Free plan: Member limit

The free plan includes up to 200 members. In July 2025 we reduced this limit from 1,000 members to 200 for new groups, and groups created before then were allowed to keep the old limit. From Tuesday, November 10, 2026 the 200 member limit applies to every free group, including those older groups.

Does this affect my group?

Only if your group is on the free plan and has more than 200 members. If that's you, we've emailed the group's Administrators and you'll see a notice at the top of your group's pages showing the current member count and the date the limit applies.

Nothing changes for:

Groups on a paid plan
Groups that belong to an Organization with a subscription
Free groups with 200 members or fewer (you just won't be able to add a 201st member without upgrading)

What you need to do before Tuesday, November 10, 2026

Choose one of two options. Either one keeps your group delivering messages.

Option 1: Keep it free by reducing the group to 200 members or fewer

Export your member list first so you have a copy of everyone
Go to Members, tick the members you want to remove and click the trash can icon (see how to bulk delete members)
Alternatively, upload a fresh list and choose Replace all members with this list (see replacing the whole member list)

Once the group is at 200 or fewer, the notice disappears and nothing further happens.

Option 2: Move to a paid plan

Paid plans start at $0.10 per member per month, or $1 per member per year. For example, a group with 350 members is $35 per month or $350 per year on the Standard plan. Pick a plan on your Billing page; the member count is filled in for you. See the Billing overview for how pricing works.

Charities and nonprofits: tick the charity box at checkout to apply our nonprofit discount
Want members to chip in? Turn on group sponsorship so they can contribute towards the cost
Buying through institutional procurement? See Enterprise: Overview for quotes and invoice or purchase-order billing

What happens on Tuesday, November 10, 2026 if I do neither?

Your group is marked as expired and stops delivering messages:

Emails sent to the group are not delivered. The sender gets an automatic reply saying the group is not currently accepting messages and that its Administrators have been notified
Messages can't be sent from the Gaggle Mail website
New members can't be added

Nothing is deleted. Your members, settings and the full message archive stay exactly as they are. You can still view and search the archive, and remove or export members.

How to reopen an expired group

Choose a plan on your Billing page. The group reopens as soon as checkout completes, usually within a minute
Or reduce the group to 200 members or fewer, then reply to any of our emails (or write to help@gaggle.email) and we'll reopen it on the free plan, usually within a day

Timeline

Thursday, September 24, 2026: Administrators of affected groups emailed; notice appears on group pages
Before Tuesday, November 10, 2026: reminder emails to groups still over the limit
Tuesday, November 10, 2026: groups still on the free plan with more than 200 members stop delivering messages

Why are you making this change?

The free plan is for small groups, and it's paid for by the larger groups that upgrade. When we reduced the limit from 1,000 to 200 in July 2025, groups set up before then were allowed to stay above it. We're now bringing every free group under the same limit. Groups over 200 members are among the larger groups on Gaggle Mail, and the cost of running them is real.

If anything is unclear, reply to the email we sent you or contact help@gaggle.email.