Check the size of your Photos Library

You must be at least 18 years old. Apple or its trade-in partners reserve the right to refuse or limit any trade-in transaction for any reason. In-store trade-in requires presentation of a valid, government-issued photo ID (local law may require saving this information). Additional terms from Apple or Apple’s trade-in partners may apply. 3 March 2021: Maximum file upload size updated to 250 GB. 16 September 2020: Updated info about OneNote notebooks to clarify that the 2GB file size limit applies to SharePoint as well as OneDrive. 31 August 2020: Updated the invalid or blocked file types guidance about.PST files when Known Folder Move is turned on. Fill your library, not your device. ICloud Photos can help you make the most of the space on your Mac. When you choose “Optimize Mac Storage,” all your full‑resolution photos and videos are stored in iCloud in their original formats, with storage-saving versions kept on your Mac as space is needed. To limit the Photos library, we’re going to create a sparse disk image, set it to mount at login, and move the Photos library file onto it. A disk image is like a virtual disk on your Mac.

Open Photos and choose Photos > Preferences > General. Click the Show in Finder button to go to your Photos Library. After Finder opens, select your Photos Library, then choose File > Get Info. Look under General to find the size.

The size of your Photos Library on your Mac will usually be slightly larger than the amount of space that you need to store your photos and videos in iCloud.*

See how much iCloud storage you're using

Choose Apple menu > System Preferences. Then select iCloud to view your total and available storage.

Add the size of your Photos Library to the amount of iCloud storage you're using

To store your current iCloud content and your Photos Library, you need an iCloud storage plan with enough space for both.

When you sign up for iCloud, you automatically get 5GB of free storage. If you use all of your iCloud storage, you can buy more starting at 50GB for $0.99 a month. Learn more about prices in your country or region.

You can also reduce the size of your Photos Library.

Mac Photos Maximum Library Size Limit

*There are several reasons the size of your Mac Photos Library might be larger than the amount of space that you need to store your photos and videos:

How Big Can A Mac Photos Library Be

• Your Photos Library might contain photos or videos that have already been added to iCloud Photos from another device.
• Part of your Photos Library size includes small system files. These files aren't uploaded when you turn on iCloud Photos.
• Your Mac and iCloud count the size of a GB differently. Your Mac displays storage representation in decimal, base 10 where 1 GB = 1,000,000,000 bytes. iCloud storage tiers are counted in binary, base 2 where 1 GB = 1, 073,741,824 bytes.