Video files are usually very large, which makes it a problem when you have to upload them or for hosting. Unless the highest resolution is required, most videos have to be reduced to a smaller size that can be better managed either for upload, download or carry around. In this way, the optimized smaller size video files can reduce bandwidth usage and upload time, and also be more viewer-friendly for less buffering.


Part 1: Ways of Reducing Video File Size

There are four normal ways to reduce the video file size: Change the format or modify the parameters, trimming and cropping. Changing the format is usually what most people do. For example, you can convert a large AVI. file to MP4 format to make the size smaller without losing too much in quality and resolution. Or you may convert a relatively big MP4 file to WMV to reduce the size. Besides that, you can modify the parameters such as bitrate, codec, and quality to make the video file smaller. It’s worth noting that these two methods can indeed help decrease the file size yet with the loss of quality.

So what is the best way to perfectly preserve the video quality? Trimming or cropping. Trimming means making your video shorter. Let’s say if you can trim footage off of the beginning or end such as Ads or billing of cast members, the file size can be reduced. Alternatively, you can crop the video to make it happen. It can be useful when you cut out unwanted elements or fit a video to a new aspect ratio. With these two methods, your file size can be reduced without loss of quality.


Part 2: How to Reduce Video File Size without Losing Quality Online?

There are plenty of online tools available to help reduce video file size without losing quality, such as online video cutters, video compressors, video converters, video editors, etc. Using these websites or tools can be convenient and no hassle of downloading software on your computer. Some are completely free while some might ask you to register an account, and some websites provide limited free service but more advanced and extra features available at paid tiers. So it’s all up to you to pick one that suits your needs. Here we can take a look at some popular ones and see how to reduce video file size.

1. Aconvert

Aconvert is a free online converter that can help you to reduce file size. It can convert all kinds of documents, eBooks, images, icons, videos, audio, and archive files online for free. Original video size can be up to 200M, you can choose an online file from URL, Google Drive, or Dropbox.

Click the "Choose File" button to select a file on your computer. You can set the target format after you unload the file and click “Options” for preference, see if you want to change anything such as size, bitrate, or frame rate. If not, just click the blue button “Convert now!”

The output files will be listed in the "Conversion Results". Click the download icon under “ACTION” to save your video file.

2. Videosmaller

VideoSmaller offers a free online solution to resize video. It can make your video smaller from MP4, AVI, MOV, MPEG, and reduce MP4 video size without losing quality by adjusting the parameters. iPhone and android video files can be compressed here, too. This online service allows you to upload video files up to 500M. It’s worth mentioning that you don’t have to worry about the privacy disclosure because uploaded files are removed after a few hours. Let’s see how to reduce video file size without losing quality with Videosmaller.

1.Upload a video file. Click "Browse" to select and upload the video you would like to reduce the size. Check the box of "Use low compression level (best quality)" for the best quality, please mind that you won’t be able to reduce the file size as much as using standard compression.

You can “Scale (reduce) video width” in the drop-down box. Scaling down also results in lower quality, you can balance the needs of your audience. It also depends on what device to use to watch the video in terms of size consideration. You can also remove the audio sound to make the file smaller. Click the “Upload” to start uploading and resize the video.

2.After it’s done, a notice will appear on top. You can click the “Download File” to save the video or share it with social icons.

3. Clipchamp

Clipchamp is a powerful website that can not only help reduce the video file size but also provide more comprehensive online services for you to choose from, such as video editing, uploading videos of any size, recording webcam videos, processing videos in batches, etc. If you need to reduce video file size regularly, Clipchamp would be ideal by using a paid service. It offers three paid packages as creators, business, and business premium with varied features, costing $9, $19 and $39 monthly. The free service is rather limited to 480P exports (SD) only. But if you want to make it easy without downloading software to process a large amount of videos, Clipchamp is a good bet. Now let’s see how to reduce video files with Clipchamp free service.

1. Upload the video to “Convert my video” or simply just drag and drop.

2. You can go to "Customize Settings" to select your output format, resolution, and quality settings. You can also trim, crop, rotate, and adjust other parameters by clicking “Edit Video”. Click “Start” when all is set.

3.There is a percentage to notify the process. After the video is compressed, you can share it or download it as you like.

Part 3: How to Reduce Video File Size Without Losing Quality via Handbrake?

