Compress Video Online with Convertavo: Reduce Video Size for Free
Video too big to email, or WhatsApp won't send it? Convertavo's free video compressor shrinks it to the size you need without turning it to mush. Upload an MP4, MOV, MKV or AVI, type the size you want, and most videos are done in 1 to 4 minutes.
Your files stay private
Uploads are deleted from our servers one hour after processing. Nothing is read or reused, and nothing is kept unless you save it to your account.
No account required
20 free credits a day, with no email address and no watermarks on the output.
Runs on any device
Works in any modern browser on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS.
How to compress a video online
No account, and no app to install.
- STEP 01
Upload your video
An MP4, MOV, MKV or AVI, up to 25 MB without an account and 100 MB with a free one. A link works too.
- STEP 02
Pick a size in MB
We use 25 for email. If you don't know the limit, Balanced works it out on its own.
- STEP 03
Compress and download
Click Compress video and download the smaller MP4 when it is ready.
The result always comes back as an MP4, and never bigger than the video you uploaded.
What the Compress Video tool does
Hit a target size
Type 25 for email or 16 for WhatsApp, and the bitrate is worked out from your video's length.
Resolution control
Dropping a 1080p clip to 720p leaves it with less than half the pixels, which is why it saves so much.
Never bigger
If a video was already small, you still get back a file that is smaller than the one you sent.
How small does my video need to be?
Every app has its own limit. These are the usual ones:
| Where it is going | Usual size limit |
|---|---|
| Email attachment | About 20 to 25 MB |
| Around 16 MB for a normal video message | |
| Discord (free plan) | 20 MB |
| Job and university portals | Often 50 or 100 MB |
That number goes into Target size (MB). We usually type a bit less than the limit. For a two-minute clip and 25 MB, the tool works out about 1,700 kbps to spend each second, keeps 192 of it for the sound and gives the rest, roughly 1,500, to the picture.
Why does my long video look bad when it is small?
Because every second gets less. Ask for 10 MB on a 10-minute video and the sums leave only about 137 kbps a second, which is too little for a picture. The tool won't go below 150 kbps of video, so a file like that ends up nearer 16 MB and still looks rough. We'd trim it, or upload it somewhere and send a link.
How do I compress a video to 20 MB, 100 MB or another exact size?
Type the size into Target size (MB), a little under the limit you need, and the tool spreads that many megabytes across the length of your video. Any number works, from 1 MB up. How good the result looks depends on how long the video is, so here is roughly how much fits in each size and still looks good:
| Target size | At 1080p | At 720p | At 480p |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 MB | About 10 seconds | About 20 seconds | About 40 seconds |
| 10 MB | About 20 seconds | About 40 seconds | About 1 min 20 s |
| 20 MB | About 40 seconds | About 1 min 20 s | About 2 min 40 s |
| 25 MB | About 50 seconds | About 1 min 40 s | About 3 min 25 s |
| 50 MB | About 1 min 40 s | About 3 min 25 s | About 6 min 50 s |
| 100 MB | About 3 min 25 s | About 6 min 50 s | About 13 min 40 s |
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
A longer video still fits, it just gets fewer kbps a second and softer detail. Pick a lower Resolution along with the size and the picture holds up much better. A 1 MB target only suits a clip of a few seconds, at 720p or lower.
Why is my video file so big?
Phones are generous with data. The test clip we made for this page was only 20 seconds of 1080p at 60 frames a second, saved at about 16 Mbps the way phones record, and it already weighed 39 MB. That 16 Mbps is the bitrate, the amount of data in every second, and together with the resolution and the running time it sets the size. Two minutes of 4K can pass 500 MB.
Compression spends less data per second, and shrinks the picture too if you pick a lower resolution. The picture stays watchable and the file gets a lot lighter.
Which compression level should I pick?
Balanced is where we would start. At the original resolution it never spends more than 60% of the data your original had, and on a phone or laptop that still looks good. Maximum goes smaller when the file matters more than fine detail, like a quick clip for a chat. Light — best quality makes a gentler cut for footage you want looking its best.
If you also type a target size, the target wins, because hitting the limit is the point.
What's the best way to reduce video size?
Lowering the resolution saves the most. We tried it on a 6-second piece of our 1080p test clip, 12 MB to begin with. On Balanced at the same resolution it came out at 6.8 MB. Dropped to 720p, it went all the way down to 1.2 MB, and on a phone screen 720p still looks sharp.
The codec, the way the video is packed into the file, matters too. With H.265 instead of H.264, the 1080p version came out at 1.4 MB. Our clip is unusually grainy, so most videos won't shrink that much, and around 40% smaller is more typical. Fewer devices play H.265, though we tag it so iPhones and Macs can open it.
Our clip was shot at 60 frames a second, so Reduce the frame rate to 30 fps, which is on by default, cut its frames in half. A 30 fps video is left alone. The two audio switches are smaller extras: Lower the audio bitrate to 128 kbps trims the sound a bit, and Remove audio entirely is handy for a silent screen recording.
Can I compress a video without losing quality?
Pretty much. The Light level with the original resolution, and H.265 if the person watching can play it. Phones record with so much data that a light pass often cuts the file a long way with no difference you can see.
Is Convertavo's video compressor free?
Yes. A video uses 20 credits and you get 20 free credits a day, so that's one video daily without an account, and two videos with a free one. No email to give and no watermark. Files can be up to 25 MB signed out and 100 MB with a free account, and paid plans go higher with priority processing.
Is my video private?
It goes over a secure HTTPS connection and is deleted from our servers one hour after processing. We don't keep it, watch it or reuse it.
Does it work on my phone?
Yes. Any modern browser on Android, iOS, Windows, macOS and Linux will do, so there's no app to install.
Stuck with a video that will not send? Drop it into Convertavo above, set your size, and get it moving again.
Compress videoCommon questions about compressing videos
What people ask us most about video size.
How do I reduce the size of a video?
On Balanced, our 12 MB test piece came out at 6.8 MB. We then picked 720p as well and got 1.2 MB.
How do I compress a video to under 25 MB for email?
Type 25, or a little less, into Target size (MB). For a two-minute video that works out to about 1,700 kbps a second, shared between the sound and the picture.
How do I make a video small enough for WhatsApp?
We'd put 15 in the target box, just under the usual 16 MB. If it's a long one, we trim it first, because ten minutes in 15 MB doesn't leave much for each second.
Can I compress a video without losing quality?
Close to it. Light keeps the original resolution and is allowed up to 85% of the data the video had. If the other person can play H.265, that saves a bit more.
Which formats are supported?
We take MP4, MOV, MKV and AVI files, or a link to one. What comes out is always an MP4.
Is video compression free?
Yes. One video uses 20 credits and there are 20 free credits a day, with no signup and no watermark.
Does the compressed video have a watermark?
No. Nothing is added to the picture, on the free credits or on a paid plan. You get back the same video, only smaller.
How do I compress a video to 20 MB?
Type 19 into Target size (MB). About a minute and twenty seconds of 720p fits in 20 MB and still looks good. For a longer video, pick 480p as well.
How do I compress a video to 100 MB?
Type 95 or so into Target size (MB). That holds about three and a half minutes of good 1080p, or nearly seven minutes at 720p.
Can I compress a video larger than 1 GB?
Uploads go up to 25 MB without an account, 100 MB with a free one and 1000 MB on the biggest plan. A bigger file than that is best trimmed or split into parts first.
Can I compress an MP4 without changing the format?
Yes. An MP4 goes in and an MP4 comes out, so it still plays on phones, laptops, WhatsApp and most video sites.
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