Can You Embed a Video in an Email? Gmail, Outlook, Apple Mail

Can you embed a video in an email? What works in Gmail, Outlook, and Apple Mail

You can, but most of your readers will not see it play. The HTML5 video tag works in email code, but Gmail, Yahoo Mail, and most versions of Outlook remove it or block playback, and among the major email apps only Apple Mail played it normally in published tests. The method that works in every inbox is a still image of the video with a play button, linked to a page where the video plays. An animated GIF adds a few seconds of motion the same way. Anything the viewer does with the video, such as answering a question or choosing a path, happens on that page after the click.

Which email apps play video inside the message?

The best public record is caniemail.com's test of the HTML5 video element, part of a public database of email client support tests. Its video results date from 2019 to 2024. Of the email app and platform combinations caniemail tests, 19.51% fully support the video element and 4.88% partly support it. We checked the page in October 2026.

HTML5 video support by email app, from caniemail.com test results dated 2019 to 2024 (checked October 2026)
Email app	Plays video in the message?	What the reader sees
Apple Mail on Mac	Yes	A player inside the message (tested 2019)
Apple Mail on iPhone and iPad	Partly	Plays only when the code includes the `controls` attribute; autoplay does not work (tested on iOS 13)
Gmail on the web, iPhone, and Android	No	Gmail replaces the video tags, so the player never appears
Classic Outlook for Windows (2007 to 2019)	No	No player
Outlook for Mac	Partly	Plays only from a right-click menu; no controls or autoplay (tested 2024)
Outlook.com and Outlook for iPhone and Android	No	The video element stays in the message, but a strict security policy blocks playback
Yahoo Mail and AOL Mail	No	The video tags are stripped and the fallback content shows instead
Samsung Email	Partly	Plays when the code includes the `controls` attribute
Thunderbird	Yes	A player inside the message (tested on Mac)

In Litmus's count of more than 1 billion email opens in July 2026, Apple clients accounted for 62.26% of opens and Gmail for 27.03%, with desktop Outlook at 5.83% (Litmus email client market share). Litmus counts opens from Apple's Mail Privacy Protection in the Apple figure and does not treat them as reliable, so check the email client report in your own sending tool before you code for Apple Mail.

Caniemail's Apple Mail results come from versions released in 2019 and 2020, Apple does not document video support in Mail, and caniemail has no separate entry for the new Outlook for Windows. If you plan to rely on playback inside the message, send a test to the current phones and computers your readers use.

Ways to put a video in an email

Methods compared by where they work and when to use them
Method	Where it works	What the reader gets	Use it when
Linked thumbnail image	Every email app that shows images	A still frame with a play button; one click opens the video page	You send to a mixed list, which is almost every list
Animated GIF linked to the video	Most apps; classic Outlook for Windows shows only the first frame	A few seconds of silent motion; one click opens the video page	You want motion to catch the eye
HTML5 video tag with a fallback image	Apple Mail, Thunderbird, and a few smaller apps	Playback in the message where supported, the fallback image elsewhere	Most of your list reads in Apple Mail and you can test
Video file attachment	Any app, within message size limits	A file to download and open	The recipient needs the file itself
Stream or OneDrive link in the new Outlook	New Outlook for Windows and Outlook on the web	A player in the message for people who have access to the file	You email coworkers inside a Microsoft 365 organization

The demo below asks you to make the same choice and shows what happens with each one.

Pick how an email should carry a lesson: a linked thumbnail that opens the web player, a large video attachment, or a promise that every inbox will play the full experience. Each choice jumps to its result, and the recap names the option you picked. The example does not send email. Open the demo in a new tab.

How to embed a video in an email so it works in every inbox

The email carries an image and a link. The video stays on a web page, so the message stays small and the video plays the same way for every reader.

