Video files especially HD ones are mostly large and occupy much space. And even if you are not running out of blank disks sooner or later you’ll need to reduce your video files size. That’s what you need to reduce video file size:

Compress Video in 3 Steps. You can finish compressing files in just a few clicks of your mouse. Click the '+' to add a video file for compressing. Choose type or resolution. Select the desirable compression type and video resolution. Start to compress. Reduce Video File Size for Mac Users. Shotcut is a free and open video editor for Mac users. It supports hundreds of audio and video formats and codecs. There is no import required, which means native editing, plus multi-format timelines, resolutions, and frame-rates within a project.

Settings like “Video for YouTube” allow you to select an easy profile to reduce video file size on Mac. The cons of the software include the fact that it is harder to do any in-depth editing. It’s just a video player, first and foremost. Download and Install. Download and install VLC Media Player. It’s free and open-source, so it won’t. While the theory behind video compression can appear to be an endless quagmire of confusion – you don’t need to know any of it to reduce video size. Handbrake is a free, open source program available for Mac, Windows, and Linux. Below is a step-by-step guide on how to create an MP4 with handbrake. Your large video file. You might believe.

I am trying to reduce the file size by at least in half without dropping serious quality. A little is okay, but I don’t want to watch a crappy dark blurry movie. I watch the movies on my 13-inch Macbook. How to Reduce Video Size with Handbrake. While the theory behind video compression can appear to be an endless quagmire of confusion – you don’t need to know any of it to reduce video size. Handbrake is a free, open source program available for Mac, Windows, and Linux. Below is a step-by-step guide on how to create an MP4 with handbrake.

• • • your large video file.

You might believe that quality loss is inevitable, but that’s not true. This article provides several FREE ways to reduce video file size maintaining its original quality at the same time.

Reduce Video File Size on Windows & Mac [FREE]

There are two programs you may use to make your video lighter: Freemake Video Converter and HandBrake. The easiest is Freemake Movie Converter. You can either add your file and let the software make the job for you or choose custom settings. Let’s see how it works.

SEE ALSO: 12 Effective Free and Paid Ways of Compressing Any Audio File [TEST RESULTS]

6 Ways to shrink video file size with Freemake Resizer

Freemake Video Converter allows its users to shrink video size both automatically and manually. Each procedure is extremely simple. Check them below and choose the one you like more.

Way 1: Automatically

Follow these steps to resize your video automatically:

1. install and run Freemake Video Resizer;
2. add a video;
3. choose an output format;
4. set a desirable file size as shown on the image;
5. convert the video.

Please note you should not insert size lower than the allowable one or the video quality may be spoiled.

This solution suits well if you need a concrete output video size and don’t want to dig in video parameters. The software will automatically adjust them all to the specified size. However, if you feel strong into video encoding aspects, you may also try the following methods to shrink video file size. Thus, you may easily change the output file size of any HD video, for example convert MTS files from moderm camcorders.

Way 2: Change video resolution

Reduce Video Size For Email

More likely you don’t need a 1280×720 or higher resolution video for purposes mentioned above. A resolution of 800×600 or 640×480 can be a good substitution for your HD video. Easy graphics program for mac. Though you can even choose a 320×240 resolution suitable for a smartphone.

Here is a way to change a resolution with Freemake Video Converter:

1. Download for free & start the program;
2. add the video;
3. click on an output format you need;
4. choose a ready preset (640×480, 640×360, etc.);
5. click Convert.

Way 3: Change video codec

There exist lots of various video codecs and naturally they vary in parameters. A proper codec can reduce video file size by 2-3 times. One of the most space efficient is H.264. Using H.264, you can keep the same resolution of an HD video file. Although if you don’t have a modern graphic card you’d better lower the frame size (resolution) as well, otherwise your video may freeze up. So download free Freemake tool and change codec as shown on the screenshot below.

SEE ALSO: How to Convert Video to H.264
SEE ALSO: What is a Video Codec and How to Identify It?

Way 4: Lower frame rate

Frame rate is a number of frames displayed per second. It generally varies between 24-30 fps. By lowering the frame rate using Free Video Reducer (available for free download here), you can significantly decrease video file size. However, this method is not highly recommended because it affects video smoothness.

Way 5: Get rid of unnecessary parts

When ripping a DVD or converting an HD movie, avoid unnecessary extras like additional movie scenes, trailers, behind-the-scenes, interviews and commentaries, and audio tracks you don’t need. Black edges take up space as well so crop them out. Leave only the title track.

