Compress video
Shrink video files while keeping them watchable.
Runs in your browser. Your files never leave your device.
- 3 quality presets
- Optional target size
- Nothing uploaded
How to compress a video
- Drop your video here.
- Pick a preset, resolution or target size.
- Download the smaller MP4.
What the presets do
Each preset targets a video bitrate, measured at 1080p, and scales it down for smaller resolutions. A higher bitrate keeps more detail per second of video, at the cost of a bigger file.
| Preset | Bitrate at 1080p | About 1 minute of 1080p video |
|---|---|---|
| Small | 1.2 Mbps | about 10 MB |
| Balanced | 3 Mbps | about 23 MB |
| High quality | 6 Mbps | about 46 MB |
Audio stays fixed at 128 kbps AAC no matter which preset you pick, since it makes up only a small part of the total size.
Target size instead of a preset
Turning on a target size switches off the presets and works backward from the number you enter. The tool divides your target megabytes by the video's length to get a bitrate, subtracts the fixed 128 kbps for audio, and encodes at whatever is left.
- A short clip can hit a small target and still look sharp, since the bitrate per second stays high.
- A long video squeezed into a small target has little bitrate per second left, so faces and text blur and blocky patches appear in fast motion.
- The video bitrate never drops below about 150 kbps, so extremely small targets on long footage will overshoot rather than disappear.
Resolution and re-encoding
- Resolution choices are Original, 1080p, 720p and 480p. Picking one only ever shrinks a video, it never enlarges a smaller one.
- Lower resolutions need less bitrate for the same look, so 720p or 480p combined with a preset gives a smaller file than the same preset at full size.
- The video is always re-encoded, even if it is already MP4 with H.264 video, because only a fresh encode can hit a lower bitrate.
- Changing a preset, resolution or target size after you drop a file reprocesses it automatically. There is no need to remove the file and drop it again.
Compress video FAQ
How much smaller will my video be?
The Small preset typically cuts file size by 70 to 90 percent. Balanced aims for a good look at roughly half the size, and High quality trims the least.
How accurate is the estimated size?
It is a close approximation based on the video's length, resolution and chosen bitrate. The final file can be off by 10 to 20 percent either way.
How does the target size option work?
Enter a size in MB and the tool works out the bitrate needed to roughly hit it, based on the video's length. Very small targets on long videos will look blocky, since the bitrate never drops below about 150 kbps.
What format is the output?
Every compressed video is saved as MP4 with H.264 video and AAC audio, which plays on almost every phone, computer and browser, even if you dropped a MOV, WebM or MKV file.
Does the audio get compressed too?
The audio track is always re-encoded to AAC at a fixed 128 kbps, whichever preset or target size you pick, since audio adds little to the total file size next to video.
Will picking a smaller resolution shrink the file further?
Yes. Dropping from 1080p to 720p cuts the bitrate needed for the same look by roughly half, since there are fewer pixels to encode. The tool never enlarges a video that is already smaller than the resolution you pick.
Is my video uploaded?
No. Compression runs on your own device in your browser.