Host the video and copy its link. Any page that plays it works: YouTube, Vimeo, a page on your site, or a Mindstamp share link. Open the link in a private browser window to confirm that people outside your account can watch it.
Make the thumbnail. Take a clear frame from the video, add a play button so the image reads as a video, and save it as a JPG or PNG. In Mindstamp, you can set the video's thumbnail under Design, then Branding, and choose from suggested frames.
Insert the image in the email and link it to the video page. In Gmail, insert the photo inline, select it, and press Ctrl+K (Cmd+K on a Mac). In classic Outlook, select the picture and choose Insert, then Link.
Add a text link under the image, such as "Watch the 2-minute tour", and give the image alt text that says what the video is. Classic Outlook blocks pictures from the internet by default until the reader downloads them, and the text link works either way.
Send a test to yourself and open it on a phone and a computer, in each email app your list uses.

Email marketing tools build the linked thumbnail for you. In Mailchimp, the Video content block pulls a thumbnail from a Vimeo or long-form YouTube link, and you can upload your own image for other hosts. Mailchimp's help page states that most email clients do not support embedded video, so recipients who click watch in a separate browser window. HubSpot marketing emails work the same way: its Video module shows a thumbnail with a play button that links to a page where the recipient watches. We checked both help pages in October 2026.

If you write the HTML yourself, the linked thumbnail is a few lines. Set the width to match your template's content column.

<a href="https://example.com/watch"> <img src="https://example.com/thumbnail-with-play-button.jpg" width="600" alt="Play the 2-minute product tour">
</a>
<p><a href="https://example.com/watch">Watch the 2-minute product tour</a></p>

Send the click to a page built around the video, with one clear next step. Our guide to video landing pages covers how to build one, and the email thumbnail example shows the click path in a working video.

Animated GIF previews

A GIF moves on its own in nearly every inbox, so it is the closest thing to video that most readers will see in the message. Caniemail's tests show animated GIFs playing in Gmail, Apple Mail, Yahoo Mail, Outlook.com, and the Outlook mobile apps. Classic Outlook for Windows from 2007 to 2016 shows only the first frame, and Outlook 2019 with a Microsoft 365 account plays the animation three times, then stops and shows a play button (caniemail GIF support).

To make one that works:

Cut a short clip of the most visual moment, with no reliance on sound, because a GIF has none.
Put the play button and the key message in the first frame, since that is all classic Outlook shows.
Keep the clip short and the dimensions no larger than your email column. Each frame adds to the file size, and a GIF frame can hold at most 256 colors (W3C GIF89a specification), so long, detailed clips get large and grainy.
Link the GIF to the video page, exactly as you would a still thumbnail.

Mindstamp does not create GIF previews, so use any GIF tool to make one from your video file (Mindstamp help on sharing video in email).

How to embed HTML5 video in an email

An HTML5 video tag plays the video inside the message in Apple Mail, Thunderbird, and Samsung Email. Use it only when your own client report shows that most of your list reads in those apps, and always give everyone else a fallback.

<video width="600" controls poster="https://example.com/poster.jpg"> <source src="https://example.com/tour.mp4" type="video/mp4"> <a href="https://example.com/watch"> <img src="https://example.com/thumbnail-with-play-button.jpg" width="600" alt="Play the 2-minute product tour"> </a>
</video>
<p><a href="https://example.com/watch">Watch the 2-minute product tour</a></p>

Each part does a job:

The controls attribute is required for playback in Apple Mail on iPhone and in Samsung Email. Do not count on autoplay, which Apple Mail on iPhone and Outlook for Mac do not support.
The src points to a hosted MP4 file, so the video is not stored in the email. Encode it as MP4 with H.264 video, the format WebKit (the engine behind Apple Mail) plays.
The linked image inside the video tag shows in apps that strip the tag, such as Yahoo Mail and AOL Mail.
The text link after the video is for Outlook.com and the Outlook mobile apps. They keep the video element but block playback, so their readers see a player that does not start.

Two common shortcuts do not help. AMP for Email, which Gmail and Yahoo Mail render, has no video component; its media components are limited to images and animated GIFs (AMP for Email supported components). And attaching the video file is a different thing from embedding it: an attachment is a download, covered below.

How to embed a video in an Outlook email

What works depends on which Outlook you and your readers use.