Click on the video to preview it, then use cut video tool to crop them out (see the guide). Choose a custom preset and then the tab “Zoom & crop” to get rid of black edges.

Reduce Video File Size Mac

Way 6: Lower video bitrate

The less bitrate value you select the smaller size you get. Just don’t lower it too much otherwise your video may lose quality. Name of the program to wirless connections for mac os x. download free, software and fine-tune the bitrate. It’s better to keep bitrate value between 1400-2000kbps.

Reduce video file size with HandBrake (for Mac users)

Handbrake is one more nice tool that can help you get the job done. The software can be installed on Windows, Mac OS and even Linux based computers. If you want to use this tool, follow the guide:

1. download and install HandBrake;
2. run the software;
3. add your video by clicking the Source button;
4. choose a destination folder for a ready video;
5. Select output settings. Better choose MP4 since this format is the most space-efficient and it’s also supported by almost all modern devices.
6. Select Web Optimizer box.
7. Click the green Start button to run the conversion process.

Please keep in mind that you can make your video size smaller if you delete all unnecessary audio and subtitles tracks in case your video has a lot of them. Go to Audio and Subtitles tabs and choose only what you need leaving the rest behind.

Reduce Video File Size in iMovie on Mac

If you use Macbook Pro, Macbook Air or any other Apple computer, you can either use HandBrake for your goal or use iMovie. The latter usually comes pre-installed. To resize video with iMovie you should:

Reduce Video Size online, free

1. launch the software;
2. drag-n-drop your video into iMovie or use the Import button to add the video;
3. place the video on iMovie timeline;
4. click the Share button and choose Export Movie;
5. click Options and set framerate, bitrate, image size, file format and other parameters;
6. type a title for your video and click Export.

Please be attentive while inserting new parameters to keep the video quality fine. In case you are not sure what to insert, you may google for bitrate calculators. There are a lot of them online. Just choose the one you like, add your original video length, bitrate, codec, and other data and you’ll be given the minimum settings.

Do you shrink the size of your videos? What other ways do you use? Please share them with us in comments.

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Windows Phone devices record videos only at high resolutions (720p or 1080p), and when you share them through apps like WhatsApp, only the first seconds are sent. -Change the resolution of your videos with a great encoder, reducing file size to share full length videos. -Choose quality level. -Check the original and encoded video sizes. -Switch between Normal and Best mode to prioritize quality over encoding speed. -View progress and cancel the operation anytime. -Play original and encoded videos from the app. Get Video Compressor Advanced to: -View estimated file size and bitrate before start encoding. -Set desired file size or video bitrate before encoding, getting proportional audio and video quality automatically. -Use 'WhatsApp Optimized' preset, to get best possible quality until WhatsApp file size limit or resolution bitrate limit is reached. -Future advanced features will be added only for Advanced Mode. -More improvements and languages to come. If you want to contribute with translation voluntarily, please mail [email protected] asking for the translation table. Contributors will have their names in the about screen. Update 1.6.5 -Play original and encoded videos from the app. -Added an option to browse destination folder for each video. -File size will now accept any decimal separator. -Brazilian Portuguese language added. -Globalization is now supported.

Summary: latest list of 2021 best free video compressor software is shared here. Easily reduce video (4K) size by up to 90% while keeping the highest possible quality!

How To Shrink A Video File Size On Mac

With the popularity of HD and 4K videos and the arrival of 8K videos, the demand for reducing video file size is growing rapidly. To share large videos on Whatsapp, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, webs, and emails, and save storage space on computer or phone, we need to shrink video size. Here we list 2021 best Mac video compression software to compress MP4 HD/4K/8K without losing quality.

Compress Videos from GBs to MBs on Mac without Losing Quality

MacX Video Converter Pro - Compress HD 720P, 1080P, 4K, 5K or even 8K videos by 40%-90% smaller without quality loss. Easily shrink videos from GBs to MBs for YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Whatsapp, FaceBook, webs, emails, etc.

[Updated] Best Free Video Compressors for Mac

1. MacX Video Converter Pro

Sum: Best video compression software for Mac to make videos by up to 90% smaller without qulaity loss.

MacX Video Converter Pro - 100% safe & professional. It is specially designed for Mac users to reduce videos with large size, for example, HD 720P, 1080P, 4K, 5K or even 8K videos.

