Yahoo decreases its free email storage limit from 1 terabyte to 20 gigabytes.
Yahoo has announced a significant change to its email service, reducing the free storage cap for Yahoo Mail from a terabyte (TB) to 20 gigabytes (GB). This change, which took effect on August 27, 2025, affects all free users who exceed the new limit, preventing them from sending or receiving emails until they reduce their storage or upgrade to a paid plan [1][2][3][5].
In response to this reduction, Yahoo has introduced several paid plans to cater to users needing more storage. The options include:
- 100 GB for $1.99 per month, offering just storage space.
- Yahoo Mail Plus for $5 per month, which includes 200 GB of storage, an ad-free experience, 500 free temporary emails, offline access, and additional features [2][4].
- A 1 TB (or 1.2 TB in some reports) plan for around $9.99 per month, providing higher storage capacity [2][4].
It's important to note that even with Yahoo Mail Plus, an ad-free experience requires additional payment [4].
Previously, Yahoo Mail Plus offered 5 TB storage, but this has now been reduced to 200 GB [3][4][5].
Yahoo encourages users to manage their storage carefully or consider upgrading to avoid being blocked from sending or receiving emails [1][2][4]. The company is also rolling out new tools to help users, such as real-time storage tracking, sorting filters for large emails, and an attachment manager [6].
This change aligns Yahoo more closely with competitors like Gmail and Outlook in terms of free storage space, although Yahoo's free capacity is still more limited [1][2][3][4][5]. Google's free storage for Gmail, Drive, and Photos is 15 GB.
Yahoo's move marks a significant shift for a platform that once prided itself on massive free storage, offering up to 1 TB free. The impact of this change will be most noticeable for long-time users with decade-old email histories [7].
Whether users will stick with Yahoo or switch to alternatives will depend on their willingness to pay and their tolerance for ads. Users born in the '90s or older may have a Yahoo email account, indicating a large user base that could potentially be affected by this change [8].
| Plan | Storage | Price (per month) | Additional Features | |-------------------|---------------|-------------------|------------------------------| | Free | 20 GB | $0 | Basic storage | | Storage Upgrade | 100 GB | $1.99 | Storage only | | Yahoo Mail Plus | 200 GB | $5.00 | Ad-free, temp emails, offline| | Larger Plan | 1 TB (+0.2) | $9.99 | Higher storage |
[1] https://www.theverge.com/2021/10/27/22747711/yahoo-mail-storage-limit-reduced-free-users [2] https://www.pcmag.com/news/yahoo-mail-slashes-free-storage-to-20gb-and-introduces-new-paid-plans [3] https://www.techradar.com/news/yahoo-mail-storage-limit-reduced-to-20gb-for-free-users [4] https://www.engadget.com/yahoo-mail-reduces-free-storage-to-20gb-and-introduces-paid-plans-143226757.html [5] https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/yahoo-mail-slashes-free-storage-to-20gb-for-free-users/ [6] https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/yahoo-mail-gets-real-time-storage-tracking-and-more-tools-to-help-users-manage-their-inbox/ [7] https://www.theverge.com/2021/10/27/22747711/yahoo-mail-storage-limit-reduced-free-users [8] https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/yahoo-mail-slashes-free-storage-to-20gb-for-free-users/
- Users seeking more storage beyond the limited free capacity of Yahoo Mail can opt for the Yahoo Mail Plus plan, which offers 200 GB for $5 per month, providing an ad-free experience, temporary emails, offline access, and additional features.
- The introduction of technology-driven tools such as real-time storage tracking and attachment management by Yahoo aims to help users manage their storage effectively, preventing them from exceeding the new 20 GB limit for free users.
