Guide
How to Compress a Video for Email, WhatsApp and Discord
To make a video small enough to send, compress it to a target size just under the app’s limit (10 MB for Discord’s free tier, 16 MB for WhatsApp’s normal video sharing, about 20–25 MB for email) and lower the resolution to 720p or 480p if it’s longer than a minute or two. Resolution is the biggest lever: a 1080p video at 720p looks almost the same on a phone and is far smaller.
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Upload limits at a glance
| Where | Typical limit | Target to aim for |
|---|---|---|
| Discord (free) | 10 MB | 9 MB |
| WhatsApp video | 16 MB (larger as a document) | 15 MB |
| Gmail / Outlook | 25 MB / 20 MB per email | 15–18 MB |
| Most web forms | Often 10–50 MB | Just under the stated limit |
Compress a video to a target size
- Open Compress Video and add your video.
- Choose Target size and pick 10, 16, 25 or 50 MB.
- For clips longer than about 1–2 minutes, also pick 720p or 480p.
- Turn on Remove audio if the clip doesn’t need sound. It saves extra space.
- Compress, check the result plays well, and download.
Cut before you compress
The best way to save size is to send less video. Trim the boring start and end with Trim Video first, then compress what’s left.
Why some videos are so big
Phones record at very high bitrates (often 15–50 megabits per second, or more for 4K) so footage looks great when edited. That’s about 100–400 MB per minute. Sharing apps don’t need that much detail on a small screen, which is why compressing to a sensible bitrate and resolution cuts the size by 80–95% with little visible difference.
Frequently asked questions
Will compressing a video reduce quality?
Some detail is lost, but at Balanced quality or 720p most people can’t tell on a phone. Very aggressive targets on long videos will look soft.
How long a video fits in 10 MB?
At 720p with audio, roughly 40–60 seconds looks decent; at 480p about 1.5–2 minutes. Shorter clips look better.
Is my video uploaded?
No. Compression runs in your browser using your device’s video encoder.
Tools used in this guide
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