Your email account has a certain amount of storage space (quota) allocated. When this fills up, you can no longer receive new emails. In this article, we explain how to check your quota, free up space, and efficiently manage your mailbox.

What is email quota?

Email quota is the maximum amount of storage space allocated to your email account. This includes:

  • All received emails in your inbox and subfolders
  • Sent messages in your Sent folder
  • Attachments with all emails
  • Drafts you have saved
  • Trash and deleted items

Default quotas vary by hosting package, usually between 500 MB and 5 GB per email account.

Checking your current quota

Via DirectAdmin

  1. Log in to DirectAdmin (usually via yourdomain.com/directadmin or through your hosting panel link)
  2. Go to Email Manager or Email Accounts
  3. You'll see an overview of all your email accounts
  4. Each account shows the used and available quota

Via Webmail

  1. Log in to webmail (mail.yourdomain.com or webmail.yourdomain.com)
  2. Look at the bottom left or top right for a quota indicator
  3. You'll often see a bar or percentage showing your usage

Via your email program

Outlook:

  1. Right-click on your account in the folder list
  2. Choose Data File Properties
  3. Click Folder Size

Apple Mail:

  1. Go to Mailbox > Mailbox Properties
  2. You'll see the total usage

Thunderbird:

  1. Right-click on your account
  2. Choose Properties or Settings
  3. View the quota information

Freeing up space: Step-by-step plan

Step 1: Empty the trash

This is the quickest way to free up space:

  1. Go to your Trash or Deleted Items folder
  2. Select all messages (Ctrl+A or Cmd+A)
  3. Delete permanently or choose Empty Trash

Note: In webmail, you often need to also remove the "actual" deleted items. Look for an option like "Expunge" or "Compact".

Step 2: Delete old emails with large attachments

Attachments take up the most space:

In webmail (Roundcube):

  1. Click on Search or the magnifying glass
  2. Search by attachments or size
  3. Sort by size (largest first)
  4. Delete emails you no longer need

In Outlook:

  1. Go to Search > Search Tools > Advanced Find
  2. Choose Size is greater than and enter for example 5 MB
  3. Review and delete where possible

In Thunderbird:

  1. Use the search bar
  2. Type size:>5m to find emails larger than 5 MB
  3. Delete unnecessary large messages

Step 3: Clean up your Sent folder

Many people forget that sent emails also take up space:

  1. Go to your Sent folder
  2. Sort by date (oldest first)
  3. Delete old sent messages you no longer need
  4. Pay special attention to messages with large attachments

Step 4: Archive important emails locally

If you want to keep emails but free up space on the server:

Outlook:

  1. Create a local archive via File > Info > Tools > Clean Up Old Items
  2. Or create a local PST file and drag emails there

Thunderbird:

  1. Create a Local Folder
  2. Drag emails from the server to your local folder
  3. They will be removed from the server but remain on your computer

Apple Mail:

  1. Create an On My Mac mailbox
  2. Drag emails there

Step 5: Compact and expunge

After deleting emails, you often need to "compact" or "expunge":

Thunderbird:

  • Right-click on a folder > Compact
  • Or: File > Compact All Local Folders

Roundcube webmail:

  • Go to each folder and click Compact in the toolbar
  • Or look for Expunge

This actually removes the messages from the server.

Increasing your quota

If you regularly hit your limit, consider:

Option 1: Increase quota via DirectAdmin

If your package allows it:

  1. Log in to DirectAdmin
  2. Go to Email Manager > Email Accounts
  3. Click on the account you want to adjust
  4. Change the Quota field
  5. Save the changes

Note: You cannot allocate more quota than your total hosting package allows.

Option 2: Upgrade your hosting package

If you need more space than your current package offers, you can upgrade to a package with more storage space.

Tips for efficient email management

Set up automatic cleanup

Outlook:

  1. Go to File > Options > Advanced
  2. Scroll to AutoArchive
  3. Set old items to be automatically archived or deleted

Thunderbird:

  1. Go to Settings > Settings > Advanced
  2. Configure automatic deletion of old messages

Manage attachments smartly

  • Download attachments you want to keep to your computer
  • Then delete the email or attachment
  • Use cloud storage (Google Drive, OneDrive) for large files instead of email attachments

Unsubscribe from newsletters

Newsletters and marketing emails pile up quickly:

  1. Look for "unsubscribe" links
  2. Use tools like Unroll.me to bulk unsubscribe
  3. Set up filters to automatically delete spam

Synchronize IMAP folders

If you use IMAP, make sure your email program synchronizes correctly:

  1. Deleted items should also be deleted on the server
  2. Check that "Keep copy on server" isn't unnecessarily enabled for POP3
  3. Regularly sync all folders

Frequently asked questions

"I deleted everything but the quota is still full"

  • Did you empty the trash?
  • Did you compact (expunge)?
  • Check your Spam/Junk folder
  • Wait 15-30 minutes - quota updates can be delayed

"Can I adjust the quota limit for a specific email address?"

Yes, in DirectAdmin you can set a different quota per email account, as long as the total doesn't exceed the package limit.

"What happens when my quota is full?"

  • You can no longer receive new emails
  • Senders receive a bounce message back
  • You can usually still send emails
  • Free up space as quickly as possible

"Does the trash count towards the quota?"

Yes! Deleted emails in the trash still count until you empty the trash.

Need help?

We're here for you! Running into issues or have questions? Our support team is happy to help you personally. Drop us a message through the ticket system - we usually respond within a few hours and love helping you find the best solution.