• Compress videos to more advanced codecs like HEVC, H.264, MP4, FLV, VP9, WebM, any other formats you need.
• Change encoding format, resolution, bit rate, trim off unwanted footage, crop black bars, etc.
• 40%-90% compression ratio. Reduce video file size on Mac without noticeable quality loss.
• Ready compression options to shrink videos for YouTube, Apple iPhone, FaceBook, webs, mobiles, TVs, etc.
• GPU-accelerated video compression on Mac with 5X faster than similar Mac video compressors.
• Convert video. Edit video. Download videos online. Record screen/webcam.

We once compressed an MKV video (1920x1080), 2h23min to MP4 format from 8GB to 2.72GB. The whole video shrinking process costs 23min53s. This Mac compression software reduces MKV video size 56% off. The whole video compression process took place on a 27-inch iMac (2011 Middle) with OS X Yosemite operating system, powered by 2.7GHz Intel Core i5.

How to compress a video on Mac with MacX Video Converter Pro

Step 1. Free download the video compressor to your Mac (Big Sur incl.) and run it. Click the + video button to load the video files you want to downsize.

Step 2. Choose an output format from the pop-up window:

• To compress 4K or HD videos on Mac, choose HEVC which format provides a high compression rate.
• To compress a large video file to mobiles, here are 420+ readymade profiles for mobiles, which means you can compress video to iPhone iPad Android with a small file size and high quality in one click.
• To shrink video for YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Vimeo, other websites, or reduce video for e-mail, go to Web Video Profile column and select a streaming video format like FLV, 3GP, WMV, etc. These formats are specially set for uploading video to website barely with the smallest size yet the highest possible quality.

Tips: You can adjust the slidebar of LQ-HQ or click 'Use High Quality Engine' in the advanced setting area to improve your compressed video quality.

Step 3. Click the icon to adjust the video parameters, like Resolution and Bit Rate to make your file smaller. Generally, frame rate and frame size don't much affect the file size.

You can adjust or lower the video resolution (such as downscale 4K to 1080P, 1080P to 720P), and lower the video/audio bit rate by 20-50% compared with its default one. Normally, the smaller video you want, the lower bit rate.

Step 4. Click the icon to edit the video where it is allowed to crop the black bars, remove commercials from video/movie and freely set up the Start Time/End time to get favorite clips, in such a way the video file will be downsized with nary a quality loss (no video conversion involved).

Step 5. Click the 'Browse' button to choose the destination folder and click the 'RUN' button to start to compress video files without losing quality.

2. Finder

Sum: An easy way to free compress a bunch of video files in a folder.

Before you try third-party video compression software on Mac, you should know that some of Mac's built-in free compressor apps have some basic video compression features for different purposes. The first we would like to recommend to you is Finder. If offers video compression and decompression on Mac in the ZIP format. That means videos can be compressed without losing quality on Mac during the compression.

However, in other words, the output file size of the compressed video won't be too much smaller than that of the original video, though the actual amount of compression will depend on the type of your file.

How do I compress video files in Mac Finder?

Step 1. Open Finder and select the video or video folder in the Finder. Right-click on it and select 'Compress file name'.

Step 2. The Mac will begin to compress the video. Once finished, a .zip file with the same name will be displayed next to the file you selected.

Step 3. The zip file contains the compressed video and your original video is untouched. Double-click on it to decompress the zip file and the Mac will extract the files right next to it. For information on Finder compressing video on Mac here.

3. QuickTime Player

Sum: Suitable for very simple and quick video compression on Mac

Apple's default media player actually can help free compress videos on Mac. There are options to adjust the video resolution to 4K, 1080P, 720P, and 480P to make your videos smaller. The drawback to it is that it offers only a few options to reduce the file size on Mac, but it gets the results done. Another thing to note is the compressed output video will be encoded in MOV format, regardless of the import format.

How To Reduce Video File Size Free

How do I compress video on Mac with QuickTime Player?

Step 1. To make a video smaller for free, open the app from your Applications folder. Click File > Open File to navigate to the video that you want to compress and open it.

Step 2. Next, click File > and select Export. Then you can see 4k (if applicable), 1080p, 720p, 480p, or exporting audio only options. To downsize your video on Mac without noticeable quality loss, you're suggested to compress video to a resolution slightly lower than the original quality. For example, you can compress 4K to 1080P to get a relatively good result.

Step 3. Then set the file name and output folder. Click Save to start to compress.

