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ChatGPT File Upload Limits by Plan: Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business
ChatGPT Free allows 3 uploads a day; other plans up to 80 files every 3 hours. See file size limits (512 MB, 2M tokens, 50 MB spreadsheets, 20 MB images), storage, files per project, audio uploads and what to do at the limit.
ChatGPT Free allows 3 file uploads a day. OpenAI's upload limit for other accounts is up to 80 files every 3 hours, and it may lower these limits at peak times. Each document can be up to 512 MB and 2 million tokens, spreadsheets about 50 MB and images 20 MB. Every user gets 25 GB of upload storage. Projects hold 5 files on Free, 25 on Go and Plus, and 40 on Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu. Audio uploads need a paid plan.
ChatGPT file upload limits by plan
Plan | Price | Upload rate | Files per project | Audio uploads | How the pricing page describes uploads |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Free | $0 | 3 uploads a day | 5 | No | "Limited" |
Go | $8/month | Up to 80 files every 3 hours | 25 | Yes | "More uploads" |
Plus | $20/month | Up to 80 files every 3 hours | 25 | Yes | "Expanded messages and uploads" |
Pro | From $100/month | Up to 80 files every 3 hours | 40 | Yes | Included |
Business | $25 per seat a month, or $20 billed annually | Up to 80 files every 3 hours | 40 | Yes | Included |
Enterprise and Edu | Custom | Up to 80 files every 3 hours | 40 | Yes | Included, with visual retrieval for PDFs on Enterprise |
Source: OpenAI's "Uploading files and audio to ChatGPT" help article and the ChatGPT pricing page, checked October 11, 2026. The help article gives one upload rate for every plan except Free. The pricing page calls Go "more" and Plus "expanded" without publishing a separate number.
File size and storage limits
What you upload | Supported formats | Limit |
|---|---|---|
Documents and presentations | PDF, DOCX, TXT, PPTX | 512 MB per file; text and documents also capped at 2 million tokens per file |
Spreadsheets | XLSX, XLS, CSV, TSV | About 50 MB, depending on the size of each row |
Images | Image files | 20 MB per image |
Audio (paid plans) | WAV, MP3, OGG, FLAC, AAC, M4A, PCM, audio-only WebM and MP4 | 512 MB per file |
Storage | All uploaded files | 25 GB per user and 100 GB per organization |
Custom GPT knowledge | Any supported file | 10 files per GPT, for the life of the GPT |
Source: the same help article, checked October 11, 2026. Google Docs files cannot be uploaded directly; export them as PDF or DOCX first. Video files are not supported by audio uploads.
How the upload limit resets
The rate limit is a rolling window, not a daily allowance on paid plans. Uploads from the last three hours count against the 80-file limit, so capacity returns as earlier uploads age out. On Free, the limit is three uploads a day.
ChatGPT does not show how much of the rolling upload limit you have used or have left. You can see your Library storage in Settings, then Storage. Failed upload attempts can also count toward the rate limit, which is why a limit message can appear after only a few successful uploads.
Long audio recordings may be processed in sections when Data Analysis is available. OpenAI calls that processing best-effort, so very long recordings can time out.
What to do when you see "upload limit reached"
- Check the account. Confirm you are signed in to the account and plan you expect.
- Check both limits. The message can come from the rolling upload rate or from the 25 GB storage cap. Delete files you no longer need from Library to free storage; deleting a chat does not delete a file saved in Library.
- Wait for the window. On paid plans, uploads from more than three hours ago stop counting. On Free, wait for the next day.
- Shrink or split the file. Large PDFs can hit the 2-million-token cap before the 512 MB size cap, and spreadsheets have a lower size limit of about 50 MB.
- Check OpenAI's status page if uploads fail on a quiet day, because OpenAI may lower limits at peak times and outages affect uploads.
Which plan fits
- Free suits occasional uploads: three a day, with no audio and five files per project.
- Go or Plus lifts you to the 80-files-every-3-hours rate, adds audio uploads and allows 25 files per project.
- Pro, Business, Enterprise or Edu matter for uploads mainly through projects, which hold 40 files, and, on Enterprise, visual retrieval of images inside PDFs.
Upload limits are separate from other ChatGPT limits. They do not count against ChatGPT Work and Codex, which share their own allowance; see ChatGPT Work and Codex limits by plan. Image creation has its own limits, compared in ChatGPT image generation limits by plan. The OpenAI API has separate file-upload requirements and limits, billed through the API rather than a ChatGPT plan.
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Official sources
Editorial guidance grounded in official product sources.
FAQ
Common questions
How many files can I upload to ChatGPT Free per day?
Three. OpenAI limits Free users to 3 file uploads a day, with five files per project and no audio uploads. Other plans can upload up to 80 files every 3 hours.
What is the ChatGPT Plus file upload limit?
Plus can upload up to 80 files every 3 hours, each document up to 512 MB and 2 million tokens, with 25 GB of storage and 25 files per project. OpenAI may lower upload limits during peak hours.
What is the maximum file size in ChatGPT?
Documents and presentations can be up to 512 MB per file, and text documents are also capped at 2 million tokens. Spreadsheets and CSV files are limited to about 50 MB, images to 20 MB and audio files to 512 MB.
Why does ChatGPT say I reached the upload limit after a few uploads?
The limit counts uploads over a rolling three-hour window, and failed upload attempts can count too. You may also have reached the 25 GB storage cap. ChatGPT does not show the remaining rolling quota, so check Library storage in Settings and wait for older uploads to age out.
How many files can a ChatGPT project hold?
Free projects hold up to 5 files, Go and Plus up to 25, and Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu up to 40. A custom GPT can have 10 knowledge files over its lifetime.
Can I upload audio files to ChatGPT for free?
No. Audio uploads, such as MP3, WAV or M4A recordings up to 512 MB, need a paid ChatGPT plan or workspace. Free accounts can upload documents, spreadsheets, presentations and images within their daily limit.
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