When a video is too large to send on Discord
Discord limits how large a file you can send. Here is the limit that changed in August 2026, and how to make sure your video goes through.
The current limits
These are the limits in Discord’s official help (checked on September 13, 2026).
| Plan | Largest file you can send |
|---|---|
| Free | 20MB |
| Nitro Basic | 50MB |
| Nitro | 500MB |
Source: Discord “File Attachments FAQ”
The official help also says Discord is experimenting with larger limits for some users. That is why your limit may differ from the people around you.
What changed in August 2026
- The free limit went up from 10MB to 20MB.
- The size is now checked before compression. Previously on phones, Discord compressed the file first and checked the size afterward. Phones now use the same “size before compression” check as computers.
- Because of this, the official help explains that on Android, where the original files tend to be larger, you may hit the limit more often than before, even though the number went up.
If a video that used to go through no longer does, this change may be the reason.
How to fix it
1. Make the video smaller (the surest way)
If you remake the video below the limit, it will send. A file of exactly 20MB can fail by a tiny margin, so aiming for about 19MB is safer.
2. Keep only the part you need
Squeezing a long video into 20MB lowers the picture quality a lot. Keeping only the scenes you want to show, and then making it smaller, lets you send it looking good.
As a guide, here is how much can go to the picture when fitting a video into 19MB (with 128kbps used for sound).
| Video length | Amount for the picture (per second) |
|---|---|
| 1 minute | About 2.4Mbps |
| 3 minutes | About 0.7Mbps |
| 5 minutes | About 0.4Mbps |
| 10 minutes | About 0.1Mbps |
The smaller the number, the rougher the picture. For anything longer than 3 minutes, we recommend shortening it first.
3. Use MP4
Discord’s official help lists MP4 (H.264, HEVC/H.265, or AV1) and MOV among the most common file types. If an MKV or WebM video does not play well, try converting it to MP4 before sending (MKV to MP4, WebM to MP4).
4. Use Nitro
If you often send large videos, Nitro Basic (50MB) or Nitro (500MB) is another option.
Making a video smaller for Discord with SakuConvert
On the Make a video smaller for Discord page, you can make your video fit within 19MB.
- Press “Choose a video” and pick the video you want to send.
- Choose free or Nitro Basic (free is selected at first).
- Check the expected size, then press “Compress” (some browsers show “Compress and save”). If the video is too long to fit, you are told how short it needs to be.
- Paste the finished file into Discord and send it.
Your video is not sent anywhere. It is processed only inside your browser, so there is no upload wait either (Why it is safe).