How to Make a Video Small Enough to Email

To make a video small enough to email, open the Compress Video tool, choose your video, pick For email, and tap Compress the video. The new MP4 is aimed to fit under common attachment limits, and it keeps its sound and its upright picture.

Your video stays on your device the whole time. This guide shows how to check the limit, how to choose a size, and what to do if the video is still too big.

What you need

• The video on your phone or computer (MP4, MOV, M4V, 3GP or WebM).
• The attachment limit of the email service you use. Look it up on the service’s help page.
• A recent browser, because the tool uses your browser’s video features.

Steps to make a video small enough to email

1. Find your limit. For Gmail, its help page says a personal account can attach up to 25 MB in total. Accounts at work or school can have different limits set by the administrator. If a file is over the limit, Gmail can add it as a Google Drive link instead.
2. Open the Compress Video tool, tap the box and choose your video.
3. Choose For email to aim for about 20 MB, which leaves room under 25 MB. For a different limit, choose My own size and type a number of MB a little below the limit.
4. Check the line under the options. It shows the size of the original and the expected size. If you plan to attach more than one file, remember the limit counts everything together.
5. Tap Compress the video and keep the tab open until it finishes.
6. Download the new MP4. Check the size in the result, play it once, and attach it to your email.

If it is still too big

A long video cannot be both small and sharp. Try these in order:

1. Choose a lower Picture size, for example 480p instead of 720p.
2. Cut the video shorter with Trim Video. Often only a part of it matters.
3. Remove the sound with the Keep the sound box if it is not needed. This saves a little.
4. Upload the original to a cloud drive and email the link instead.

Why the page warns about a blocky picture

The size of a video file is the length multiplied by the data used for each second. If you ask for a very small file from a long video, there is very little data per second and the picture gets blocky. The page tells you when the size you chose is too low for the length, so you can pick a bigger size or cut the video shorter.

Keeping the video upright

Phone videos store a turn setting. The tool keeps it, so a video filmed upright stays upright in the email and on the recipient’s phone.

A note on privacy

Because the work is done in your browser, the video does not pass through our servers. That matters for family videos and work files. Keep in mind that once you email a video, the copy in your email is outside this tool.

Common problems

It says my browser can’t process video. Use a recent Chrome, Edge, Samsung Internet or Safari.

The result is bigger than the original. The video was already small. Choose a lower picture size or a smaller size.

The email still rejects the file. Attachments can count a little more than their file size, and other attachments add to the total. Aim for a lower number.

My iPhone video will not open. It may use HEVC, which some browsers cannot read. Use Safari on an iPhone or Mac, or a recent Chrome or Edge on a computer.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Gmail attachment limit?

Gmail Help says a personal account can send attachments up to 25 MB. Work and school accounts follow the limit their administrator sets. The limit of the person who receives the email can also matter, so aim lower when you can.

Does the tool change the sound of the video?

For the For email preset the sound is made lighter to save space. It stays clear for speech and music. You can turn the sound off with the Keep the sound box.

Can I email a video as a link instead?

Yes. Upload it to a cloud drive and share the link. This tool is for when you need an attachment, or want a smaller file to save space.

Is the video uploaded when I compress it?

No. The video is read and compressed inside your browser. It never goes to our servers.

Can I use this on a computer?

Yes. It works in current Chrome and Edge on a computer, and in other browsers that support the video features it needs. If yours does not, the page tells you. A computer is faster than a phone for long videos.