Dropvert

Compress Video

Reduce video file size in your browser. Quality preset, codec, resolution, and audio — all configurable.

Drop files anywhere or click to browse

MP4, MOV, MKV, WebM — up to 200 MB

Reduce video file size in your browser. Pick a quality preset (high / balanced / web-mobile / tiny), choose a codec (H.264 in MP4, VP9 in WebM — plus H.265 and AV1 where your browser's native encoder supports them), pick a resolution cap, and decide what to do with the audio. No upload.

How it works

4-step walkthrough

  1. 1

    Drop the video

    MP4, MOV, MKV, WebM, AVI — anything FFmpeg can read. Up to ~200 MB.

  2. 2

    Pick a quality preset

    Four levels span ~30% smaller (near-original quality) to ~80% smaller (aggressive). Each preset maps to a CRF value plus a max-height filter. CRF 22 = visually transparent, CRF 32 = noticeable but acceptable.

  3. 3

    Pick codec, resolution, audio

    H.264 / MP4 is fast and universal; VP9 / WebM produces ~25% smaller files at the same visual quality but encodes ~2× slower. Resolution defaults to "Source" (clamped by the preset) — override to 1080p / 720p / 480p. Audio: re-encode to AAC 128k, passthrough (copy without re-encode), or strip entirely.

  4. 4

    Compress and download

    Re-encoding takes roughly the duration of the source video on H.264, longer on VP9. Output filename ends in .mp4 (H.264) or .webm (VP9).

Why use Dropvert

Local-first, free, no upload required

  • Four quality presets cover most use cases — no need to know what CRF means.
  • Codec choice: H.264 / MP4 (universal playback) or VP9 / WebM (better compression).
  • Explicit resolution cap (Source / 1080p / 720p / 480p) on top of the preset, for when you need a specific dimension.
  • Audio handling: re-encode for compatibility, passthrough for speed + zero quality loss, or strip for the smallest output.
  • Browser-side. Works on private recordings without upload.
  • H.264 output includes the faststart flag so it streams cleanly from a web server (starts playing before fully downloaded).

Frequently asked questions

7 answered

How much can I compress without losing quality?
For most source material: 30–60% size reduction with no visible quality loss on the High preset. Phone-shot footage, screen recordings, and screencasts compress especially well. Heavily-compressed inputs (already-tiny social media clips) compress less because most of the redundancy has already been squeezed out. VP9 typically yields another ~25% smaller files than H.264 at the same perceived quality.
When should I pick VP9 / WebM over H.264 / MP4?
Pick VP9 when output file size matters more than encode speed or older-device compatibility — typically web embeds, hosted gallery uploads, or anywhere you control the playback environment. Stick with H.264 / MP4 when the file will land on phones, in messaging apps, in older video editors, or anywhere universal playback matters.
What are the H.265 and AV1 options, and why don't I always see them?
Those run through your device's native encoder (WebCodecs) instead of the in-browser WASM encoder — typically much faster, with H.265 ~30% smaller than H.264 and AV1 smaller still. The options only appear when your browser + hardware can actually encode the codec: AV1 works in Chrome, Edge, and Firefox; H.265 needs Safari or a Chromium browser on hardware with an HEVC encoder. One trade-off: native encodes carry audio and video only, so subtitle tracks and chapter markers are dropped.
Audio passthrough fails — what's going on?
Passthrough only works when the source audio codec is compatible with the output container. MP4 supports AAC, MP3, ALAC, and a handful of others; WebM only supports Opus and Vorbis. If your source uses a codec the chosen container can't hold (e.g. AC-3 audio in an MP4 source going to a WebM output), passthrough fails. Switch to "Re-encode AAC" — adds 5-15s of encode time and produces a guaranteed-playable output.
Will my video lose quality?
Yes — all the presets re-encode to a lower bitrate or smaller resolution. The High preset is visually transparent for most content; Balanced is acceptable for web; Web/Mobile is noticeable but fine for in-feed playback; Tiny prioritizes file size over fidelity. Re-encoding twice (e.g. compressing an already-compressed video again) loses more than re-compressing once.
How long does compression take?
On H.264 + AAC: roughly the duration of the source video. A 5-minute clip takes ~5 minutes on average hardware. VP9 takes ~2× longer at the same preset — the libvpx-vp9 encoder is more compute-heavy. The "veryfast" tier (used in the Tiny preset for H.264, cpu-used=4 for VP9) is ~2× faster than the default but produces slightly larger files. Audio passthrough is essentially free (no re-encode); stripping is even cheaper.
Are my videos uploaded?
No. Compression runs entirely in your browser via FFmpeg.wasm. The video file never leaves your device.

Related tools

5 suggestions

Trim VideoMerge VideosExtract AudioCompress ImageCompress GIF