How many rules can I have in Outlook? why is there a limitation at all?

There is no limit in terms of amount only in total size. Some rules take up more space than others. For server performance reasons, the total rule size per user has been limited.

 

If you are using Outlook with a POP3 or IMAP account, there is no such limit, it only applies to Exchange accounts.

 

Having over 100 rules is not very manageable though. Consider using other sorting methods such as custom views, Search Folders and simply using Instant Search to get what you need.

See: Managing large amount of message rules

 

Similarly see: Sorting mail by contacts

 

As for using add-ins to sort your mail and overcome the rules limit you could consider:

• Incoming Mail Organizer
• Sent Items Organizer

If you decide to order, you could use BH93RF24 to get a discount.

 

For additional sorting add-ins see:
http://www.howto-outlook.com/tag/incoming-mail-management

Hi Roady -
I have hundreds of rules in Outlook 2010 and I wish there was a way to organize them better. I tried your recommendation - Power Rules Manager from Sperry - but it would never run on my system and Mike gave up trying to get it to run.
I run POP3 accounts for my mail in Outlook.
I probably have well over 100 rules just to manage the junk mail I get and delete it. This expands by about 10 rules per week. I organize all my other mail into folders according to interests, projects, contacts, etc.
Editing rules or finding rules to expand is really a tough proposition.
Any suggestions?
George

I just created my email account with outlook.com

I can only create ONE RULE

this is the error message:

Yep, I had the same problem with Outlook.com. 1 rule and it won't let me create any more.

I have about 60 rules atm and ive never gotten a error message about limit etc