When WordPress refuses a video for being too large, the limit almost never comes from WordPress. It comes from one of two places, depending on which WordPress you are running — and the fix is different on each side.
That split is the first thing to get straight, because most advice you will find online silently mixes them.
What "too large" actually means in WordPress
There are two completely separate systems:
- Self-hosted WordPress (the software you downloaded from wordpress.org and run on your own host): the ceiling comes from your server's PHP configuration. WordPress does not set a number of its own.
- WordPress.com (the hosted service run by Automattic): the ceiling comes from your plan, and you cannot edit PHP settings.
The documentation for the self-hosted side says this outright. On the Media Add New screen, WordPress notes: "You will also see a message displayed at the bottom of your view that indicates maximum upload size for files, as set by your hosting provider."
As set by your hosting provider — not by you, and not in your WordPress settings. If you go looking for a file size option under Settings → Media, you will not find one. The entire "Uploading Files" section of that screen documents a single checkbox, for organizing uploads into month- and year-based folders.
Where the number in your dashboard actually comes from
This is the part worth understanding, because it explains a symptom people find maddening: your host raised a limit, and the number in WordPress did not move.
WordPress core computes that figure in one small function, wp_max_upload_size(), described in the developer reference as: "Determines the maximum upload size allowed in php.ini." Its body is short enough to read in full:
function wp_max_upload_size() {
$u_bytes = wp_convert_hr_to_bytes( ini_get( 'upload_max_filesize' ) );
$p_bytes = wp_convert_hr_to_bytes( ini_get( 'post_max_size' ) );
return apply_filters( 'upload_size_limit', min( $u_bytes, $p_bytes ), $u_bytes, $p_bytes );
}Three things follow directly from those four lines:
- The number you see is the smaller of two PHP directives —
upload_max_filesizeandpost_max_size. That is themin()call. Raising one while the other stays low changes nothing. - It can be rewritten by the
upload_size_limitfilter, so a plugin or theme can change what you see. - It is read from php.ini, not from the WordPress database.
WordPress's own PHP Optimization handbook describes both directives. On the first: "The limit on the size of individual file uploads can be configured using the upload_max_filesize php.ini directive." On the second: "The limit on the entire size of a request that can be sent from the web server to PHP for processing can be configured using the post_max_size php.ini directive. The value for post_max_size must be greater than or equal to the value for upload_max_filesize. PHP will not process requests larger in size than the value for post_max_size."
Note the exact relationship — post_max_size must be greater than or equal to upload_max_filesize. The handbook also warns that post_max_size "applies to every PHP request and not only uploads," and, for anyone on cheap hosting: "Bear in mind that on shared hosting accounts, those limits are usually set on a server level and you may not be able to modify them or increase them above a certain value."
One thing the official documentation never states is a default value. There is no "WordPress allows X MB out of the box" in the docs — only the message pointing at your hosting provider. If a number matters to you, read it off your own Media Add New screen or ask your host.
The fastest fix: shrink the file before you upload it
When the limit is set on a server you do not control — which is the common case on shared hosting and always the case on WordPress.com — the official advice is the blunt one. WordPress.com's own list of what to try when a large file will not upload opens with: "Compress the file to reduce its size, then upload it again."
Its upload troubleshooting page says the same thing in different words: "Consider compressing your files and only uploading the size you need."
Try it right here
Runs in your browser. Your file is not uploaded anywhere.
This runs inside your browser tab — the video is read from disk, re-encoded locally, and handed back to you, so nothing is uploaded anywhere while you are trying to fix an upload. That also means it works the same whether your site is self-hosted or on WordPress.com. If you want the reasoning behind the settings rather than a preset, see how to compress a video without losing quality.
Other causes, in order of likelihood
1. It is not about the size at all. WordPress.com documents the exact wording of its upload errors, and one of them explicitly rules size out: ""This file cannot be processed by the web server." The file type is not supported. This message is not about the file's size." The self-hosted editor has its own version — "Sorry, this file type is not supported here." — and a multisite network adds a third: "Sorry, this file type is not permitted for security reasons". A remedy is spelled out only on the WordPress.com side, whose "use a valid file type" page tells you to "convert them to a valid file type before uploading"; for the self-hosted and multisite errors, check the official documentation. For QuickTime footage off a Mac or iPhone, MOV to MP4 does exactly that.
2. You are on a multisite network. Network settings carry their own upload limits, quite separate from PHP. The Network Admin Settings screen documents a "Max upload file size" field whose "Default is [ 1500 ] KB", plus a "Site upload space" field that reads "Limit total size of files uploaded to [ 50 ] MB." The documentation does not say how these interact with php.ini, so check both before assuming PHP is your problem.
3. The upload is timing out, not being rejected. Two different PHP directives are involved, and most articles only mention one. The handbook is specific that max_input_time is the upload one: "The maximum time allowed for data transfer from the web server to PHP is specified with the max_input_time php.ini directive. It is usually used to limit the amount of time allowed to upload files." It adds that this time "is separate from max_execution_time". If you see "Maximum execution time of 30 seconds exceeded", that is the other one.
4. Memory. WordPress sets a higher memory ceiling for the admin side than the front end, and the docs give the reason bluntly: "This is mainly required for media uploads." The documented values are a WordPress default of 40 MB for the front end (64 MB on multisite) and 256 MB for the backend.
5. On WordPress.com, your storage is the real ceiling. The accepted file types page states: "You cannot upload a file that is larger than the storage space remaining on your site. Each plan includes a different amount of storage." Free sites get 1 GB, Personal 6 GB, Premium 13 GB, and Business or Commerce 50 GB — with footnoted exceptions for older accounts, so check your own plan page.
How to tell it worked
Check the file size on disk first — that is the number being measured. Then compare it against the "maximum upload file size" line at the bottom of the Media Add New screen, which is WordPress reporting your server's figure back to you.
On WordPress.com there is one reassuring detail buried in the VideoPress upload docs: "Failed attempts don't count against your storage space limit." A run of failures has not quietly eaten your quota.
FAQ
Why does WordPress show a smaller limit than my host says it set?
Because WordPress shows the smaller of upload_max_filesize and post_max_size — that is the min() in wp_max_upload_size(). The handbook also requires post_max_size to be greater than or equal to upload_max_filesize.
What is WordPress's default maximum upload size? The official documentation does not state one. It only says the maximum is "as set by your hosting provider" and displays that value on the Media Add New screen.
What is the largest video I can upload to WordPress.com? WordPress.com says you "can reliably upload files up to 2 GB" — phrased as reliability, not a hard cap — and warns that "A larger file can fail partway through the upload." The VideoPress documentation separately states "The maximum upload size is 6 GB", and notes VideoPress "is available on sites with the WordPress.com Business and Commerce plans."
Can I raise the limit myself? Only if you control the server. The handbook points to the two php.ini directives, and warns that on shared hosting "those limits are usually set on a server level and you may not be able to modify them." The official docs give no snippet for changing the size limit, so treat code you find elsewhere as third-party advice.
Should I embed the video instead of uploading it? Embedding sidesteps the limit entirely: "When you are embedding content, you don't need to upload the content to your WordPress site. You are creating a link to the content." Both sides of the documentation note that pasting a YouTube URL into a Video block turns it into a YouTube embed block automatically.
Working through a stack of upload errors? The fix guides cover the same pattern on other platforms — Gmail's attachment ceiling, for one — and every browser-side converter and compressor lives in all Clapr tools.
Quotes above are from WordPress's official documentation on wordpress.org, developer.wordpress.org and wordpress.com/support, checked 16 September 2026. Limits change — verify against the official pages before relying on them.
