Video compressor: make a video file smaller
Choose a video, pick a smaller height and a quality, and press Compress. You see the estimated size first and the real size afterwards.
Free · no signup Runs in your browser
How do I make a video file smaller?
Choose your video and set how to shrink it: a lower height (720p instead of 1080p cuts the number of pixels by more than half), a lower quality (bit rate) and, if you like, a lower frame rate or no sound. The tool shows the estimated size, then plays the video and records it again with those settings in your browser. A 100 MB phone clip is often 15 to 30 MB at 720p and 1 Mbps. Your video is never uploaded.
Why we built this tool
Videos are big. A minute of phone video can be 100 MB or more, which is too large for most email attachments (often limited to 20 to 25 MB), for many upload forms, and for chat apps. Compressing is the usual fix, but desktop compressors need installing, and most online ones need you to upload the whole video before they will compress it, which can take longer than the compression and puts your footage on someone else's server. This tool does it in your browser with controls that make sense: choose how tall the picture should be, how much quality to keep and whether to keep the sound, see the expected size before you start, and keep the video on your device.
Your video is processed in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, and there is no watermark.
How it works in detail
A video file's size is about its bit rate times its length: 1 million bits per second (1 Mbps) is 125,000 bytes a second, or about 7.5 MB a minute. The tool plays the video, redraws each frame at the size you chose (the picture is scaled down, never up) and records it again at the bit rate you chose with the browser's encoder, mixing in the sound unless you removed it. The estimate you see before starting is bit rate × length ÷ 8, plus a little for the sound. The real size can differ from the estimate, because encoders vary the data rate with how much is happening in the picture.
Three things change the size, in this order of effect. Resolution: halving the height cuts the pixels to a quarter. Bit rate: at a given resolution, a lower rate means a smaller file and a softer picture. Frame rate: 24 instead of 30 saves a little more. Sound is small (about 1 MB a minute at 128 kbps) but removing it helps when the file is tight.
How to use it
- Choose your video. Its size and length are shown.
- Pick the height: 720p suits most phone clips; 480p is fine for small screens; 360p for the smallest file.
- Pick the quality: Small (1 Mbps) for sharing, Standard (2.5 Mbps) if you want it to look good, High for little loss.
- Optionally lower the frame rate or tick Remove the sound. Check the estimated size.
- Press Compress the video, keep the tab open, then download and check the result.
What size to expect
A rough guide for one minute of video.
| Setting | Bit rate | About per minute |
|---|---|---|
| Small (360p to 480p) | 1 Mbps | 7.5 MB |
| Standard (720p) | 2.5 Mbps | 19 MB |
| High (1080p) | 5 Mbps | 38 MB |
| Very high | 8 Mbps | 60 MB |
| Sound only (128 kbps) | 0.128 Mbps | 1 MB |
Use cases
- Getting a video under an email limit of 20 to 25 MB
- Meeting an upload form's size limit
- Sending a clip in a chat app without the app crushing it
- Saving space on a drive by shrinking old screen recordings
- Preparing a short video for a website, where small files load faster
- Reducing a recording before sharing it with a client
Problems you may run into
Most trouble is about expectations and time.
| What you see | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| It says it cannot read my video | The browser cannot play that codec (for example HEVC/H.265 in some browsers, or a camera's special format) | Try Chrome, Edge or Safari, or convert the file to H.264 MP4 first |
| It takes as long as the video | The video is recorded as it plays; there is no shortcut in a browser | Use a shorter clip, or start it and leave the tab in front while you do something else |
| The output stops or the picture freezes | The tab was hidden, the computer went to sleep, or it ran out of power | Keep the tab open and visible, plug in a laptop, and run it again |
| There is no sound in the result | The sound option was off, the video has no sound, or the browser blocked audio until you clicked | Check the box is off, press the button yourself, and try again |
| The quality is a little lower than the original | The video is decoded and encoded again, which always costs some quality | Choose High or Very high quality, and keep your original file |
| The file is WebM and my app wants MP4 | Most browsers can only record WebM | Choose MP4 where your browser offers it (recent Chrome, Edge, Safari), or convert the file afterwards |
| The file is not much smaller | The original was already small or highly compressed (a 1080p file at 5 Mbps is already modest) | Lower the height, choose Small quality, or lower the frame rate |
| The picture looks blocky when it moves a lot | A low bit rate has too little data for fast motion | Raise the quality one step, or keep a higher resolution with a higher bit rate |
Privacy and rights
Your video stays on your device. Compressing keeps a copy at lower quality; keep the original if the footage matters, because you cannot get the quality back.
How it works
The video is played, redrawn and recorded again in your browser.
1. The video is opened in a hidden player in your browser; nothing is uploaded.2. The player runs from the start point while each frame is drawn on a canvas (turned, resized or mirrored if you asked).3. The browser's MediaRecorder records the canvas and the sound as a new video.4. When the end point is reached the file is finished and offered as a download.
This uses the browser's own encoder, so the output is WebM (VP8/VP9) or, in browsers that can record it, MP4 (H.264). It is a new encoding, not a lossless cut, so there is a small quality cost, and the work takes about as long as the part you choose. The tab must stay open and visible. Very long videos (over about an hour) may exhaust memory; cut them into parts first. Files protected by copy protection (DRM) cannot be processed. The estimate is bit rate × time ÷ 8; encoders can use less or more.
Example: a 2-minute phone clip for email
A 1080p phone video of 2 minutes is 240 MB. You need under 25 MB.
- Settings720p, 24 per second, Small quality (1 Mbps)
- Estimate1 Mbps ÷ 8 × 120 s = 15 MB, plus about 2 MB of sound
- Time to processabout 2 minutes
A video of about 17 MB, under the limit
Check the quality before sending.
Terms on this page
- Bit rate
- The data used per second of video; higher means better quality and bigger files.
- Resolution
- The width and height of the picture in pixels, such as 1280 × 720.
- Frame rate
- How many pictures per second the video shows.
Common questions
Is it free, and is my video uploaded?
It is free, and your video is processed in your browser and never uploaded.
How much smaller will it be?
It depends on the settings. The tool shows an estimate before you start.
Why does it take so long?
The video is recorded as it plays, so processing takes about as long as the video.
Will the picture quality drop?
Yes, by the amount you choose. Keep the original.
Can I compress to an exact size?
Not exactly, but the estimate is close. Lower the quality a step and repeat if it is still too big.
What is the best setting for email?
720p at Small quality (1 Mbps) for clips under about 3 minutes.
Is anything I enter sent to a server?
No. The calculation happens in your browser and nothing you type leaves your device.
Where these numbers come from
- MDN Web Docs — MediaRecorder How a browser records a stream, and isTypeSupported() for choosing a format.
- MDN Web Docs — HTMLCanvasElement.captureStream() How frames drawn on a canvas become a video stream that can be recorded.
- Wikipedia — Bit rate Why a higher bit rate gives better quality and a bigger file.
Last verified 2026-10-25 The method on this page is checked against the sources above at least once a year. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.
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