Free Video Compressor
Compress a video online and make the file smaller: MP4, MOV, MKV or WebM up to 1 GB, no signup.
How this video compressor makes a file smaller
A video's file size is roughly its bitrate times its length. This video compressor re-encodes your video at a lower bitrate, and the quality slider sets that new bitrate as a share of the original. Moving the slider down is what makes the video file smaller, and every video shrinks in proportion to what it started with.
Resolution and codec decide how good the smaller file looks. A lower resolution spreads the same bitrate over fewer pixels, so each frame stays sharper, and a newer codec such as H.265 or AV1 keeps more detail than H.264 at the same size. The output keeps your container: an MP4 comes back as an MP4, a MOV as a MOV.
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Quality sets the size
Lower means smaller. The new bitrate is a share of your video's own bitrate, so a heavy 4K clip and a light phone clip both shrink by the same proportion.
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Resolution keeps it sharp
On its own it barely changes the size here. Pair a lower slider with a lower resolution, such as 4K to 1080p, and the smaller file still looks clean. The tool never upscales.
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Codec sets how well it compresses
H.265 and AV1 hold more detail than H.264 at the same size, so you can push the slider lower. H.264 plays on almost everything.
Video bitrate, explained
Why bitrate, not resolution, decides the size, and how much a given length and quality needs.
Which codec to pick when you compress a video
The codecs this tool offers, compared at the same file size:
| Codec | Detail at the same size | Encoding speed | Plays on |
|---|---|---|---|
| H.264 Default | Good | Fastest | Almost every phone, browser, TV and editing app |
| H.265 (HEVC) | Better than H.264 | Slower | iPhone, Mac, recent Android, most recent TVs; Windows and some browsers need hardware support |
| AV1 | Best of the three | Slowest | Recent browsers and phones; older TVs and editors may not open it |
| VP9 | Close to H.265 | Slow | WebM uploads only; Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Android and recent Safari |
H.264 is preselected because it plays everywhere. A WebM upload is offered VP9, AV1 and VP8 instead, with VP9 preselected. What a codec does, and whether H.265 is always the better choice, is covered in what is a codec.
Reduce video size for where it is going
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Where it goes
An email attachment, which has a hard size cap.
TryLower the slider well down and drop to 720p; a short clip usually fits. The cap for each provider is in email attachment limits.
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Where it goes
A messaging or social app.
TryPick H.264 and 1080p or lower: these apps re-compress what you send, so extra quality is thrown away. Limits per app are in maximum file sizes, and WhatsApp has its own guide.
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Where it goes
A video on your website.
TryUse H.264 for reach, or H.265 or AV1 when you control the player, at 1080p or 720p. A lighter file starts playing sooner, see why smaller files load faster.
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Where it goes
Keeping it on your drive.
TryKeep the resolution, choose H.265 and set the slider around the middle: the file gets smaller and still looks close to the original.
How to compress a video online
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Drop the video
Pick an MP4, MOV, MKV or WebM file up to 1 GB. The panel shows its codec, bitrate, resolution and length.
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Set quality, resolution and codec
Move the quality slider down for a smaller file, lower the resolution to keep it sharp, and pick the codec for where it will play.
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Compress and download
Click Compress Video, follow the progress and the time left, then download the smaller file before its link expires.
Limits and what happens to your video
- 1 GB per video
- 10 videos a day, free
- 30 min to download it, then deleted
- MP4, MOV, MKV, WebM keeps your container
Your video is uploaded and compressed on our server. The upload is removed as soon as compression ends, and the compressed copy is deleted 30 minutes after it is ready. Only the browser that uploaded it can download it. No account, no watermark.
Need a different format?
The compressor keeps your container. To turn an MKV or MOV into an MP4, or a clip into a GIF, convert it instead.
Video compressor questions
Lower the quality slider in small steps and keep the resolution, or switch to H.265, which holds more detail at the same size. Every re-encode loses a little, as how video compression works explains, so always start from the original file, not from a copy that was already compressed.
The new bitrate is based on the original, so near the top of the slider the video stays about the same size, and the audio is carried over as it is. MKV audio is re-encoded to AAC, which can add size to a file with very light audio, and a very low-bitrate source can hit the tool's minimum bitrate. Lower the slider, and if the result still is not smaller, keep your original.
Not much on its own in this tool, because the quality slider sets the bitrate. A lower resolution makes that bitrate look sharper, so combine it with a lower slider for the smallest file that still looks clean. Picking a resolution above the original keeps the original.
MP4, MOV, MKV and WebM, up to 1 GB each. The result keeps the same container, so an MKV stays an MKV. Each format also has its own page: compress MP4, compress MOV, compress MKV and compress WebM. To change the format, use the video converter.
The option appears when the video is HDR, as recent iPhone clips are. It maps the colours to standard range, so the video does not look washed out in apps and on screens without HDR support.
Yes. You can compress 10 videos a day for free, without an account and without a watermark.