Compress video for email free
Email attachments top out around 20-25 MB. Shrink your video so it goes as an attachment, not a cloud link.
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How big a video can you email?
Most email services limit attachments to roughly 20-25 MB per message; Gmail, for example, allows 25 MB. Anything bigger is either refused or uploaded to the provider's cloud and sent as a link, which can expire or need extra permissions to open. A minute of 4K phone video is hundreds of megabytes; a minute of 1080p, around 100 MB. So the video has to be compressed.
How to compress a video for email
- Drop a video up to 2 GB: MP4, MOV, WebM or MKV.
- Choose Strong under How much to compress.
- Choose a 720p frame size. 1080p is fine for short clips; go with 480p for long ones.
- If you don't need sound, tick Remove audio for a little extra saving.
- Click Compress, check the final size and download the MP4.
How many minutes fit in 25 MB?
It depends on what's in the frame: a calm shot of someone talking compresses far better than a run through the woods or a concert. As a rough guide:
| Frame size | Good for email |
|---|---|
| 1080p | short clips up to about a minute |
| 720p | a few minutes, a good balance |
| 480p | long recordings where content matters more than picture |
If the file is still over the limit, compress again with a smaller frame or split the video in any editor.
Why MP4
The result is always an MP4 with H.264 video, which any computer, phone and email preview can play. An iPhone MOV often won't open for someone on Windows; after compression that problem is gone. If you only need the format change without compression, use MOV to MP4.
If only the audio matters
For meeting recordings, lectures and interviews, often only the sound matters. An MP3 is dozens of times smaller than the video: an hour of speech at 128 kbps is about 60 MB. Extract it with MP4 to MP3.
Very long videos
An hour-long meeting recording won't fit in 25 MB even at 480p. Send just the part that matters, or the audio, and share the full video through cloud storage.
No upload
The video is compressed on your computer using the browser's GPU acceleration, so a big file doesn't have to be uploaded to someone else's server first. Free: 10 videos a day, up to 1080p, no watermark. Pro Video: no daily limit, from $1.99 a day.
FAQ
What's the maximum email attachment size?
Usually 20-25 MB; Gmail allows 25 MB. Check your email provider's help pages for the exact limit.
Which settings should I use for email?
Strong and 720p. For very long videos, 480p.
Is there a watermark?
No.
Can I compress a video on my phone?
Yes, if your phone's browser supports video encoding. Current Chrome and Safari do.