Make a video file smaller: to save space, to send it by e-mail or a messaging app, or to fit an upload limit. Choose a quality level, or enter the largest file size you can accept and let the compressor work out the rest.
Two ways to compress
- A quality level keeps the picture at a chosen quality and lets the size follow. Balanced looks like the original in most videos; Small file and Smallest file trade detail for size.
- A file size aims for a maximum size in MB. The compressor divides that budget over the video's length: the sound gets its share first, then the video bitrate is calculated. When there is time it encodes in two passes (the first one studies the video, the second spends the bits where they are needed), which hits the size closely. If a result still comes out too large, it is compressed once more.
When the target is small for the length, a sharp full-resolution picture isn't possible. Instead of a blocky result, the compressor lowers the resolution step by step (1080p, 720p, 540p, 480p…) and 60 fps videos to 30 fps, until every frame gets enough bits. If even the smallest size can't work, you are told the smallest target that makes sense for that video.
Resolution, codec and sound
- Maximum resolution: 1080p by default. 4K phone videos become much smaller at 1080p, and 720p saves even more. Smaller videos are never enlarged.
- Codec: H.264 in MP4 plays everywhere. H.265 (HEVC) and AV1, in MP4, and VP9, in WebM, make smaller files at the same quality but take longer and need newer devices.
- Sound: 64 to 192 kbps, or removed entirely for the smallest files.
The result shows the size before and after, the resolution and the bitrates used.
Limits
Uploads can be up to 2 GB. With H.264, up to about 25 minutes of 1080p video can be compressed in one job (6 minutes of 4K); smaller resolutions allow longer videos. H.265, VP9 and AV1 take longer, so their limit is lower. Two-pass encoding is used when it fits in the time available.