Classic Outlook for Windows

Classic Outlook does not play video in a message. Use the linked thumbnail: insert the picture into the message, select it, choose Insert, then Link, and paste the video page's address. Add a text link below it, because classic Outlook blocks automatic picture downloads by default (Microsoft Support).

New Outlook for Windows and Outlook on the web

These versions can show a player inside the message for videos stored in OneDrive or SharePoint, including Microsoft Stream videos. Paste the Stream share link into the message body, or attach a video from OneDrive, and Outlook turns the link into an embedded player. To show a plain link instead, right-click the file name in the player and choose Link Styles, then Link. Microsoft described the feature on its Microsoft 365 Insider blog in August 2024 and said then that support for classic Outlook was planned (Play videos in Outlook with Microsoft Stream).

This suits internal email in a company that runs on Microsoft 365, because readers need permission to open the file. For customers or anyone outside your organization, send a test first, and use a linked thumbnail when in doubt.

Outlook for Mac, Outlook.com, and the Outlook mobile apps

Outlook for Mac plays HTML5 video only when the reader right-clicks the player and chooses Play. Outlook.com and the Outlook apps for iPhone and Android block playback. In all three, the linked thumbnail is the reliable choice.

How to put a video in a Gmail message

Gmail removes HTML5 video tags in the web app and in its iPhone and Android apps, so nothing you send will play inside a Gmail message. You have two choices:

Link a thumbnail to the video page, as in the steps above. This works for every Gmail reader.
Attach the file. Personal Gmail accounts allow 25 MB of attachments per message, Gmail turns anything larger into a Google Drive link, and Google Workspace administrators set their own limits (Gmail Help). The reader has to download or open the file before they can watch.

Can you send a video in an email as an attachment?

Yes, if the file is small enough, but the reader has to download it before they can watch. Size limits stop most video. Personal Gmail accounts cap attachments at 25 MB per message. Microsoft 365 mailboxes accept messages up to 35 MB when sending and 36 MB when receiving by default, and administrators can set the limit anywhere from 1 MB to 150 MB (Exchange Online limits). The recipient's mail server can also reject a message that your own server accepted.

An attachment also tells you nothing about who watched. Send the file only when the recipient needs the file itself, for example to edit it. For everything else, send a link. Our guides on how to send a video in an email and how to reduce a video file size cover the details.

Personalized video in email marketing

Personalized video email marketing puts each recipient's details, such as a first name or company, into the video they open from your email. You record one video. The player fills in the details when the viewer presses play, using values carried in the link from your email.

In Mindstamp, it works in four steps:

Add placeholders to text, buttons, or questions in the video, such as "Hi {{name}}, this tour is for {{company}}." See personalization for what the viewer sees.
Build a link for each recipient. Either add merge fields from your email tool to the share link, or create personalized links in bulk from a CSV file.
Put that link behind the thumbnail and the text link in your email.
Open a test link in a private browser window to check that the placeholders fill in.

A merge-field link adds parameters such as name, email, phone, and custom_id to the share link. In Mailchimp, the *|URL:FNAME|* form of a merge tag encodes the value so that spaces and symbols survive in the address (Mailchimp merge tag reference):

YOUR_SHARE_LINK?name=*|URL:FNAME|*&email=*|URL:EMAIL|*

If your share link already contains a question mark, join the new parameters with an ampersand instead. Merge-field values are visible in the address, and anyone who sees the link can change them. Personalized links created in Mindstamp hide the values behind a link ID, and you can deactivate them later. Either way, each view appears in reporting under the recipient's name, email, or custom ID. Variables and personalized links are available on supported plans (help article with the full steps).

Idomoo, which sells personalized video, reports in its 2025 State of Video Technology report that personalized video is 3.5 times more likely than generic video to make someone become or stay a customer. The figure comes from a survey of 2,510 adults in the US and UK that Idomoo commissioned (Idomoo). For more on the approach, read our guide to video personalization.

