | 30 days | 30 days |
Note
1 This is the default value for Microsoft 365 organizations. Administrators can change this value to a maximum of 30 days for mailboxes in their organization.
Feature | Exchange Server 2013 | Exchange Online Plan 1 | Exchange Online Plan 2 | Exchange Online Kiosk |
---|---|---|---|---|
Deleted Items folder retention period | No limit1 | No limit1 | No limit1 | No limit1 |
Retention period for items removed from the Deleted Items folder | 14 days1 | 14 days2 | 14 days2 | 14 days2 |
Junk Email folder retention period | 2 years1 | 30 days | 30 days | 30 days |
Note
1 This is the default limit. Administrators can change this value for their organization.
2 This is the default value for Exchange Online organizations. Administrators can change this value to a maximum of 30 days for mailboxes in their organization.
These limits apply to distribution groups in your organization’s shared address book.
Feature | Microsoft 365 Business Basic | Microsoft 365 Business Standard | Office 365 Enterprise E1 | Office 365 Enterprise E3 | Office 365 Enterprise E5 | Office 365 Enterprise F3 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Maximum number of distribution group members1 | 100,000 members | 100,000 members | 100,000 members | 100,000 members | 100,000 members | 100,000 members |
Limit sending messages to large distribution group | 5,000 or more members | 5,000 or more members | 5,000 or more members | 5,000 or more members | 5,000 or more members | 5,000 or more members |
Maximum message size for distribution groups with 5,000 to 99,999 members | 25 MB | 25 MB | 25 MB | 25 MB | 25 MB | 25 MB |
Maximum message size for distribution groups with 100,000 members | 5 MB | 5 MB | 5 MB | 5 MB | 5 MB | 5 MB |
Maximum number of distribution group owners | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
Maximum number of groups a user can create | 300,0002 | 300,0002 | 300,0002 | 300,0002 | 300,0002 | 300,0002 |
Note
1 If you are using Azure Active Directory DirSync, the maximum number of distribution group members that you can synchronize from your on-premises Active Directory to Azure Active Directory is 15,000. If you are using Azure AD Connect, that number is 50,000.
2 This limit also applies to admins.
Feature | Exchange Server 2013 | Exchange Online Plan 1 | Exchange Online Plan 2 | Exchange Online Kiosk |
---|---|---|---|---|
Maximum number of distribution group members | 100,000 members1 | 100,000 members | 100,000 members | 100,000 members |
Limit sending messages to large distribution group | 5,000 or more members1 | 5,000 or more members | 5,000 or more members | 5,000 or more members |
Maximum number of distribution group owners | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
Maximum number of groups a user can create | 2502 | 2502 | 2502 | 2502 |
Note
1 This is the default limit for Exchange Server 2013 organizations. Administrators can change this value for their organization.
2 This limit also applies to admins.
The following list includes limits that apply to journal rules, transport rules (also known as organization-wide rules), and limits that apply to inbox rules. Inbox rules are set up by individual users and applied to messages sent and received by the individual user’s mailbox.
Feature | Microsoft 365 Business Basic | Microsoft 365 Business Standard | Office 365 Enterprise E1 | Office 365 Enterprise E3 | Office 365 Enterprise E5 | Office 365 Enterprise F3 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Maximum number of journal rules | 300 rules | 300 rules | 300 rules | 300 rules | 300 rules | 300 rules |
Maximum number of transport rules | 300 rules | 300 rules | 300 rules | 300 rules | 300 rules | 300 rules |
Maximum size of an individual transport rule | 8 KB | 8 KB | 8 KB | 8 KB | 8 KB | 8 KB |
Character limit for all regular expressions used in all transport rules | 20 KB | 20 KB | 20 KB | 20 KB | 20 KB | 20 KB |
Scanning limits for content of attachments | 1 MB | 1 MB | 1 MB | 1 MB | 1 MB | 1 MB |
Maximum number of recipients added to a message by all transport rules | 100 recipients | 100 recipients | 100 recipients | 100 recipients | 100 recipients | 100 recipients |
Forwardee limit | 10 recipients | 10 recipients | 10 recipients | 10 recipients | 10 recipients | 10 recipients |
Number of times a message is redirected | 1 redirection | 1 redirection | 1 redirection | 1 redirection | 1 redirection | 1 redirection |
Number of times a message is redirected by transport rules | 1 redirection | 1 redirection | 1 redirection | 1 redirection | 1 redirection | 1 redirection |
Number of times a message is redirected | 1 redirection | 1 redirection | 1 redirection | 1 redirection | 1 redirection | 1 redirection |
Inbox rule | 256kb1 | 256kb1 | 256kb1 | 256kb1 | 256kb1 | 256kb1 |
Note
1 If a mailbox was migrated to Exchange Online, the inbox rule limit might be set to the value that is lower than the default EXO value. If that is the case, the inbox rule value can be increased. For instructions, see Modify the space used by Inbox rules in Exchange Online.
