ToolBox Image — Discord, WhatsApp, Instagram, 이메일의 이미지 크기 제한 — 제한 미만으로 유지하는 방법

Every platform has a different file size limit for images. Discord caps attachments at 8 MB (25 MB for Nitro), WhatsApp at 16 MB, Instagram at 30 MB for photos and 650 MB for video, and most email services at 25 MB. But hitting those limits — or getting blocked before you reach them — is a daily frustration for anyone who works with images.

Discord: 8 MB (25 MB with Nitro)

Discord is the strictest of the four. The free tier caps file uploads at 8 MB per file, and Nitro raises it to 25 MB.

The best strategy for Discord is target-size mode: set the maximum file size to 7 MB (leaving room for metadata), and let the compressor handle the rest.

WhatsApp: 16 MB per image

WhatsApp allows up to 16 MB per image, but there is a catch: WhatsApp recompresses images on its own servers, often at a lower quality than you expect.

The workaround is to compress before you send. Reduce the file to around 1-2 MB with a quality setting of 85 — this gives WhatsApp less data to discard.

Instagram: 30 MB for photos

Instagram accepts photos up to 30 MB but recommends images no larger than 1080 pixels wide.

The ideal Instagram image is a resized JPEG or PNG at 1080 × 1080 (square), 1080 × 1350 (portrait), or 1080 × 566 (landscape), compressed to 300-500 KB.

Email: 25 MB total (Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo)

Email attachment limits apply per message, not per file. Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo Mail all cap messages at 25 MB total — including the email body and any inline images.

The safe target for email attachments is 3-5 MB per image if you are sending multiple files, or 10-15 MB for a single image.

Quick reference table

Platform	Limit per file	Recommended max	Best format
Discord (free)	8 MB	7 MB	WebP / AVIF
Discord (Nitro)	25 MB	24 MB	JPEG / WebP
WhatsApp	16 MB	1-2 MB	JPEG
Instagram	30 MB	300-500 KB	JPEG
Email (Gmail/Outlook)	25 MB (total message)	3 MB each	JPEG