What happens after the click

Your email tool reports opens and clicks. Opens have been unreliable since Apple introduced Mail Privacy Protection, so the click is the last firm signal the email gives you. Whether the person watched, understood, or acted shows up on the video page.

With interactive video, the thumbnail opens a player where the viewer acts inside the video:

Questions pause the video and record each answer.
Buttons and hotspots open a page, a calendar, or another point in the video.
Branching sends each viewer down a path based on a choice.
Lead capture asks for a name or email inside the player.

Viewers do not need an account. Each view lands in a per-viewer report with watch percentage, answers, clicks, and the path taken. When the link came from a personalized email, that report is tied to the recipient, so you can follow up on what each person did. On supported plans, the HubSpot integration sends viewer activity to contact records. Webhooks send view, interaction, and lead events to your other tools during background processing, so allow for a delay before they arrive. Salesforce integration is quoted per account; confirm its scope with Mindstamp.

Keep the video short when email is the entry point. Across 8.07 million views of 18,315 Mindstamp videos from 2018 to October 2026, videos of one minute or less averaged 59.4% watched, compared with 39.2% for videos of two to five minutes. Many factors differ between these videos, so treat this as a pattern, not proof.

For training sent by email, a question at the moment a policy is explained gives you an answer from each learner, which a click count cannot. Our guide to measuring training effectiveness explains how to use those answers, and AIDAR Solutions' practical guide walks through the same topic step by step. See interactive video for training for setups that L&D teams use.

Is video in email worth it?

It can be, but test it on your own list and treat the famous numbers with care. Figures such as "video lifts email click rates by 300%" circulate through secondary roundups; SundaySky's 2025 statistics list cites Oberlo for it, and we could not find the original study. Sourced surveys describe habits instead. In Idomoo's 2025 survey, 28% of respondents named email as their most preferred channel for brand communication, still the top choice but down from 36% the year before and 52% in 2022. Wyzowl's 2026 video marketing survey found that 91% of businesses use video as a marketing tool.

To measure the effect on your own list, send half of a campaign with a linked thumbnail and half with a text link only, then compare the click rate and how much of the video each group watched. Our guide to videos in email marketing covers where video helps a campaign most.

Common questions

Can you embed a YouTube video in an email?

Not as a player. Link a thumbnail to the YouTube page instead. In Mailchimp, the Video block pulls the thumbnail from a long-form YouTube link for you; YouTube Shorts need an uploaded image.

Will a video thumbnail hurt deliverability?

A linked image is ordinary email content. Large attachments are what run into size limits and bounces. Keep the image file small, include a text link, and send from your usual email tool.

Can a video autoplay in an email?

Do not plan on it. Apple Mail on iPhone and Outlook for Mac do not support autoplay, and most other apps do not play video at all. A GIF is the only motion that starts by itself in most inboxes.

Can I see who watched the video from my email?

Your email tool shows who clicked. The video player knows who watched only if the link identifies the person or the viewer tells it. In Mindstamp, use personalized links, merge fields in the link, or a lead capture form; a plain link reports anonymous views. The viewer identity help article explains how views are matched to people.

What video format should I use?

For HTML5 video in an email, use MP4 with H.264 video. For a linked thumbnail, upload whatever your video host accepts; the host converts it for playback.

To try the full path, add a question to a short video, put its thumbnail in a test email to yourself, and check the report after you watch. The 14-day free trial needs no payment card.

Sources and further reading

Earlier versions of this article and the guides merged into it cited these pages. We list them for reference.

Omnisend's email marketing statistics (updated January 2026), which puts email's return at $36 to $40 per dollar spent, based on several industry sources.
InboxAlly's list of email marketing statistics (March 2026), which quotes Litmus for a return of $36 to $42 per dollar spent.
Hostinger's email marketing statistics and trends (updated July 2026).
Sixth City Marketing's video marketing statistics, a roundup of third-party figures.
Virtual Ad Agency on EDM marketing, an explainer on electronic direct mail.
MarTech Do on B2B email marketing best practices.
Direct Connection on five benefits of moving employee training online.