Compress Video for WhatsApp
Fit the 16 MB limit and keep the quality you choose. Nothing is uploaded.
The compressor opens with the target set to WhatsApp's 16 MB media limit. Drop the video, press Compress, and send the result as a normal video message.
Open the compressor → Opens the compressor with the target preset to 16 MB.- 100% freeNo account, no daily quota, no paid tier.
- Nothing is uploadedFiles are processed on your device and never reach a server.
- No catch on the outputNo watermark, no forced downscaling, no size cap.
- Updated in the openEvery fix and every new tool is written down on the changelog page.
Why WhatsApp videos need compressing
WhatsApp caps a video message at 16 MB on every platform. Anything larger is either refused or, on newer versions, offered as a document rather than a playable video — which means no inline preview and no thumbnail for the person receiving it. Sixteen megabytes is not much: a modern phone records 1080p at 8–17 Mbps, so the limit is reached after 8 to 15 seconds of footage. Almost any clip longer than that has to be made smaller first.
WhatsApp will compress a video itself if you send it through the gallery picker, but it does so with a fixed, aggressive setting tuned for speed on the sender's phone, not for quality. The usual result is a 480p file with visible blocking in motion and washed-out colours. Compressing the file yourself first, to just under the limit, lets you keep 720p or 1080p and use all 16 MB on picture instead of letting the app throw most of it away.
What this page does differently
The target size is preset to 16 MB with a small safety margin. The compressor reads the video's length and picks the highest bitrate that fits; if the clip is long enough that the bitrate would fall below what 1080p needs to look clean, it steps down to 720p, then 480p, and tells you which resolution it chose in the estimate line before you start. A 30-second clip typically stays at 1080p; a two-minute one lands at 720p; a ten-minute recording ends up at 480p, which is still better than what WhatsApp would have produced from the original.
The whole job happens in your browser using your device's hardware video encoder. The file is never uploaded, so there is no waiting for a transfer and no size limit on the input — a 2 GB recording is fine. When it finishes, play the result in the page to check it, download it, and share it into WhatsApp as a video. If you want it even smaller, drag the slider or type a number; if you want to cut the clip first, Trim Video ↗ takes the same file without re-uploading.
Tips for the best result
Trim before you compress. Every second you cut is bitrate given back to the seconds you keep; a 40-second clip trimmed to 20 seconds fits at twice the quality. Send the compressed file as a video, not as a document: documents are not re-compressed by WhatsApp but also do not autoplay or show a preview. If the recipient will watch on a phone, 720p is more than enough — a phone screen cannot show the extra detail of 1080p at that size, and the bitrate saved goes into smoother motion. For screen recordings and slideshows, capping the frame rate at 30 in Advanced saves another third.
Frequently asked questions
What is WhatsApp's exact video size limit?
16 MB for a video message on Android, iPhone, Web and Desktop. Files sent as documents can be up to 2 GB but do not play inline.
Will WhatsApp compress the video again?
A little, sometimes. WhatsApp re-encodes videos it considers too large or in an unusual format. A file already under 16 MB in H.264 MP4 at 720p or 1080p is usually passed through with minimal change.
Why does the result come out smaller than 16 MB?
The compressor aims about 5% under the limit because bitrate control is not exact. A file that landed at 16.2 MB would be rejected, so the margin is deliberate.
Can I do this on my phone?
Yes. Open this page in Chrome on Android or Safari on iPhone, pick the video from your gallery, and compress it there. Nothing is installed and nothing is uploaded.