diff --git a/internal/storage/cron.go b/internal/storage/cron.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8309d18
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/storage/cron.go
@@ -0,0 +1,160 @@
+package storage
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"database/sql"
+	"strings"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/axllent/mailpit/config"
+	"github.com/axllent/mailpit/internal/logger"
+	"github.com/axllent/mailpit/server/websockets"
+	"github.com/leporo/sqlf"
+)
+
+// Database cron runs every minute
+func dbCron() {
+	for {
+		time.Sleep(60 * time.Second)
+
+		currentTime := time.Now()
+		sinceLastDbAction := currentTime.Sub(dbLastAction)
+
+		// only run the database has been idle for 5 minutes
+		if sinceLastDbAction.Minutes() >= 5 {
+			deletedSize := getDeletedSize()
+
+			if deletedSize > 0 {
+				total := totalMessagesSize()
+				deletedPercent := deletedSize * 100 / total
+				// only vacuum the DB if at least 1% of mail storage size has been deleted
+				if deletedPercent >= 1 {
+					logger.Log().Debugf("[db] deleted messages is %d%% of total size, reclaim space", deletedPercent)
+					vacuumDb()
+				}
+			}
+		}
+
+		pruneMessages()
+	}
+}
+
+// PruneMessages will auto-delete the oldest messages if messages > config.MaxMessages.
+// Set config.MaxMessages to 0 to disable.
+func pruneMessages() {
+	if config.MaxMessages < 1 {
+		return
+	}
+
+	start := time.Now()
+
+	q := sqlf.Select("ID, Size").
+		From("mailbox").
+		OrderBy("Created DESC").
+		Limit(5000).
+		Offset(config.MaxMessages)
+
+	ids := []string{}
+	var prunedSize int64
+	var size int
+	if err := q.Query(nil, db, func(row *sql.Rows) {
+		var id string
+
+		if err := row.Scan(&id, &size); err != nil {
+			logger.Log().Errorf("[db] %s", err.Error())
+			return
+		}
+		ids = append(ids, id)
+		prunedSize = prunedSize + int64(size)
+
+	}); err != nil {
+		logger.Log().Errorf("[db] %s", err.Error())
+		return
+	}
+
+	if len(ids) == 0 {
+		return
+	}
+
+	tx, err := db.BeginTx(context.Background(), nil)
+	if err != nil {
+		logger.Log().Errorf("[db] %s", err.Error())
+		return
+	}
+
+	args := make([]interface{}, len(ids))
+	for i, id := range ids {
+		args[i] = id
+	}
+
+	_, err = tx.Query(`DELETE FROM mailbox WHERE ID IN (?`+strings.Repeat(",?", len(ids)-1)+`)`, args...) // #nosec
+	if err != nil {
+		logger.Log().Errorf("[db] %s", err.Error())
+		return
+	}
+
+	_, err = tx.Query(`DELETE FROM mailbox_data WHERE ID IN (?`+strings.Repeat(",?", len(ids)-1)+`)`, args...) // #nosec
+	if err != nil {
+		logger.Log().Errorf("[db] %s", err.Error())
+		return
+	}
+
+	_, err = tx.Query(`DELETE FROM message_tags WHERE ID IN (?`+strings.Repeat(",?", len(ids)-1)+`)`, args...) // #nosec
+	if err != nil {
+		logger.Log().Errorf("[db] %s", err.Error())
+		return
+	}
+
+	err = tx.Commit()
+
+	if err != nil {
+		logger.Log().Errorf("[db] %s", err.Error())
+		if err := tx.Rollback(); err != nil {
+			logger.Log().Errorf("[db] %s", err.Error())
+		}
+	}
+
+	if err := pruneUnusedTags(); err != nil {
+		logger.Log().Errorf("[db] %s", err.Error())
+	}
+
+	addDeletedSize(prunedSize)
+	dbLastAction = time.Now()
+
+	elapsed := time.Since(start)
+	logger.Log().Debugf("[db] auto-pruned %d messages in %s", len(ids), elapsed)
+
+	logMessagesDeleted(len(ids))
+
+	websockets.Broadcast("prune", nil)
+}
+
+// Vacuum the database to reclaim space from deleted messages
+func vacuumDb() {
+	start := time.Now()
+
+	// set WAL file checkpoint
+	if _, err := db.Exec("PRAGMA wal_checkpoint"); err != nil {
+		logger.Log().Errorf("[db] %s", err.Error())
+		return
+	}
+
+	// vacuum database
+	if _, err := db.Exec("VACUUM"); err != nil {
+		logger.Log().Errorf("[db] %s", err.Error())
+		return
+	}
+
+	// truncate WAL file
+	if _, err := db.Exec("PRAGMA wal_checkpoint(TRUNCATE)"); err != nil {
+		logger.Log().Errorf("[db] %s", err.Error())
+		return
+	}
+
+	if err := SettingPut("DeletedSize", "0"); err != nil {
+		logger.Log().Errorf("[db] %s", err.Error())
+	}
+
+	elapsed := time.Since(start)
+	logger.Log().Debugf("[db] vacuumed database in %s", elapsed)
+}
diff --git a/internal/storage/database.go b/internal/storage/database.go
index b3c0189..c24c4d2 100644
--- a/internal/storage/database.go
+++ b/internal/storage/database.go
@@ -37,8 +37,6 @@ var (
 	dbFile       string
 	dbIsTemp     bool
 	dbLastAction time.Time
-	dbIsIdle     bool
-	deletedSize  int64
 
