Compress a video to under 16 MB
16 MB is the number people look for when a messaging app refuses a video. See how much fits, and get yours under it without uploading it.
Drop your video here
Choose your videoMP4, MOV, WebM or MKV. It opens right here, on your device.
- Nothing uploaded
- No sign-up
- No watermark
What fits in 16 MB
| Picture | At full quality | Longest that fits |
|---|---|---|
| 1080p | 21 s | 46 s |
| 720p | 46 s | 1 min 39 s |
| 540p | 1 min 20 s | 2 min 43 s |
| 480p | 1 min 39 s | 3 min 29 s |
| 360p | 2 min 43 s | 5 min 29 s |
Shycut’s own sums for a 16:9 video at 30 frames a second with sound, at Balanced quality. “Full quality” keeps the bitrate Balanced would use anyway; past “longest that fits”, Shycut makes the picture smaller instead of letting it break up. An upright video fits the same.
Your video, by length
| Length | Comes out as |
|---|---|
| 30 s | 1080p, 3,968 kbps for the picture |
| 1 min | 720p, 1,920 kbps for the picture |
| 3 min | 480p, 555 kbps for the picture |
| 10 min | Too long: up to 5 min 29 s fits |
For a 1080p video at 30 frames a second with sound. The save window does the same sum for your own video before anything is made.
About the 16 MB figure
16 MB is widely quoted as WhatsApp’s media limit, but WhatsApp’s own help pages couldn’t be read when this page was written, so Shycut doesn’t claim it. Check the limit in the app itself; if it is 16 MB, this page’s button aims there.
Messaging apps often recompress what they receive. Sending a file already under the limit, made from your original, usually looks better than letting the app squeeze a big one.
How it works
Open your video
Press the button and drop the file, or pick it from your files. It opens in this browser tab; nothing is uploaded, so the original can be as large as you like.
16 MB is already set
The save window opens set to an MP4 under that size. Shycut works out the bitrate from your video’s length and shows what it will do before you save.
Save
If the video can’t fit at its own size, the picture steps down (1080p, 720p…) and the window says so. If nothing fits, it tells you how long a clip does, so you can trim first.
Questions
Is 16 MB WhatsApp’s limit?
It is often said to be, but Shycut hasn’t been able to read it on WhatsApp’s own pages, so it isn’t stated here as fact.
Why does the app make my video worse anyway?
Many messaging apps compress videos again when they are sent. Starting from a clean file under the limit gives them less to throw away.
Can I compress several videos to 16 MB at once?
Yes. Drop them together on the converter and each one is made to fit, one after another.
Your video stays with you.
Open Shycut, drop the video in and export. Free, with no account, and your video never leaves your device.
Choose your video