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Compress a video for email

Fit a video under the 25 MB attachment limit of Gmail, Outlook and iCloud.

How it works

Gmail, Outlook.com and iCloud Mail all reject attachments over 25 MB (Gmail switches to a Drive link instead, which not every recipient can open). Many corporate mail servers stop at 10 or 20 MB. A minute of phone video is 100-200 MB, so it has to shrink by a factor of five to ten.

The default target is 25 MB with a small safety margin. If you are sending to a company address, 10 MB is a safer choice; type it in the target box. The tool keeps 1080p when the clip is short enough and otherwise scales to 720p, which still looks good in a mail client's preview.

What an email-sized video can hold

Planned bitrates for the default 25 MB target and for the safer 10 MB corporate limit:

Clip lengthAt 25 MBAt 10 MB
30 s6,304 kbps, full resolution2,464 kbps, full resolution
1 min3,104 kbps, full resolution1,184 kbps, 720p
2 min1,504 kbps, 720p544 kbps, 480p
3 min971 kbps, 720p331 kbps, 480p
5 min544 kbps, 480p192 kbps, 480p

For anything longer than a few minutes, a shared-folder link (Google Drive, OneDrive, iCloud) is kinder to the recipient than a heavily compressed attachment.

Before you compress

  • Trim first: sending the 20 seconds that matter keeps full quality where compressing two minutes would not.
  • Check the recipient: many company mail servers stop at 10 MB, so type 10 in the target box for work addresses.
  • Send one video per email; several attachments share the same limit.

How to use it

  1. Drop the video (MP4, MOV, WebM, MKV, AVI or 3GP) or click to browse. The player reads its length.
  2. The target is preset to 25 MB; change it only if you know the limit is different.
  3. Optionally cap the resolution or pick "Fastest". Leave audio on unless you only need the picture.
  4. Click Compress and keep the tab open until the progress bar completes.
  5. Download the MP4 and share it. The result card shows the exact size and bitrate.

Frequently asked questions

Why does Gmail say the attachment is too large when the file is 25 MB?

The limit applies to the encoded message, and email encoding adds about 33% to attachments. Aim for 18 MB to stay under 25 MB after encoding. The tool's preset already applies a margin; lower the target to 18 if you hit the wall.

What is the limit for Outlook and corporate mail?

Outlook.com allows 20 MB per attachment; Exchange and company servers are often set to 10 MB. When in doubt, use 10 MB.

Will the recipient be able to play it?

Yes. The output is a standard H.264/AAC MP4, which plays in every mail client preview, on phones and on Windows and macOS without extra software.

How long does it take?

Encoding runs on one CPU core in your browser. A one-minute 1080p phone clip takes roughly one to three minutes on a laptop and longer on a phone. Choose "Fastest" or cap the resolution at 720p to speed it up.

Is my video uploaded?

No. FFmpeg runs as WebAssembly inside your browser. The 32 MB engine is downloaded once and cached; your video never leaves the device.

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