Compress a video to 16 MB for messaging apps and forms

Make a video file smaller in your browser. Pick a quality level or a target size in megabytes; nothing is uploaded anywhere.

Drop your files here

.mp4, .mov, .mkv, .webm, .avi, .m4v · up to 200 MB

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How to Compress the video

1
Add your video
MP4, MOV, MKV, WebM or AVI, up to 200 MB and five minutes: a phone recording too big to attach is the usual case.
2
Choose a quality level or a target size
Three levels cover most cases. If a limit has to be met exactly, 16 MB for WhatsApp say, type the number instead and the bitrate is worked out for you.
3
Click Compress and download
The result is an MP4 that plays everywhere. If it comes out bigger than the original, you get the original back instead.

Where the 16 MB figure comes from

Sixteen megabytes is the classic attachment threshold in messaging apps and email; WhatsApp, for one, applied it to video for years. Limits change and differ between apps and mail servers, so if yours is higher or lower, type that number into the target size field instead: this page simply starts from the most familiar one. The aim is to land just under it, not on it. A result of 14.8 MB counts as a success, because what matters is that the message goes through. If the clip is headed for a WhatsApp chat or Status in particular, Compress Video for WhatsApp is tuned for exactly that, with leaner audio and a Status preset that also trims the clip to sixty seconds.

Why a size limit is really a bitrate limit

A video's size is its bitrate multiplied by its length, and the length is already fixed, so the only thing left to adjust is how many bits each second gets. The sum for this page: 16 MB is about 134 million bits, 6% of that is set aside for the MP4 container and the 128 kbps sound takes its share second by second, which leaves roughly 2 Mbps for the picture in a one-minute clip and about 0.9 Mbps in a two-minute one. A quality level cannot make that promise: it fixes how good each frame looks and lets the size follow the length. The browser's H.264 encoder takes a bitrate in any case, so the target becomes one; the clip is encoded and weighed, and up to three passes correct the bitrate until the file lands between 88 and 100 percent of the target. If it is still over after the third, the page says so. If the number cannot work for that length at all, you are told before encoding starts, along with the smallest size that can be reached; and a result heavier than the source is discarded in favour of the original file.

Why 720p, and roughly how many seconds fit

The preset also lowers the picture to 720p, measured on the short side: a horizontal clip becomes 1280 × 720, a vertical phone video 720 × 1280, and anything already that small is left alone. A 720p frame holds 0.92 million pixels against 2.07 million at 1080p, so the same 16 MB gives each pixel more than twice the bits. Roughly, with the default 128 kbps sound at 30 frames per second, about a minute of 720p fits at a quality close to the Balanced level, and around a minute and a half with visible softening in fast motion. A 60 fps recording spreads the same budget over twice as many frames, so set the frame rate to 30 for anything long. Past that, cut the clip with Trim Video first or drop to 480p, which keeps the picture watchable up to about three minutes; near the five-minute ceiling the tool still aims for 16 MB, but fast motion turns blocky.

Compress a video to 16 MB on iPhone or Android

The page works on an iPhone with Safari 26 or newer and on Android in Chrome; Firefox on Android lacks the video encoder, and the page says so before any encoding starts rather than failing halfway. Tap the drop zone, choose the clip from Photos, Files or the gallery, and keep the tab in the foreground until the bar finishes: the phone's own processor is doing the encoding, and a tab in the background is slowed down or paused. Recordings can be up to 200 MB and five minutes long, and a 4K recording usually passes 200 MB well before five minutes. Trim Video on this site has the same limits, so shorten a clip like that in the phone's own editor first, such as Photos on an iPhone or the gallery app on Android. On an iPhone the download button opens the Share sheet, where WhatsApp or Mail attach the result straight away, Save Video puts it in Photos and Save to Files keeps a copy; Android drops it into Downloads.

Compressed by your own browser

Frames are decoded and encoded again by the H.264 encoder built into your browser, so the bitrate you choose is spent on your device, not on a server. If the result would be larger than the original, the original comes back instead. Nothing is uploaded, and there is no cap on how many videos you compress.

Frequently asked questions

How much quality will I lose?

At the balanced level, little that you would notice on a phone or a laptop screen, for about half the size. Light is closer to the original and saves less; strong saves the most and shows softness in fast motion. Footage that was already well compressed loses more than footage that was not.

What do the three levels mean?

Each is a number of bits per pixel per frame: 0.10, 0.065 and 0.04. Expressing it that way means the same level gives comparable results at any resolution, instead of a fixed bitrate that is generous for 480p and starvation for 4K.

How do I get a video under 16 MB for WhatsApp?

Type 16 into the target size field and set Resolution to 720p, so the bits go further. The tool then encodes, measures and corrects until it lands under the limit, or tells you the limit is not reachable for that length. Compress Video for WhatsApp does the same with the size, resolution and sound already set for WhatsApp.

Is my video uploaded to a server?

No. Everything happens in this tab, with your browser's own encoder. The file is never sent anywhere, there is no account, and nothing is stored after you close the page.

Why the 200 MB and five-minute limits?

Because every frame is decoded and re-encoded in your browser's memory. Beyond those numbers the tab becomes unreliable on ordinary machines, and failing halfway through a long encode is worse than refusing up front. Trim the video first, or split it.

Why does it not work in my browser?

The tool needs the WebCodecs encoder, which Chrome 94+, Safari 26+ and desktop Firefox 130+ have and Firefox on Android does not. Where it is missing the page says so before you start, and points at the tools that work without encoding.

Can I compress without losing any quality?

Not by re-encoding. H.264 is lossy, and every pass costs something. What comes closest is the light level, which is visually indistinguishable on most material. If the file has to shrink without touching the picture, trimming unused footage is the only lossless way.

What happens to the audio?

It is re-encoded to AAC at the bitrate you choose and kept in the result. If the video has no audio track, the option is not shown and nothing is added.