Measured locally · April 29, 2026
Browser FFmpeg Benchmarks
These numbers compare the part we can measure honestly: local processing time on one laptop versus the upload time you must pay before a hosted editor can begin work. Cloud editor render time varies by vendor, account tier, queue load, and export settings, so it is described separately instead of guessed.
Test configuration
| Hardware | M2 MacBook Air, 16 GB RAM |
|---|---|
| Browser | Chrome 130, default settings |
| Network assumption | Wi-Fi 6, 50 Mbps upload used for upload-time estimates |
| Checked | April 29, 2026 |
Processing time by task
| Task | This site | Upload-only delay | Hosted editor still needs |
|---|---|---|---|
Trim 30s from a 5-min clip 1080p H.264, 180 MB Local stream-copy avoids re-encoding; it only rewrites the selected segment. | ~2 s | ~29 s | Upload, create project, process/export, then download. |
Compress 1-min 4K to CRF 28 4K H.264, 620 MB Compression is CPU-bound locally; upload is often the slowest part for hosted editors. | ~24 s | ~1 min 39 s | Upload plus server queue and encode time; free-plan file limits may apply by vendor. |
Convert iPhone MOV to MP4 1080p MOV, 180 MB | ~8 s | ~29 s | Upload first, then transcode/remux and download the result. |
Downscale 4K 60 fps to 1080p 30 fps 4K 60 fps, 1 min, 980 MB | ~42 s | ~2 min 37 s | Upload dominates before the editor can even start scaling and encoding. |
Extract audio from a 10-min talk MP4 1080p, 1.1 GB Audio extraction can stream-copy the audio track; no need to upload video pixels. | ~6 s | ~2 min 56 s | Upload the whole video even though the output is only an audio track. |
Upload-only delay is a lower bound: file size × 8 ÷ 50 Mbps. It does not include server queueing, encoding, account prompts, export preparation, or downloading the finished file.
When local wins
- Large source files. The bigger the file, the more time a cloud editor spends before processing starts.
- Stream-copy tasks. Trimming, extracting audio, muting, and metadata cleanup can finish in seconds because they avoid full re-encoding.
- Private footage. Client work, meetings, medical/legal clips, and unreleased content do not need a server copy.
- Repeat iterations. Trying several CRF, crop, or GIF settings is faster when every attempt skips upload.
When a hosted editor is still better
- You need a full timeline with layers, templates, stock assets, transitions, or team collaboration.
- Your device is too slow for heavy 4K/HEVC encoding and you are comfortable uploading the source file.
- You need AI features that require cloud models, such as automatic subtitles, avatars, voice cloning, or background generation.
Reproduce the test
Use the links below with your own files, then compare wall-clock time against your upload speed. For upload estimates, multiply file size in MB by 8 and divide by your upstream Mbps.