Video tools
Reduce video file size
There are only four levers: resolution, frame rate, bitrate and length. Each one trades something away. Here is what each costs, and which ones this tool touches.
The four levers
Every method of shrinking a video is one of these, or a mix.
- Length: trim what nobody needs. Free, and the biggest saving when it applies. Do this in an editor first.
- Resolution: 4K to 1080p cuts the pixel count by three quarters. It is visible on large screens and invisible on phones.
- Frame rate: 60 to 30 fps roughly halves the frames. Motion gets choppier, which is obvious in sport and games.
- Bitrate: how much data each second may use. This is where well-made encoders earn their keep, because most camera files carry far more than viewers can perceive.
What this tool changes
The general compressor works mainly on bitrate, with content-aware settings per clip. It keeps length and frame rate. It also caps the picture at 1920×1080, so 4K footage comes back as 1080p. Smaller pictures are never enlarged.
If you need a 1080p working copy of 4K footage for editing, with timecode and every audio channel preserved, use the editing proxy tool instead.
How to tell whether the result is good enough
- Play the first and last ten seconds, and one section with fast movement.
- Check the audio is in sync at the end of the file, not just the start.
- Keep the original until you have used the result where you meant to use it.
| Lever | Typical saving | What you give up |
|---|---|---|
| Trim length | Proportional to what you cut | Nothing you wanted |
| Lower resolution | Large | Detail on big screens |
| Lower frame rate | Up to half | Smooth motion |
| Lower bitrate | Depends on the source | Fine detail if pushed too far |
Savings depend on the footage. Screen recordings shrink far more than handheld camera footage.
Questions
What is the least harmful way to make a video smaller?
Trim unused footage first, then lower the bitrate with a content-aware encoder. Changing resolution or frame rate is more visible.
Why did my file barely shrink?
It was probably already compressed close to what it needs, and it was already 1080p or smaller, so there was little to remove. The result card shows the real size change, including when the file grew, and then you should keep the original.
Last updated 2026-10-07.