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GuideSize and requirements · AI assistants

PDF upload limits for AI assistants

Each assistant publishes its own rules, and they change often. Here are the ones we could read on the provider’s page today, quoted, and the one we could not.

By [Author name], pdfnexSources checked 2026-10-052 min read
The short answer

Claude: 500 MB per file and 1,000 pages per PDF in chats.[1] Gemini: 100 MB for non-video files.[2] NotebookLM: 200 MB or 500,000 words per source.[3] ChatGPT: OpenAI’s help page blocked our automated check, so we do not print a number until a person verifies it.[4]

These limits are product decisions that change without notice, so every figure below carries the provider’s own sentence and the date we read it. Each assistant also has a record in our upload limits dataset, and records for AI assistants drop out of search if nobody re-checks them within 30 days.

01Claude

From Anthropic’s help article, under “File limits”:[1]

  1. Chat uploads, file size: “500MB per file”
  2. Number of files: “Up to 20 files per chat”
  3. Number of pages: “PDFs are limited to 1000 pages”
  4. Project files, file size: “30MB per file”

Long PDFs are read differently from short ones: “Claude analyzes both text and visual elements (like images, charts, and graphics) in PDFs of 100 pages or fewer. For PDFs from 101 to 1000 pages, Claude processes text only and doesn't analyze visual elements.”[1] If charts or scanned pages matter, split a long PDF into parts of 100 pages or fewer.

02Gemini

Google’s Gemini Apps help says: “Each video can be up to 2 GB. All other supported file types can be up to 100 MB.” and “Up to 10 files (subject to availability) can be uploaded in the same prompt.”[2] The page does not state a page-count limit for PDFs.

03NotebookLM

“Each source can contain up to 500,000 words or up to 200MB for uploaded files. You can include up to 50 sources (for Free users).”[3] Whichever of the two limits a PDF reaches first applies. On the day we checked, the NotebookLM help link redirected to a help center titled “Gemini Notebook Help”; the limits above are from that page.

04ChatGPT

OpenAI publishes file limits in its File Uploads FAQ.[4] When we fetched that page on 2026-10-05 it answered with an HTTP 403 (a bot check), so we could not read it. Rather than repeat a number from somewhere else, our record for ChatGPT is held back and queued for a person to verify in a browser. Read the FAQ directly before you rely on a figure.

Summary, as read on each provider’s page on 2026-10-05
AssistantPer filePagesFiles
Claude (chat)500 MB[1]1,000 per PDF[1]20 per chat[1]
Gemini Apps100 MB (video 2 GB)[2]Not stated10 per prompt[2]
NotebookLM200 MB or 500,000 words[3]Not stated50 sources (free)[3]
ChatGPTNot verified[4]Not verifiedNot verified

Fitting the limit is the easy part. Before you upload a bank statement or a tax return to any assistant, decide which pages it actually needs and remove the rest.

Our view

05Before you upload a sensitive PDF

  1. Extract only the pages the question is about.
  2. Redact account numbers, SSNs and anything else you would not paste into a chat, then check the redaction. See how to redact properly.
  3. Remove metadata such as author names and software history.
  4. If the file is still over the limit, compress it or split it.

All four steps run in your browser on pdfnex, so the document is prepared on your device before it goes anywhere.

Limits are quoted from each provider’s page on the date shown and change often. Check the provider’s page before you rely on one.