Feature | Exchange Server 2013 | Exchange Online Plan 1 | Exchange Online Plan 2 | Exchange Online Kiosk |
---|---|---|---|---|
Maximum number of journal rules | No limit | 50 rules | 50 rules | 50 rules |
Maximum number of transport rules | No limit | 300 rules | 300 rules | 300 rules |
Maximum size of an individual transport rule | 40 KB | 8 KB | 8 KB | 8 KB |
Character limit for all regular expressions used in all transport rules | No limit | 20 KB | 20 KB | 20 KB |
Maximum number of recipients added to a message by all transport rules | No limit | 100 recipients | 100 recipients | 100 recipients |
Forwardee limit | No limit | 10 recipients | 10 recipients | 10 recipients |
Number of times a message is redirected | 3 redirections | 1 redirection | 1 redirection | 1 redirection |
Number of times a message is redirected by transport rules | No limit | 1 redirection | 1 redirection | 1 redirection |
These limits control the moderation settings that are used for message approval applied to distribution groups and transport rules.
During periods of heavy usage, some senders may not receive notification messages for moderated messages that have expired. However, these notifications are still discoverable using delivery reports.
Feature | Microsoft 365 Business Basic | Microsoft 365 Business Standard | Office 365 Enterprise E1 | Office 365 Enterprise E3 | Office 365 Enterprise E5 | Office 365 Enterprise F3 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Maximum size of the arbitration mailbox | 10 GB | 10 GB | 10 GB | 10 GB | 10 GB | 10 GB |
Maximum number of moderators | 10 moderators | 10 moderators | 10 moderators | 10 moderators | 10 moderators | 10 moderators |
Expiration for messages waiting for moderation | 2 days | 2 days | 2 days | 2 days | 2 days | 2 days |
Maximum rate for expired moderation notification messages | 300 expiration notifications per hour | 300 expiration notifications per hour | 300 expiration notifications per hour | 300 expiration notifications per hour | 300 expiration notifications per hour | 300 expiration notifications per hour |
Feature | Exchange Server 2013 | Exchange Online Plan 1 | Exchange Online Plan 2 | Exchange Online Kiosk |
---|---|---|---|---|
Maximum size of the arbitration mailbox | No limit1 | 10 GB | 10 GB | 10 GB |
Maximum number of moderators | No limit | 10 moderators | 10 moderators | 10 moderators |
Expiration for messages waiting for moderation | 5 days1 | 2 days | 2 days | 2 days |
Maximum rate for expired moderation notification messages | 300 expiration notifications per hour | 300 expiration notifications per hour | 300 expiration notifications per hour | 300 expiration notifications per hour |
Note
1 This is the default limit for Exchange Server 2013 organizations. Administrators can change this value for their organization.
The following limits apply to Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync, a client protocol that synchronizes mailbox data between mobile devices and Exchange.
Feature | Microsoft 365 Business Basic | Microsoft 365 Business Standard | Office 365 Enterprise E1 | Office 365 Enterprise E3 | Office 365 Enterprise E5 | Office 365 Enterprise F3 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Exchange ActiveSync device limit | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
Exchange ActiveSync device deletion limit | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 |
Feature | Exchange Server 2013 | Exchange Online Plan 1 | Exchange Online Plan 2 | Exchange Online Kiosk |
---|---|---|---|---|
Exchange ActiveSync device limit | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
Exchange ActiveSync device deletion limit | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 |