How to Set Email Storage Quota Limits in cPanel

Estimated reading: 2 minutes

Overview

Each email account on your hosting plan uses a portion of your total disk space. By setting a storage quota per mailbox, you can prevent a single account from filling up your entire server — which would stop all emails from being received. This guide shows you how to set and update mailbox quotas in cPanel.

How to Set a Quota When Creating a New Email Account

  1. Log in to your cPanel account.
  2. In the Email section, click Email Accounts.
  3. Click Create (or + Create).
  4. Fill in the email address and password.
  5. Under Storage Space, choose one of the following:
    • Unlimited — the mailbox can use all available disk space on the account
    • Custom (MB) — enter a specific limit in megabytes (e.g., 500 for 500 MB or 1024 for 1 GB)
  6. Click Create.

How to Change the Quota on an Existing Email Account

  1. Go to cPanel → Email Accounts.
  2. Find the email account you want to update and click Manage.
  3. Scroll to Storage and update the quota value.
  4. Click Update Email Settings to save.

Recommended Quota Settings

Use CaseRecommended Quota
Contact form / info alias (low volume)250 MB
General business mailbox500 MB – 1 GB
Primary mailbox with heavy use2 GB or Unlimited
Automated system emails100 MB (clear regularly)

What Happens When a Mailbox Is Full?

When an email account reaches its quota limit:

  • Incoming emails will bounce back to the sender with a “mailbox full” error
  • You will still be able to log in and delete old messages to free up space
  • Sending emails may also stop working until space is freed

How to Check Current Usage

  1. Go to cPanel → Email Accounts.
  2. Each account shows its current usage and quota in the list (e.g., 45 MB / 500 MB).
  3. If an account is near its limit, either increase the quota or delete old messages via Webmail (Roundcube).

Need help managing your email storage? Open a support ticket and we will assist you.

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