How to compress a video to send by email
Make a phone video small enough for Gmail or Outlook, and know what to do when it is too long for an attachment.
Phone videos are big. A single minute filmed in 4K can easily be a few hundred megabytes, and most email services stop at 20 or 25 MB. You can make the video small enough to attach in about a minute, without installing anything.
How big can an email attachment be?
| Email service | Attachment limit | Aim for |
|---|---|---|
| Gmail | 25 MB | about 18 MB |
| Outlook.com and Hotmail | 20 MB | about 14 MB |
| Work email (Exchange) | often 10 MB, set by your company | about 7 MB |
Why aim lower than the limit? Attachments are converted to text when they are sent, which makes them about a third bigger on the way. The text of your email counts too. A file that is just under the limit on your computer can still bounce.
How to make a video small enough to email
- Open the compressor at clipabay.com/video-compressor and choose your video.
- Type the size you need in Exact size, such as 18 for Gmail or 14 for Outlook.
- Check the estimate and the picture size it chose. A short video stays at 1080p; a longer one is made smaller so it stays clean.
- Press Save video and attach the MP4 to your email. It plays on every phone and computer.
Tip: sending more than one video? Each one counts towards the same limit, so divide the size between them, or send them in separate emails.
When the video is too long for email
Above two or three minutes, an email-sized file starts to look soft. Then a link is the better choice:
- Gmail offers to put bigger files on Google Drive and sends a link instead.
- Outlook does the same with OneDrive.
- Or cut it down. If only part of the video matters, trim it with the video cutter first. A 40-second video fits in 18 MB at full HD.
Related: compress a video for Discord and send a long video on WhatsApp.
Questions
How do I email a video that is too big?
Compress it to about 18 MB for Gmail or 14 MB for Outlook, then attach it. For long videos, send a Google Drive or OneDrive link instead.
Why did my email bounce when the file was under 25 MB?
Attachments grow by about a third when they are sent, because they are turned into text. Leave some room below the limit.
Will the video still play on an iPhone?
Yes. Clipabay saves an MP4 with H.264 video, which plays on iPhone, Android, Windows and Mac.