Yahoo Mail Storage Limit Updates in 2025: A 98% Reduction
After more than a decade of offering a massive 1 TB of storage for free, Yahoo Mail storage limit is being reduced by 98%. This change is huge for free-tier users who will now have to keep all their emails within the 20 GB cap or pay for extra storage.
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Don’t worry, like you, I have also been using Yahoo Mail for a while (not as my primary mail, but as a backup for all email conversations). I understand the urgency and thus have made a foolproof plan for the next steps. Let us get straight to the solution.
New Yahoo Mail Storage Limit is Here! How to Check?
To see how does this massive 98% storage cut affects you check much storage you use currently:
- Step 1. Log in to Yahoo.
- Step 2. Click on the Settings cog (⚙) at the top left corner.
- Step 3. Then, in the flyout pane, click … More settings.
- Step 4. On the settings screen, check the menu pane; you should see the current Yahoo Mail storage limit.
If Yahoo Mail storage limit is over 20 GB, then you won’t be able to send/receive any emails until you delete some of the old emails or upgrade to the premium tier.
To delete unwanted data:
- Step 1. Open Yahoo mail (sort if need be). Select one or more emails, and hit Delete.
- Step 2. Hover over the Deleted Items folder and tap the red dustbin icon.
You might see an archive option when you select emails. This archive is a bit different from what you usually mean by archive. So if you are confused about what path to choose, take a look at our detailed discussion on the Yahoo Mail Archive vs. Delete options.
You don’t always have to get rid of old emails, and sometimes you might not even want to. For these specific scenarios, we have the SysTools Yahoo Backup software. This tool will not only save Yahoo emails to the hard drive but also delete those emails from the cloud to create extra space there.
Try the demo today.
Subscribe to Access New Yahoo Mail Storage Limits
Step 1. On the Yahoo main screen, click on Subscriptions.
Step 2. On the Subscriptions page, click on Add subscriptions.
Step 3. Find the storage plan you want and complete the purchase.
But the question is “Why,” such a drastic reduction.
Why the Yahoo Mail Storage Limit Changed?
Frankly, it was long overdue. No other email service provider was offering such a large volume of email storage, and that too for free. It must have been costly to maintain such a feature with no apparent ROI; the inbox ads and other measures to boost revenue were not getting much traction due to low user adoption.
Although there are no reports that say Yahoo was losing money by providing such a generous amount of space. Cost reduction and increasing revenue seem to be the biggest factors in motivating Yahoo to make this adjustment on its mail platform.
This is evident from the fact that 1 TB of space is still available but is now locked behind a monthly subscription.
Another reason could be that the vast majority of Yahoo Mail users never use the storage to its full potential. So why maintain a service that no one is using?
This is not the first change to Yahoo Mail storage limit. There have been many major upgrades and downgrades. The last major one was more than a decade back, when Yahoo did away with its unlimited storage in favor of a 1 TB cap.
Moreover, storage is not the only thing that makes an email service great. There needs to be a mix of multiple factors, like spam detection, troubleshooting support, and, more recently, AI features. It’s safe to say that Yahoo lags behind its peers in all those departments.
So by bringing the storage close to other players and focusing more on other features, Yahoo might just increase its market share, but only time will tell.
After you subscribe, your email storage capacity will expand. But which plan to choose? Check out my detailed analysis that will help you decide.
Breakdown of the New Yahoo Mail Storage Limit Pricing Model
The Yahoo Mail storage is now split into 3 different categories.
First, there is the free tier. It has 20 GB of available space, which is still 5 GB more than what Gmail and Outlook give to their free accounts.
Then, at the other end of the spectrum, there is the 1 TB plan. To access it, you must pay $9.99 + taxes. Currently, Yahoo doesn’t seem to provide any annual commitment plans at an overall reduced price. So you must choose the monthly pricing option.
Moreover, this subscription-based model also has a lower-cost intermediate layer costing ~$2 for 100 GB. It lies between the free and ~$10 per month 1 TB plan. This gives users a choice to get some extra space at a lower price point.
The premium tier plans come with Yahoo Mail storage limit management tools:
- Simultaneous storage tracking across web and mobile.
- Dashboard-style visualization portal
- New and improved sorting options for large mail.
- Attachment manager to pick and remove unnecessary email attachments.
TL;DR for Yahoo Mail Storage Limit Changes
- Yahoo Mail’s storage limit is being cut by 98% (1TB to 20GB).
- New storage subscription plans introduced ($1.99/mo for 100 GB and $9.99/mo for 1 TB).
- Subscribe, or better yet, get a Yahoo Backup tool to stop worrying about storage ever again.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. If I get the $9.99/mo 1 TB plan, does the entire 1 terabyte of storage unlock instantly, or do I get a staggered release like the Office 365 Online archive?
You get access to the entire 1 TB space instantaneously.
Q. Are the new Yahoo Mail storage limits out globally?
No, storage limits have begun rolling out in some geographical regions, like North America. However, other areas like South Asia are yet to receive the change. If you try to force your way through, you get greeted with the following screen.
Q. What happens to my emails if I stop paying or don’t subscribe to the premium plan while exceeding the 20 GB cap of the new free tier?
Yahoo stops your ability to send or receive emails. Moreover, if you don’t take any action soon, like switching, subscribing, or saving emails elsewhere, all of your emails will be deleted.