Compress video
Shrink a video to send by email, in chat or to upload: pick a quality, or a size it must fit under. Everything happens on your device.
- 100% free
- Runs in your browser
- No uploads
- Runs on your deviceEvery tool works directly in your browser. No files are uploaded.
- Your privacy mattersYour files never leave your device, so there's nothing for us to store.
- No limitsUse any tool as much as you need. No daily caps, no waiting.
- Completely freeNo signup and no trial to cancel. Ads keep the tools free.
How to compress a video
- Add the video. Drop it on the box or choose it. MP4, MOV, WebM and MKV work, including iPhone and Android videos.
- Choose a goal. Pick a quality, or choose "Fit under a size" and the limit, such as 8, 10 or 25 MB.
- Lower the resolution if needed. 720p is plenty for phones and chat; it lets a size limit go much further.
- Compress and download. Watch the result, check the new size against the limit, then download.
What size to aim for
Always use the limit the site or app shows you, as these change. A few reference points: personal Gmail accounts can attach up to 25 MB per email, according to Google's Gmail Help. Discord's limit depends on your plan, and free accounts get much less than Nitro. WhatsApp keeps quality better when a video is sent as a document rather than as a gallery video.
The size you can reach depends on length. The budget is shared across every second, so a 25 MB limit works out to about 3.3 Mbps for one minute, which looks good at 1080p, but only 0.66 Mbps for five minutes, which needs 480p to look clean.
| Length | 8 MB | 25 MB |
|---|---|---|
| 30 seconds | 720p | 1080p |
| 1 minute | 480p | 1080p or 720p |
| 3 minutes | 480p, low quality | 720p or 480p |
These are starting points for typical phone footage. Busy scenes such as sport or confetti need more bits than talking heads.
How the size limit is reached
The tool divides the size by the video's length to get a bitrate, keeps a little for the sound and the file's own overhead, and aims about 6% under the limit. After encoding it checks the real size. If it's still over, it encodes once more with a lower bitrate. One megabyte here means 1,000,000 bytes, so the file passes whichever way a site counts.
Common problems
- "Won't fit at any watchable quality": the video is too long for the size. Cut it with Trim video first, or send it as a link.
- Blocky picture: lower the resolution. Fewer pixels at the same bitrate look much sharper.
- iPhone HEVC video won't open: Firefox can't decode HEVC. Use Safari, or Chrome or Edge on a recent computer.
Frequently asked questions
How do I compress a video to 8 MB or 10 MB for Discord?
Choose "Fit under a size" and pick 8 MB or 10 MB, or type the limit Discord shows you when a file is too big; free accounts have a much lower limit than Nitro. For clips longer than a minute, also choose 720p or 480p so the picture stays clean at that size.
Is my video uploaded to a server?
No. Compression runs in this browser tab using your device's video encoder. The video never leaves your computer or phone, which also means there's no upload wait for big files.
Why does the result say it kept my original?
When a video is already compressed efficiently, re-encoding it at the chosen quality can make it bigger, not smaller. The tool then gives you the original back unchanged. Pick "Smaller file", a size limit, or a lower resolution to force it down.
Will the video still play on phones?
Yes. Where the browser can, the result is an MP4 with H.264 video and AAC sound, which plays on iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac and every major website. Browsers that can't make MP4 save WebM instead, and the page says so before you start.
How long does it take?
It depends on the video and your device: re-encoding has to process every frame. A one-minute 1080p phone clip usually takes well under a minute on a recent laptop, longer on older phones. The progress bar shows the time left.