Video Compressor Online

Compress video online, free and private

VidHaul’s video compressor makes large videos small enough to share, store or upload, without installing an app and without sending your file anywhere. Phone cameras now record in 1080p or 4K at high bitrates, so a two-minute clip can easily be several hundred megabytes. That is too big for most chat apps and email attachments. This tool lets you compress video size down to a specific number of megabytes, or simply pick a quality level, and gives you back an MP4 that plays on almost any device.

Unlike most online video compressors, nothing is uploaded. Compression runs in your browser using the video technology built into Chrome, Edge, Safari and Firefox. That means no waiting for a big upload, and private recordings never leave your device.

How to compress a video in three steps

1. Choose your video. Click the button or drag the file onto the page. MP4, MOV, WebM, MKV and most videos your browser can read are accepted.
2. Choose a target. Pick a quality level, a sharing preset or a custom size in MB. Optionally set a maximum resolution.
3. Start and download. Press Start and watch the progress bar. When it finishes, you see the before and after size and how many percent smaller the file is. Click Download to save it, for example as “holiday-compressed.mp4”.

Choose the right target

The Target setting decides how the video compressor balances size and quality. Here is what each option is best for:

Compress video for WhatsApp

The WhatsApp preset aims for a file under 16 MB, the common size limit for sending a video directly in a chat. Short clips of a minute or less keep good detail at that size. For longer videos, consider trimming first so the bitrate is spent on the part that matters.

Discord video compressor: under 10 MB

If you want to compress video for Discord, choose the Discord preset to stay under 10 MB. Game clips and screen recordings with lots of movement are demanding, so the tool lowers the resolution where needed to keep the picture clean instead of blocky. If you need an even tighter limit, such as an 8 MB video, just type 8 in the Custom size box.

Email and custom sizes

The Email preset keeps the video under 25 MB, which fits most email attachment limits. For anything else, such as an upload form that accepts 50 MB, a portal that allows 100 MB, or a request to compress video to 10 MB, use Custom size and type the number you need.

Resolution: 1080p, 720p or 480p?

The Max resolution option lets you keep the Original size or cap it at 1080p, 720p or 480p. Lower resolution means fewer pixels to store, so each pixel gets more data and the image stays crisp at a smaller size. As a rough guide:

• 1080p – sharp on laptops and TVs; best when the target size is generous.
• 720p – looks great on phone screens and is a sweet spot for chats.
• 480p – fine for small previews and very tight size limits.

When you pick a small size target, the compressor lowers the resolution automatically if that will give a better-looking result, so you don’t have to work it out yourself.

How to compress video without losing quality

Compression always throws away some data, but you can make the loss practically invisible:

• Trim first. Use the Video Cutter to remove the start and end you don’t need. A shorter video can use a higher bitrate within the same size limit.
• Choose Balanced or Best quality when you don’t have a strict size limit.
• Lower the resolution instead of starving the bitrate. A clean 720p video looks better than a blocky 1080p one.
• Compress the original. Each extra round of compression adds loss, so always start from the file your camera or phone recorded.
• Crop away empty space. If a video has black bars or you only need part of the frame, the Video Cropper can reframe it before you compress.

Compress video on iPhone, Android and PC

The video compressor works in up-to-date Chrome, Edge, Safari and Firefox on Windows, Mac and Linux, and in Chrome or Safari on phones. To compress video on iPhone, open this page in Safari, choose a video from Photos and press Start; iPhone HEVC MOV videos are supported and come out as MP4. On Android, use Chrome and pick the video from your gallery or files.

Because the work is done by your own device, speed depends on its power. A laptop is usually much faster than a phone, and very large files (over about 1.5 GB) may be slow or fail on a phone because everything happens in memory. For long 4K recordings, use a computer if you can. If your iPhone video won’t open on another device and you don’t need it smaller, MOV to MP4 converts it while keeping the original resolution.

Video size compressor: reduce video size in MB

Most people don’t think in bitrates — they think in megabytes. That is why this video size compressor lets you type the exact size you need: 5, 10, 25, 50 or 100 MB, or any other number. The tool works out the bitrate and resolution that fit your video’s length, so you get a file just under your limit instead of guessing with sliders. Use it to reduce video size for a form that only accepts files under 20 MB, a class portal that limits uploads to 50 MB, or a chat app that rejects anything over 16 MB.

The shorter the video, the better a small target looks. A one-minute clip compressed to 10 MB stays sharp at 720p, while a ten-minute video squeezed into the same 10 MB has to drop to a low resolution. If your video is long, cut out the parts you don’t need first with the Video Cutter, then compress.

MP4 video compressor for every device

Whatever you put in — an iPhone MOV, a WebM screen recording or an MKV file — this MP4 video compressor always gives you an MP4 with H.264 video and AAC audio. That combination plays on Android and iPhone, Windows and Mac, smart TVs and every major chat and social app, so the compressed file is also the most compatible one. If you only need to change the format without shrinking it, use MOV to MP4 instead.

What if the file doesn’t get smaller?

Some videos are already compressed very efficiently, for example clips that were already sent through a chat app or exported at a low bitrate. Re-encoding these at a similar quality cannot make them much smaller, and the tool will tell you so. Try a lower quality level, a smaller custom size or a lower maximum resolution. If you only need the sound, Video to MP3 gives you a far smaller audio file.

Why use VidHaul as your free video compressor?

• Free, with no sign-up, no daily limit and no watermark.
• No upload: files stay on your device, so it is suitable for confidential videos.
• Ready-made targets for WhatsApp, Discord and email, plus any custom size.
• Output is a standard H.264 MP4 that plays on phones, computers and TVs.

Only compress videos that you own or have the right to use.