4. iMovie

Sum: Best free Mac video compression software with editing features

If you want a more versatile free video compressor for Mac, don't miss iMovie. Like Finder and QuickTime, iMovie is pre-installed on Mac computers. It has more editing features to make videos smaller on Mac. To be specific, it lets you split a long video into shorter clips, cut off extra parts from the video, change the video dimensions, and adjust the output resolutions. All the features can shrink a video to your desired size.

How do I reduce the size of a video in iMovie?

Step 1. Open the iMovie app on Mac. Select the Create New icon to create a new project and click Import Media to load your video into the app. Then drag the video to the timeline.

Step 2. On the timeline, right-click on the video and click Split Clip so as to split it into shorter clips. This is suitable for compress a very long and large video without losing quality. You can also select Show Clip Trimmer to trim the unwanted length by drag the edge toward the clip's center.

Step 3. To further downsize a video on Mac, click the Crop button on the menu bar above the video window. Then you can remove portions like the black bar from the video image. This will also result in a smaller file size.

Step 4. If you don't want to make any changes to your video, you can skip Steps 2 and 3. Simply drag your video to the timeline, and click the Share button on the upper right hand corner. Select File and lower the resolution & quality of the video to make it smaller.

Step 5. Check the final sizes of different settings on the left hand below the video preview window. If it's OK for you, simply click Next.

5. Handbrake

Sum: Best free video compressor for Mac with flexible options

HandBrake is a free and open-source compressor running on Mac, Windows, and Linux. It can rip DVD, Blu-ray, convert video, and compress videos. It has a wide range of features to help you easily compress a video to different sizes for Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp, email, etc.

• Support compressing videos in any video format & resolution.
• Downsize video by changing the codec, lowering video resolution, bit rate, cropping, trimming, etc.
• Provide a lot of advanced features. It's great for tech-savvy users, but can be overwhelming for novices.
• Output formats are MP4 and MKV.

How to compress video on Mac with HandBrake

Step 1. Launch the free compression software on Mac and click the Open Source button to import the video you want to shrink.

Step 2. Under Preset, you can select an output with different qualities. The faster and lower preset will result in a smaller video size but lower quality. So you need to balance it.

Step 3. Under the section below, there is a slew of settings to change to compress the video on Mac. Under Summary, select MP4 for wider compatibility and Webm for web usage.

Step 4: Under the Video tab, you can change the video codec to H.265 or VP9 to get better compression. Lower the Quality by 1-2 RF to get a smaller video without noticeable quality loss.

Step 5. Under the Dimensions tab, resize the video to a lower resolution and crop the image if necessary. After all the settings, hit the Start button to begin reducing video file size. Learn detailed steps to compress video using Handbrake >>

6. VLC

Sum: An easy and fast video compressor alternative to Mac QuickTime

VLC is another popular video player among Mac users. But it is quite an unknown fact that even the VLC media player can be used as a free video compression software for Mac. In fact, you can find more compression options in VLC than in QuickTime Player. With VLC, you can select a smaller-size format like MP4, WebM, FLV, others in H.265, H.264, MPEG4, etc., adjust the audio and video bitrate, and resize the video with one click.

How do I reduce the size of a video in Mac VLC?

Step 1. Open VLC, click File > select Converter/Stream. Then use the Open Media to load your video.

Step 2. Next, in the Choose Profile section, click Customise. First, click the Encapsulation button from the popping-up window. Select a smaller format like WebM, MP4, or FLV bsed on your need.

Step 3. Then click on the Video Codec button. Here you can select a more advanced codec for the video like H.265 for smaller output results. Lower the bitrate and resolution a little bit if necessary. You can also open the dropdown menu of Scale and select a value below 1 to downscale the video.

Step 4. Click Apply and back to the main interface. Click Save as File to set an output folder and click Go to start.

7. Avidemux

Sum: An open-source editor for Mac to compress a video to a specific size.

Avidemux is a free non-linear video editor for Mac to compress, cut, edit, filter and encode easily. It allows Mac users to compress the video to a smaller size for Instagram, TikTok, Whatsapp, YouTube, etc. in different ways. Users can downsize the video to a smaller video format like HEVC, VP9, x264, FLV, etc., adjust the bit rate & resolution, crop and resize to make the video smaller, and split a long and large video. The best part of the free Mac compression software is that users are allowed to set a desired output size.

How to compress video on Mac with Avidemux?

Step 1. Download Avidemux and open it. Click the Open Video button to load in the video you want to compress.