 	// zstd compression encoder & decoder
 	dbEncoder, _ = zstd.NewWriter(nil)
@@ -654,7 +652,7 @@ func DeleteOneMessage(id string) error {
 	}
 
 	dbLastAction = time.Now()
-	deletedSize = deletedSize + int64(m.Size)
+	addDeletedSize(int64(m.Size))
 
 	logMessagesDeleted(1)
 
@@ -708,14 +706,13 @@ func DeleteAllMessages() error {
 		return err
 	}
 
-	_, err = db.Exec("VACUUM")
-	if err == nil {
-		elapsed := time.Since(start)
-		logger.Log().Debugf("[db] deleted %d messages in %s", total, elapsed)
-	}
+	elapsed := time.Since(start)
+	logger.Log().Debugf("[db] deleted %d messages in %s", total, elapsed)
+
+	vacuumDb()
 
 	dbLastAction = time.Now()
-	deletedSize = 0
+	SettingPut("DeletedSize", "0")
 
 	logMessagesDeleted(total)
 
diff --git a/internal/storage/migrations.go b/internal/storage/migrations.go
index dc84cec..8eb4a10 100644
--- a/internal/storage/migrations.go
+++ b/internal/storage/migrations.go
@@ -88,6 +88,18 @@ var (
 			CREATE INDEX IF NOT EXISTS idx_message_tag_id ON message_tags (ID);
 			CREATE INDEX IF NOT EXISTS idx_message_tag_tagid ON message_tags (TagID);`,
 		},
+		{
+			// assume deleted messages account for 50% of storage
+			// to handle previously-deleted messages
+			Version:     1.5,
+			Description: "Create settings table",
+			Script: `CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS settings (
+				Key TEXT,
+				Value TEXT
+			);
+			CREATE UNIQUE INDEX IF NOT EXISTS idx_settings_key ON settings (Key);
+			INSERT INTO settings (Key, Value) VALUES("DeletedSize", (SELECT SUM(Size)/2 FROM mailbox));`,
+		},
 	}
 )
 
diff --git a/internal/storage/search.go b/internal/storage/search.go
index d06591d..db41826 100644
--- a/internal/storage/search.go
+++ b/internal/storage/search.go
@@ -193,7 +193,7 @@ func DeleteSearch(search string) error {
 		}
 
 		dbLastAction = time.Now()
-		deletedSize = deletedSize + int64(deleteSize)
+		addDeletedSize(int64(deleteSize))
 
 		logMessagesDeleted(total)
 
