Gmail SMTP server limits
Sending limits
To keep our systems healthy and your accounts safe, Google Apps limits the amount of mail a user can send. The limits restrict the number of messages sent per day and the number of recipients per message. After reaching one of these limits, a user cannot send new messages but can still access his or her account and receive incoming email.
The following peak limits apply to Google Apps for Business or Education editions and users in trial domains:
| Limit type | Description | Business/ Education editions | Trial users |
|---|---|---|---|
| Messages per day | Daily sending limit* | 2000 | 500 |
| Messages auto-forwarded | Messages automatically forwarded from another account; not included in the daily sending limit | 10,000 | 10,000 |
| Auto-forward mail filters | Account filters that automatically forward mail | 20 | 20 |
| Recipients per message | Addresses in the To, Cc, and Bcc fields of a single email* | 2000 (500 external) | 2000 (500 external) |
| Recipients per message (sent via SMTP by POP or IMAPusers) | Addresses in the To, Cc, and Bcc fields of a single email* | 99 | 99 |
| Total recipients per day | Individual addresses count in every mail sent; 5 emails sent to 10 addresses count as 50 recipients* | 10,000 | 10,000 |
| External recipients per day | Email addresses outside your primary domain, including domain aliases and alternate domains | 3000 | 3000 |
| Unique recipients per day | Individual addresses count once a day; 5 emails sent to 10 addresses count as 10 unique recipients* | 3000 (2000 external) | 3000 (500 external) |
*applies to both internal and external recipients
The value of these limits may change without notice in order to protect Google’s infrastructure. Limits per day are applied over a rolling 24-hour period (rather than a set time of day).
After upgrading to Google Apps for Business, it may take some time for the limits of your Google Apps accounts to be updated:
- If your domain has six or more users, the peak limits will be eligible for update after the first complete billing cycle.
- If your domain has fewer than six users, the peak limits might be lower for multiple billing cycles. The peak limits will be eligible for update after the domain has been cumulatively billed for the equivalent of six monthly user subscriptions.
If your organization uses the SMTP relay service setting to route outgoing mail through Google then the sending limits are different. You can find more information about the sending limits for the SMTP relay service here.