You can also try to reduce the video file size using Handbrake. Handbrake is a free and open-source transcoder for digital video files. It can convert video from any format, such as WMV – Windows Media Video File, AVI – Audio Video Interleave File, M4V, MOV, etc. Handbrake is available for Linux, macOS, and Windows. It can also help you to make the video file smaller through parameter editing. Handbrake is one of the most popular tools that can significantly shrink the file size without losing quality. The target file is usually MP4 as it’s the most supported video format on the web, the file size can still be reduced even if your video file is already MP4 format. Let’s see how to reduce video file size with Handbrake.

1.Click “Open Source” to select the video you want to reduce file size.

2.Click “Browse” to decide where you want to save target files. Change the folder to another location if necessary. You are also required to provide a name for the target video file, you can change it at “Save As”.

3.Make sure the output format is set to 'MP4 File', and click the “Web Optimized” for better web publication. And click “Start” to reduce the video file size.

4.The green “Start” button will become a Red Stop until the task is done. Once it turns back to green, your video file has been reduced to a smaller size in the designated folder.


Part 4: Best Way to Reduce Video File Size - Leawo Video Converter

While the simple online video convertor cannot help you with complicated video editing, Handbrake also doesn’t seem to be an all-inclusive software to satisfy all your needs. Here you may want to take a look at Leawo Video Converter, the ultimate solution to help you with video editing. That’s not all for the Leawo converter. Download, video and audio conversion burn videos and images to DVD/Blue-ray, video, and audio editing, your call! Leawo Video Converter is the most professional All-In-One software that allows you to find all your video and audio needs in ONE place.

  • Leawo Video Converter
  • Leawo Video Converter

    1. Convert video and audio files between 180+ formats without quality loss
    2. Support 720P, 1080P and even real 4K video output
    3. Create photo slideshows from photos stored on camera, computer, camcorder, etc
    4. Built-in video editor to trim, crop, add watermark, apply special effect, etc
    5. 2D to 3D converter with 6 different 3D movie effects available

That is to say, you can also reduce the video size file offline with professional Leawo’s Video Converter as well. With Leawo Video Converter, you can convert your video file to the other formats, adjust the video and parameters, edit videos, trim or crop to make the file smaller without losing video quality. Leawo Video Converter is more powerful than the average converters you’ve ever seen. As it allows you to convert audio to video and save them for future playback. Besides that, downscaling 4K video to 1080P is also possible with the Leawo Video Converter. It is built as the ultimate solution to satisfy all your needs for video and audio editing.

Now let’s see how to reduce video file size with Leawo Video Converter. Download the software from the links below.

Step 1: Launch Leawo Video Converter

You can see Leawo Video Converter is a module of Leawo Prof. Media. Click the "Video Converter" on the main screen, or open the "Convert" module to enter the video converter module.

Step 2: Add Source Video Files

Click the "Add Video'' button to browse and add video files from the local drive. You can also simply drag and drop.

Step 3: Set Output Format

Next to the green "Convert" button, you can find “MP4 Video”. Click the button and you’ll see a drop-down menu, select the "Change" option to enter the "Profile" panel, this is where you can set the output format.

On the "Profile" panel, you can choose any format you like, from either "Format" or "Device".

Step 4: Adjust Video and Audio Parameters

To make the video file smaller, you might need to adjust the parameters to balance out. This means you have to scale down a bit to reduce file size.

Click the button on the left of the “Convert” button in Step 3 again and click “Edit” then you’ll see the “Profile Settings". Here you can adjust video quality, video bitrate, video resolution, frame rate, audio quality, audio bit rate, etc.

Step 5: Edit Your Video

You can further make the file size smaller. Leawo Video Converter’s built-in video editor allows you to trim video length, crop video size, etc. You can separate a full video into several short clips, crop the black margin.

Step 6: Set Output Directory

After adjusting parameters, format, and video editing, click the big green “Convert” button. Set output directory in the popup sidebar.

Step 7: Convert Video Files

Click the bottom “Convert” button at the bottom of the sidebar to start conversion. Your files will be ready in the designated folder.

That’s it! Leawo Video Converter is very easy to use when you need to reduce video file size. If you are sick of uploading video files with slow networks using online converters or editing video and music on a regular basis, the Leawo Video Converter is your best powerful tool at hand. Get Leawo Video Converter now and start creating beautiful videos today!