How to check your email storage (and what to do when it's full)

You might want to know how to check email storage if your inbox suddenly feels a bit more weighed down than usual; it’s always worth keeping an eye on it before you hit a storage wall.

Pretty much every major email provider gives you a quick way to see exactly how much of your quota you're using; you just need to know where they hide the page.

I’ll show you how to check for all the big players, Gmail, Outlook, iCloud, and Yahoo, with the exact URL or menu path for each, plus what you can do when your storage is close to full without paying for an upgrade.

Email storage limits by provider

When I was putting this together, I was actually surprised to see how much it varies per provider, and interestingly, the number you see is not always for email alone. Gmail and iCloud, for example, share storage with other services, so your inbox might look full even when Photos, Drive, or backups are the real problem.

How to check Gmail storage

For Gmail, go to one.google.com/storage. This shows you the total used and total available amount, plus a breakdown by service, so you can easily see what the real top consumers are, like large emails or large files. Gmail alone might only be 3 GB, but Photos can easily creep up to 10 GB.

If you’re using the Google One app on your iPhone, just click on the Storage tab to see this breakdown.

How to check Outlook mailbox size

In Outlook, your storage view is going to depend on whether you’re using Outlook on the web, the new Outlook app, or classic Outlook desktop.

For new Outlook and Outlook on the web, click the Settings gear, then go to Accounts > Storage. This shows your mailbox storage, including how much space different folders are using.

For the classic Outlook desktop, you’ll need to go to File > Info > Tools > Mailbox Cleanup > View Mailbox Size. Then you get the folder-by-folder breakdown.

Microsoft 365 users probably have larger mailbox limits, like 50 GB or 100 GB, but that’s going to depend on your license. From the Outlook Storage page, you can also bulk-delete older emails, such as messages older than 3, 6, or 12 months, which is a quick way to clear space without searching manually.

How to check iCloud Mail storage

iCloud Mail shares the 5 GB free tier with iCloud Drive, Backup, and Photos, and honestly, in my experience, it doesn’t last long; also, for me, email wasn’t the storage issue.

There are a few different ways to check, based on what device you’re using.

For iPads or iPhones, go to Settings > tap on your name > iCloud, and then you’ll see the split.

On a Mac, you can go to the main Apple menu > System Settings > click your Apple Account, then > iCloud > Manage.

If you’re using a browser, go to iCloud.com > account icon (top right) > iCloud Settings.

How to check Yahoo, Proton, and other providers

Ok, here are a couple more providers for you, but I find that with terabyte-scale storage limits, you’re less likely to have issues caused by email.

For Yahoo, go to Settings > More Settings > Mailboxes > click your address > see quota.

If you use Proton, go to Settings > Dashboard shows used / total.

For providers like Zoho or Fastmail, go to Settings > Account / Subscription.

What to do if your email storage is full?

If your email storage is full, then I’d start with the quickest win, which is making sure you’ve actually emptied your Trash and Spam. A lot of users forget that anything sitting in here still counts toward your storage quota until it’s permanently removed.

If you use Gmail, then this is a great little search filter tip: type in:

• has:attachment larger:10M

And you can then see all your emails with large attachments; you can even search for 25 or greater. This just helps you quickly find the bulky stuff, which you can delete if you no longer need it.

For Outlook, use Sweep to bulk-clean promotional senders, newsletters, and repeat notifications. It’s useful when one sender has filled your mailbox over months or years.

For iCloud Mail, delete large Mail attachments, then check iCloud backups and Photos too. iCloud’s free 5 GB is shared, so Mail may not be the real problem.

Cleaning up old mail isn’t exactly fun. If you’re using Gmail, then I can recommend trying out the Email Cleanup, a feature in CleanMyMac’s My Tools.

It works with your Gmail account to group your inbox quickly by sender, year, type, and attachment size. Then, you can review clutter and remove, archive, or unsubscribe in bulk.

One good thing about this method is that you get to confirm every action, and anything that you do remove goes to Gmail Trash, so you’ve still got 30 days to recover. Currently, it’s Gmail-only, with support for other providers on the way. Try CleanMyMac for free.

Well, you should now know how to check email storage and what to do if it’s almost or at capacity.