Video Compressor

Compress a screen recording

Screen recording too big to send? Drop it here and save an MP4 a fraction of the size, with every menu and line of text still sharp.

Where screen recordings are saved, and why they’re big

On a Mac, Shift-Command-5 or the Screenshot app saves the recording to your desktop as a MOV file named “Screen Recording” with the date and time. macOS records at the display’s native Retina resolution, so every pixel of a sharp screen ends up in the file, and a recording of only a few minutes is often far too big to email or post in a chat.

On Windows, the Snipping Tool saves its recordings as MP4 files in Videos › Screen Recordings, and the Xbox Game Bar puts its clips in Videos › Captures. Both capture your whole display at its full resolution, so a short walkthrough of a spreadsheet or a slide deck carries far more detail than anyone watching it in a small window will ever see.

On an iPhone, Screen Recording in Control Center saves to the Photos app, and an app demo or a bit of gameplay quickly grows too big for a message. Open this page in Safari, choose the recording from your photo library, and save the smaller MP4. When your phone can do the work, it happens right there; otherwise our server does it and deletes the files 2 hours later.

Why compress screen recordings here

  • Text you can still read

    Balanced, the preset the page starts on, makes the file about half the size and lowers the resolution only when the picture would otherwise turn blocky.

  • Still pictures shrink well

    Most of a screen barely changes from one frame to the next, so the encoder spends its bits on the cursor and the parts that move.

  • Your choice of resolution

    In Advanced, set Resolution to 1080p or 720p for a much smaller file. Below 720p, small text starts to blur.

  • An MP4 anyone can open

    A Mac’s MOV becomes an H.264 MP4 that plays on Windows, on Android, in chat apps and in every browser.

How to compress a screen recording

  1. 01

    Find the recording

    On a Mac it’s on your desktop; on Windows, in Videos › Screen Recordings or Videos › Captures; on an iPhone, in Photos.

  2. 02

    Add it to the page

    Drag it in or click to choose it. Balanced is already selected; pick Strong if you need it smaller still.

  3. 03

    Check the text, then save

    Compare it with the original, look closely at the smallest text, and download the MP4.

Questions

Can’t find your answer? Write to feedback@videocompressor.xyz.

Why are screen recordings so big?

A screen recorder saves every pixel of your display at a high bitrate, so the recording looks perfect, and a modern laptop or phone screen has more pixels than a 1080p video. That’s useful for editing, but much more than a viewer needs when you share it.

Will the text in my recording stay readable?

Yes, as long as the resolution stays at 720p or above. Compressing at the same resolution mostly costs detail in the parts that move, not in still text. Below 720p, small fonts in code, menus and spreadsheets blur, so if a stronger preset lowers the resolution that far, choose a lighter one or trim the recording instead.

Which preset should I pick for a screen recording?

Start with Balanced, the default. If the file is still too big, try Strong and check the smallest text in the preview. Maximum makes the smallest file, and on a long recording it may lower the resolution, which is when text suffers. If you need an exact size for an email or an upload form, type it under Target size instead.

How do I cut out the parts I don’t need?

Trim it first with our video cutter: the seconds before you started talking, a page that took ages to load, the moment you stopped the recording. A shorter recording also compresses to a smaller file at the same quality.

Is my screen recording uploaded?

Only when it has to be. If your browser can compress the recording, it stays on your device. Otherwise it goes to our server over an encrypted connection and is deleted 2 hours later. A screen recording can show messages or account details, so check which one the page says it will use before you start; you can switch.

Can I compress an iPhone screen recording on the phone?

Yes. Open this page in Safari and choose the recording from Photos. When your iPhone compresses it, a Share button lets you save it back to Photos; when our server does the work, you download the MP4 instead.

Does it work with recordings from other apps?

Yes. Any recording saved as a file works, whether it’s MP4, MOV, MKV or WebM. For OBS, our OBS recording page also explains which settings make new recordings smaller in the first place.

How long a screen recording can I compress?

In your browser there’s no limit on length or size; your device only needs free space for the result. On our server, where recordings go when your browser can’t handle them, a video can be up to 1 GB, 60 minutes and 4K (3840×2160).

More ways to compress video

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