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FormShrink

Compress a Video Online

When a site says your video is too big, FormShrink makes it fit. Pick a target such as 20MB for Discord or 25MB for email, and the tool compresses the video to that size or smaller as an MP4 that plays everywhere. It lowers the resolution only when the size needs it.

Compression runs in your browser using your computer's built-in video encoder, so the video is never uploaded. It's free, needs no sign-up and adds no watermark.

Choose a target size, or No limit (best quality) to shrink the file while keeping up to 1080p. One video at a time; the result is always an MP4 (H.264 video, AAC audio).

Add a video
MP4, MOV (including iPhone HEVC videos), WebM or MKV, one video at a time. The result is an MP4 file.

Drop a video here

or click to choose a file

Target size

Keeps up to 1080p and shrinks the file as much as possible without a visible drop in quality.

Runs entirely in your browser. Your video is never uploaded.

Result

Your compressed video will appear here, ready to preview and download.

How to compress a video

  1. Add your video

    Drag the video here or click Choose video. MP4, MOV (including HEVC videos from an iPhone), WebM and MKV files work.

  2. Pick a target size

    Choose the limit you need to meet, for example 20MB for Discord, 16MB for WhatsApp or 25MB for email, or enter your own under Custom.

  3. Compress and download

    Click Compress video. When it's done, preview the result, check the new size and click Download MP4.

When you need to make a video smaller

Most "file too large" errors come from a fixed upload limit. These are the common ones.

Chat apps

Discord's free upload limit is 20MB (since August 2026), and WhatsApp sends videos up to 16MB. See compress video for Discord for a page set up for Discord.

Email attachments

Gmail and Yahoo Mail allow 25MB of attachments per message, Outlook.com and iCloud Mail about 20MB. See compress video to 25MB.

Forms and portals

Job applications, school assignments and support tickets often cap uploads at 10–100MB. Enter the exact limit under Custom.

Phone videos

A minute of 4K iPhone video can be several hundred MB. Compressing it to 1080p or 720p usually cuts it to a fraction of the size with little visible difference on a phone or laptop screen.

Tips for smaller videos

  • Length matters most. A size limit is shared across every second of the video, so trimming a 3-minute clip to the 1 minute you need leaves three times as much quality per second.
  • Pick the real limit, not a much smaller one. A video compressed to 20MB looks noticeably better than the same video at 8MB.
  • If the result looks soft, the size was too small for the length. Choose a larger target or trim the video and compress again.
  • Videos above 30 frames per second, such as 60 fps game recordings, are saved at 30 fps, which saves space without making normal motion look choppy.

Questions about compressing videos

Is my video uploaded to a server?

No. The video is read and compressed by your own browser, using the video encoder built into your computer or phone. Nothing is sent to FormShrink or anyone else.

Will the compressed video be exactly the size I chose?

It will be at or under it, usually 80–95% of the target. Video encoders can't hit an exact byte count, so FormShrink aims a little below the limit and checks the result; if a file comes out too big, it is compressed again with a lower bitrate.

Which browsers work?

Recent versions of Chrome, Edge and Safari on computers and phones. iPhone videos (HEVC) open in Safari and in Chrome or Edge on a Mac; on Windows, Chrome and Edge need HEVC support installed. Firefox can't create the AAC audio that MP4 files use, so use another browser for videos with sound.

How long does it take?

Usually seconds, not minutes. On a recent MacBook, a one-minute 1080p video compressed to 25MB in about five seconds. Older computers and phones take longer, and 4K videos take longer than 1080p ones.

Does it lower the resolution?

Only when the size requires it. FormShrink keeps the original resolution if the target leaves enough data per frame, and otherwise steps down through 1440p, 1080p, 720p and lower until the picture stays clean. Portrait videos stay portrait.

Is there a file size limit?

Videos up to 2,000MB can be added. The output is kept in your browser's memory until you download it, so very long videos are easier to handle on a computer than on a phone.

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