Step 2. Under the Video Decoder, select Video Output to HEVC x265, Mpeg4 AVC (x264), or VP9 for smaller output size. Set the Audio output to AAC (FDK) to ensure the best results. And then select an output muxer like MP4, MOV, WebM, etc.

Step 3. Next, click Configure in Video Output. Under the General tab, navigate to Encoding Mode -> select Two Pass – Video Size in the list. Then you can enter the video size you want to shrink the video into the box Target Video Size (in MB).

Step 4. If you want to further compress the video on Mac, click Video on the top menu of the main interface > Filters > click swsResize or Crop to adjust the resolutions and crop off unwanted parts from the video.

Step 5. Back on the main interface, you can use the buttons marked A and B under the timeline to split a long video into smaller clips.

8. FFmpeg

Sum: A powerful Mac video compressor for advanced users.

FFmpeg is a collection of free libraries and tools to process multimedia content such as audio, video, subtitles on Mac and other platforms. It's a very advanced and powerful compression software free for Mac that can easily reduce the file size of a video, like a 720p video from 1.7 GB to 67 MB without changing resolution or any quality loss! The only drawback is that it requires a steep learning curve.

How do I compress videos using FFmpeg on Mac?

Step 1. Install FFmpeg on Mac using Homebrew: in Terminal, type the command 'brew install ffmpeg' and hit Return.

Step 2. First, put the video you want to compress on your Desktop, Movies folder, or somewhere FFmpeg can get at it.

Step 3. Open a new Terminal window and you may see something like 'yourname@yourcomputer ~ %', change the ~ to the folder containing your video file, and hit Return. You should now be in the folder that contains your original video file.

Step 4. Now you can use the commands and flags to compress videos on Mac. For example, -c:v specifies the video codec; -b:v specifies video bitrate; -c:a specifies audio codec; -b:a audio bitrate; ; -filter:v specifies a filter... There are many command lines on FFmpeg official site and various forums, below are some simple measures to shrink videos on Mac:

• Compress videos to smaller formats: ffmpeg -i input -c:v libx265 -crf 26 -preset fast -c:a aac -b:a 128k output.mp4
• Change the bitrate:ffmpeg -i input -c:a copy -c:v libx265 -b:v 1M output.mp4
• Compress 4K video to 720P:ffmpeg -i input -c:a copy -s 1280x720 output.mp4

9. Final Cut Pro X Compressor

Sum: Apple's Compressor for Mac that can export Final Cut Pro videos to a smaller size.

The Compressor is designed to work with Final Cut Pro to provide more power and flexibility to the output. It provides high support to compress 4K videos, HDR, and 360° videos. Users can compress videos on Mac by encoding the output to HEVC, H.264, MPEG-4, etc., and adjusting parameters and choose from a variety of frame rates and resolutions. It offers an one-click solution to compress and upload videos for popular video websites, including YouTube, Vimeo, and Facebook.

How do you use Mac Compressor to compress videos?

Step 1. Apple Compressor is not free. You need to install and purchase FCP first. Open Compressor and add media files from your computer or a connected storage device. Each media source file in Compressor is called a job.

Step 2. Under the Settings, select to compress your video to Apple Devices in 4K HEVC, HD, SD, YouTube & Facebook, or others. Then set a save location from the pop-up menu.

Step 3. If necessary, adjust the video properties such as resolutions, bitrate, etc. Customize the final cropping, sizing, and aspect ratio using the Cropping & Padding properties in Compressor. Set the encoder type to faster for a faster codec, standard quality, and smaller size.

10. Clipchamp

Sum: A convenient online tool if you don't want to install a video compressor on Mac.

If you don't want to download desktop-based video compression software on Mac, you can simply use free online video compressors, just like Clipchamp. When an internet connection is available, simply open a browser on your Mac, get access to Clipchamp utility, and then you can import a video for compressing.

• Reduce MP4, AVI, MOV, WebM, and more video formats.
• Support batch processing.
• Provide presets for web (Facebook, YouTube, Vimeo), Windows, and Mobile.
• Allow you to downsize videos to a desired resolution (240p, 360p, 480p, 720p, 1080p, 1440p, and 4K) and quality.
• Available output formats include MP4, WebM, and FLV.

How to compress video with Clipchamp on Mac?

Step 1. Open a web browser on your Mac computer, and access Clipchamp online video compressor.

Step 2. Drag target video into the dotted box.

Step 3. Choose what you want to optimize for, web, Windows, Mobile, or Animation. You can also hit Customize settings to specify resolution, format, and quality.

Step 4. Hit Start to begin processing your video.