Compress a Video for Email (Under 25 MB) — Free, No Upload
Gmail caps attachments at 25 MB and Outlook at 20 MB. This guide compresses any video down to email-friendly sizes without uploading the file.
Step-by-step
Trim out unneeded seconds
A 1-minute 720p clip at CRF 28 is around 15–20 MB. Trim before compressing — every removed second saves bytes.
Compress with CRF 28
Open the Compressor, set CRF to 28 (visually fine for casual viewing). For very long clips, drop the resolution to 720p first.
Verify and attach
Check the output is under 25 MB (Gmail) or 20 MB (Outlook). Attach directly — no cloud upload required.
Recommended settings
| Gmail attachment cap | 25 MB |
|---|---|
| Outlook attachment cap | 20 MB |
| CRF for email | 28 (visually OK) |
| Recommended resolution | 720p (or 1080p for short clips) |
| Codec / format | H.264 in MP4 |
Check before you publish
- Check the file size against the recipient's limit, not yours: Gmail caps at 25 MB and Outlook at 20 MB, and the smaller of the two wins.
- Attachments are base64-encoded in transit, which adds roughly a third. A 24 MB file can still bounce off a 25 MB cap, so leave a few megabytes of headroom.
- Open the compressed copy full-screen before sending. CRF 28 is fine for a screen recording and visibly soft on faces or fast motion.
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FAQ
How long can my video be at 25 MB?
Roughly 60–90 seconds at 720p H.264 CRF 28. 4K clips and high-motion footage compress less well.
Can I send a longer clip?
Drop the resolution to 480p, increase CRF to 30, and trim to the essential 30–60 seconds. Or upload to Drive and share the link.
Does this run in my browser?
Yes — every step in this guide uses an in-browser FFmpeg WebAssembly tool. Your video never uploads to a server and never leaves your device.