Compress a video for email
Most mail servers cap a message at 20 to 25 MB. A video attachment is also inflated by about a third when it is encoded, so the safe size is smaller than the limit suggests. This page targets 16 MB.
How to send a video by email
- Add the video. The target is already set to 16 MB.
- Press Compress to this size.
- Download the result and attach it. If your mail app still complains, try 10 MB.
Why not just use the 25 MB limit?
Email was designed for text, so attachments are encoded with base64, which makes them roughly a third larger in transit. A 20 MB video becomes about 27 MB on the wire, above a 25 MB message limit, and the server rejects it before the recipient ever sees it. On top of that, the recipient’s server may have a smaller limit than yours.
Aiming at 16 MB leaves room for that inflation, the message text and any signature. For a very short clip you can go higher; for a long one, 16 MB may still be too much for the mailbox.
What fits in 16 MB
| Clip length | Result |
|---|---|
| Up to 30 s | Sharp at 1080p or 720p |
| 1 minute | Good at 720p |
| 3 minutes | Acceptable at 480p |
| 5 minutes or more | Poor; send a link instead |
Better than an attachment
Long videos do not belong in an inbox. If the clip is more than a couple of minutes, upload it and send a link: the recipient gets the full quality, and you avoid bouncing messages. Attaching is fine for a short recorded message, a bug report or a document walkthrough.
If the point is only the sound, extract the audio: a one-minute MP3 is under 1 MB and always gets through.
Questions about Compress video to a size
Why does a 20 MB video fail with a 25 MB limit?
Base64 encoding inflates attachments by about 33%, so the message is larger than the file. 16 MB leaves enough room.
Will the recipient see the same quality?
They receive the compressed file exactly as you downloaded it. No further re-encoding happens in transit.
Is it better to send a link?
For anything over three minutes, yes. A link keeps the original quality and does not fill the recipient’s mailbox.
Can I compress several videos at once?
Yes, up to five, with the results in a ZIP. That is handy for a set of short clips.