Compress video for email

Fit one video, or several together, into a single email, right in your browser. Never over the limit, no upload, no watermark, no account.

Free, no watermark, no account, no size limit. Big videos are quickest on a computer.

How to compress a video for email

Three steps, with nothing to install and no account to make.

  1. Choose your videos

    One video, or several you want to send together. Drop them on the page, or pick them from your device.

  2. Pick your email

    Gmail takes 25 MB, Outlook.com and Yahoo a little less, and the Outlook app and many work accounts less again. Send them all in one email, or each in its own.

  3. Attach them

    They're compressed on your device to fit, never over the limit. Save them, then attach them to your email as usual.

Why compress a video for email?

Every provider caps attachments. Gmail stops at 25 MB, Yahoo the same, Outlook.com at about 20, iCloud Mail likewise, and work accounts are often stricter again. A minute of video from a phone can be 200 MB, and even a short screen recording passes 50, so the message bounces or the provider swaps your video for a cloud link you didn't ask for. We keep a current list of attachment limits for every major provider, with each one's own words.

Sometimes it has to be the file itself. A link expires, needs a login, or needs the other person to have the right account. Client work, school submissions, and anything for HR or a solicitor usually has to arrive as the attachment.

It stays private. Medical footage, legal evidence, an internal briefing, a student's project: compressing it here means it's never uploaded, so no copy sits on anyone else's server waiting to be deleted.

Several videos, one email. The limit counts the whole message, so sending three clips isn't three separate problems. Here they share the limit, each taking what it needs, and together they never go over. For videos going anywhere else, batch compress videos does the same in one pass.

Tom Limb, who makes Oh So Video

Built by me, Tom Limb 👋

Founder of Oh So Video · Founder and CEO of Videvo · formerly Head of Video at Magnific

I've spent my career helping people make better videos. My previous company, Videvo, gave away footage for free to millions of users worldwide. Now, Oh So Video does the same with video tools. Every tool you find on this website runs in your browser. No need to upload, sign up or wait for server-side processing to get it done.

Tom Limb on LinkedIn

Questions about emailing videos

Is it really free?

Yes. There's no account, no watermark and no limit on how many videos you compress.

Is my video uploaded to a server when I compress it?

No. Your browser compresses it itself, on your device, and nothing is uploaded. That matters for the things people email most: medical and legal footage, client work, anything internal.

What is the attachment size limit for Gmail?

25 MB of attachments per message, counted as the files are. Over that, Gmail offers the recipient a Google Drive link instead, which they may not be able to open.

What is the attachment size limit for Outlook?

Outlook.com caps attachments at 20 MB, and Yahoo at 25 MB, but both may count the message after sending makes a file about 37% bigger, so their option here keeps videos under 18 MB. The Outlook app takes 20 MB (14 MB of video), and many work accounts 10 MB (7 MB of video), with the exact figure set by an administrator. If you're not sure what the person receiving it uses, pick the lower one.

How do I compress an MP4 for email without losing too much quality?

Pick the email you're sending from and let it fit the limit: a clip of a minute or two usually still looks good at 18 to 25 MB. The size is a limit rather than a goal, so a video that looks the same smaller comes out smaller. For a long video, trim it to the part you need first: quality depends on how much video has to fit the megabytes.

How do several videos fit in one email?

The limit counts the whole email, so the videos share it. Each gets a share in proportion to how much picture it has, its length and size, so they come out at about the same quality. A video small enough already goes as it is, and anything one doesn't need goes to the others. Together they never go over. For a pile of videos that are going somewhere else, the Batch compress page does the same thing without the email limit.

What if they can't all fit?

It says so before it starts: pick Each in its own email, send them in two emails, or trim the longest.

What if my video is still too big afterwards?

It never comes out over the limit you pick, so 'still too big' means the email itself needs to be smaller: pick a lower limit, or trim the video to a shorter clip first and compress that.

What formats can I compress?

MP4, MOV, WebM and MKV, from phones, cameras and screen recorders, including iPhone HEVC and ProRes. What you attach is an MP4 with H.264 video, which every email app and player opens.

Can I compress a video for email on a phone or tablet?

Yes, in an up-to-date browser on an iPhone, an iPad or an Android phone. Keep the page open while it works: phones pause pages in the background.

Why not zip them?

Zipping doesn't make video smaller: it's compressed already. Attach the videos themselves, so they play straight from the email.

Is my file smaller than it needs to be?

Only if it looks as good that way. A video that doesn't need the room isn't made to fill it; one that does gets nearly all of it.

What about bigger videos?

Above the limit, Gmail offers a Google Drive link and Apple Mail a Mail Drop link instead, which take far bigger files. This page is for sending the video itself, as an attachment that arrives with the message: no link to expire, no account for the other person to have.

What are the new files called?

Each video's name with _ohsovideo added, such as party_ohsovideo.mp4. A video small enough already keeps its own name. The originals are never changed.

Compress for email

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