diff --git a/internal/storage/settings.go b/internal/storage/settings.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d12cba1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/storage/settings.go
@@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
+package storage
+
+import (
+	"database/sql"
+
+	"github.com/axllent/mailpit/internal/logger"
+	"github.com/leporo/sqlf"
+)
+
+// SettingGet returns a setting string value, blank is it does not exist
+func SettingGet(k string) string {
+	var result string
+	err := sqlf.From("settings").
+		Select("Value").To(&result).
+		Where("Key = ?", k).
+		Limit(1).
+		QueryAndClose(nil, db, func(row *sql.Rows) {})
+	if err != nil {
+		logger.Log().Errorf("[db] %s", err.Error())
+		return result
+	}
+
+	return result
+}
+
+// SettingPut sets a setting string value, inserting if new
+func SettingPut(k, v string) error {
+	_, err := db.Exec("INSERT INTO settings (Key, Value) VALUES(?, ?) ON CONFLICT(Key) DO UPDATE SET Value = ?", k, v, v)
+	if err != nil {
+		logger.Log().Errorf("[db] %s", err.Error())
+	}
+
+	return err
+}
+
+// The total deleted message size as an int64 value
+func getDeletedSize() int64 {
+	var result int64
+	err := sqlf.From("settings").
+		Select("Value").To(&result).
+		Where("Key = ?", "DeletedSize").
+		Limit(1).
+		QueryAndClose(nil, db, func(row *sql.Rows) {})
+	if err != nil {
+		logger.Log().Errorf("[db] %s", err.Error())
+		return result
+	}
+
+	return result
+}
+
+// The total raw non-compressed messages size in bytes of all messages in the database
+func totalMessagesSize() int64 {
+	var result int64
+	err := sqlf.From("mailbox").
+		Select("SUM(Size)").To(&result).
+		QueryAndClose(nil, db, func(row *sql.Rows) {})
+	if err != nil {
+		logger.Log().Errorf("[db] %s", err.Error())
+		return result
+	}
+
+	return result
+}
+
+// AddDeletedSize will add the value to the DeletedSize setting
+func addDeletedSize(v int64) {
+	if _, err := db.Exec("INSERT OR IGNORE INTO settings (Key, Value) VALUES(?, ?)", "DeletedSize", 0); err != nil {
+		logger.Log().Errorf("[db] %s", err.Error())
+	}
+
+	if _, err := db.Exec("UPDATE settings SET Value = Value + ? WHERE Key = ?", v, "DeletedSize"); err != nil {
+		logger.Log().Errorf("[db] %s", err.Error())
+	}
+}
diff --git a/internal/storage/utils.go b/internal/storage/utils.go
index f9cf8cd..6dbdd8b 100644
--- a/internal/storage/utils.go
+++ b/internal/storage/utils.go
@@ -1,21 +1,14 @@
 package storage
 
 import (
-	"context"
-	"database/sql"
 	"net/mail"
 	"os"
 	"regexp"
 	"strings"
 	"sync"
-	"time"
 
-	"github.com/axllent/mailpit/config"
 	"github.com/axllent/mailpit/internal/html2text"
-	"github.com/axllent/mailpit/internal/logger"
-	"github.com/axllent/mailpit/server/websockets"
 	"github.com/jhillyerd/enmime"
-	"github.com/leporo/sqlf"
 )
 
 var (
@@ -77,124 +70,6 @@ func cleanString(str string) string {
 	return strings.ToLower(strings.Join(strings.Fields(strings.TrimSpace(str)), " "))
 }
 
