SharePoint Document Issues

How to Set a File Size Limit in SharePoint Online

Chanuka Geekiyanage Oct 10, 2026 870 views

Question details

Administrators need a way to restrict the maximum size of individual files that users can upload to a SharePoint Online site.

How to Set a File Size Limit in SharePoint Online

Product: SharePoint Online
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Managing tenant storage capacity and preventing users from taking up excessive space by uploading unusually large files to document libraries.
Observed behavior: SharePoint Online does not currently provide a tenant-level or site-level setting to restrict the size of individual uploaded files. Administrators must rely on site storage quotas or OneDrive sync restrictions as workarounds.

Before you start

Ensure you have SharePoint Administrator privileges, as you will need access to the SharePoint admin center to modify storage limit settings for active sites.

Solution 1Recommended

Configure a Total Storage Limit for the SharePoint Site

Since individual file size limits are not natively supported, setting a hard cap on the total storage available for a specific SharePoint site is the most effective workaround to control large uploads.

By switching the tenant's storage management to manual, administrators can specify exactly how much data a particular site collection can hold. Once this limit is reached, users will be unable to upload new files, regardless of their individual size.

Access the SharePoint Admin Center

Log in to the Microsoft 365 admin center with your administrator credentials and navigate to the SharePoint admin center.

Change Storage Limit Settings to Manual

In the left navigation pane, click on 'Settings'. Locate 'SharePoint Site storage limits' and change the configuration option to 'Manual'.

Select the Target Site

Go back to the left menu, expand 'Sites', and click on 'Active sites'. Find and select the specific site where you want to restrict storage.

Apply the Storage Capacity

With the site selected, click on 'Storage' in the command bar. Enter the maximum allowed storage capacity in gigabytes (GB), and save your changes.

Configure a Total Storage Limit for the SharePoint Site

Monitoring Storage: You can also set up email notifications to alert site owners when the storage approaches the defined manual limit.

Solution 2

Block Specific File Types for OneDrive Synchronization

If large files are typically of a specific format (like videos or disk images), you can prevent the OneDrive sync client from uploading them.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I limit the maximum file size for a single document upload in SharePoint?

No, SharePoint Online currently does not provide a native setting to restrict the file size of individual uploads. The maximum allowed file size is fixed by Microsoft limits (currently up to 250 GB per file).

What happens when a SharePoint site reaches its manual storage limit?

Once a site hits its designated storage capacity, users will receive an error when attempting to upload new files or add new content. Existing files must be deleted, or an administrator must increase the site's storage limit to resume normal operations.

Does blocking file types stop users from uploading files via the web browser?

No. Blocking specific file types in the SharePoint admin center only prevents those files from being synchronized via the OneDrive desktop sync app. Users can still manually upload those blocked file types directly through the SharePoint web interface.

Document & File Issues