-// Auto-prune runs every minute to automatically delete oldest messages
-// if total is greater than the threshold
-func dbCron() {
-	for {
-		time.Sleep(60 * time.Second)
-		start := time.Now()
-
-		// check if database contains deleted data and has not been in use
-		// for 5 minutes, if so VACUUM
-		currentTime := time.Now()
-		diff := currentTime.Sub(dbLastAction)
-
-		// get DB file size
-		fileInfo, err := os.Stat(config.DataFile)
-		if err != nil {
-			logger.Log().Errorf("[db] unable to stat database %s: %s", config.DataFile, err.Error())
-			continue
-		}
-
-		deletedPercent := deletedSize * 100 / fileInfo.Size()
-
-		// only vacuum DB when at least 2% of mail storage size has been deleted
-		// as this saves a lot of CPU on large databases
-		if deletedPercent >= 1 && diff.Minutes() > 5 {
-			logger.Log().Debugf("[db] compressing database as %d%% has been deleted", deletedPercent)
-			deletedSize = 0
-			_, err := db.Exec("VACUUM")
-			if err == nil {
-				elapsed := time.Since(start)
-				logger.Log().Debugf("[db] compressed idle database in %s", elapsed)
-			}
-
-			continue
-		}
-
-		if config.MaxMessages > 0 {
-			q := sqlf.Select("ID, Size").
-				From("mailbox").
-				OrderBy("Created DESC").
-				Limit(5000).
-				Offset(config.MaxMessages)
-
-			ids := []string{}
-			var prunedSize int64
-			var size int
-			if err := q.Query(nil, db, func(row *sql.Rows) {
-				var id string
-
-				if err := row.Scan(&id, &size); err != nil {
-					logger.Log().Errorf("[db] %s", err.Error())
-					return
-				}
-				ids = append(ids, id)
-				prunedSize = prunedSize + int64(size)
-
-			}); err != nil {
-				logger.Log().Errorf("[db] %s", err.Error())
-				continue
-			}
-
-			if len(ids) == 0 {
-				continue
-			}
-
-			tx, err := db.BeginTx(context.Background(), nil)
-			if err != nil {
-				logger.Log().Errorf("[db] %s", err.Error())
-				continue
-			}
-
-			args := make([]interface{}, len(ids))
-			for i, id := range ids {
-				args[i] = id
-			}
-
-			_, err = tx.Query(`DELETE FROM mailbox WHERE ID IN (?`+strings.Repeat(",?", len(ids)-1)+`)`, args...) // #nosec
-			if err != nil {
-				logger.Log().Errorf("[db] %s", err.Error())
-				continue
-			}
-
-			_, err = tx.Query(`DELETE FROM mailbox_data WHERE ID IN (?`+strings.Repeat(",?", len(ids)-1)+`)`, args...) // #nosec
-			if err != nil {
-				logger.Log().Errorf("[db] %s", err.Error())
-				continue
-			}
-
-			_, err = tx.Query(`DELETE FROM message_tags WHERE ID IN (?`+strings.Repeat(",?", len(ids)-1)+`)`, args...) // #nosec
-			if err != nil {
-				logger.Log().Errorf("[db] %s", err.Error())
-				continue
-			}
-
-			err = tx.Commit()
-
-			if err != nil {
-				logger.Log().Errorf("[db] %s", err.Error())
-				if err := tx.Rollback(); err != nil {
-					logger.Log().Errorf("[db] %s", err.Error())
-				}
-			}
-
-			if err := pruneUnusedTags(); err != nil {
-				logger.Log().Errorf("[db] %s", err.Error())
-			}
-
-			deletedSize = deletedSize + prunedSize
-
-			elapsed := time.Since(start)
-			logger.Log().Debugf("[db] auto-pruned %d messages in %s", len(ids), elapsed)
-
-			logMessagesDeleted(len(ids))
-
-			websockets.Broadcast("prune", nil)
-		}
-	}
-}
-
 // LogMessagesDeleted logs the number of messages deleted
 func logMessagesDeleted(n int) {
 	mu.Lock()
@@ -212,7 +87,7 @@ func isFile(path string) bool {
 	return true
 }
 
-// InArray tests if a string in within an array. It is not case sensitive.
+// Tests if a string is within an array. It is not case sensitive.
 func inArray(k string, arr []string) bool {
 	k = strings.ToLower(k)
 	for _, v := range arr {
@@ -224,7 +99,7 @@ func inArray(k string, arr []string) bool {
 	return false
 }
 
-// escPercentChar replaces `%` with `%%` for SQL searches
+// Convert `%` to `%%` for SQL searches
 func escPercentChar(s string) string {
 	return strings.ReplaceAll(s, "%", "%%")
 }