A HandBrake alternative with nothing to install

HandBrake is a free, open-source video transcoder you install on Windows, macOS or Linux, with many encoders, presets and fine control. Shycut runs in your browser instead, on a computer or a phone: there is nothing to install, nothing is uploaded, and you can tell it the file size to stay under.

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Shycut · HandBrake

Topic	Shycut	HandBrake
Where the work happens	In your browser, on your device. Nothing is uploaded.	On your own computer, in the app you install.
Installing	Nothing to install: open the page. It can also be installed as a web app.	A download for Windows 10 and later, macOS 10.13 and later, or Linux (Flatpak). The Windows app needs Microsoft .NET Desktop Runtime 10.0.
On a phone	Works in a current phone browser.	Official releases are for Linux, Mac and Windows; versions from third parties are not supported.
Computer it needs	Any computer or phone with a current browser; long videos are fastest on a computer.	Formally supports recent processors (Intel Core 9th generation and newer, AMD Ryzen, Apple M1 and newer) and 16 GB of memory for HD, 32 GB for 4K.
Price and account	Free, no account, no watermark.	Free and open source (GPL v2), no account needed.
Files it opens	MP4, MOV, WebM, MKV and M4V.	Most common video files, professional formats such as ProRes and DNxHD, and DVD and Blu-ray without copy protection.
Files it saves	H.264 MP4, VP9 WebM or MOV; also a GIF, the sound alone (M4A, MP3, WAV) or one frame (JPG, PNG).	MP4, MKV or WebM, with AV1, H.265, H.264, MPEG-4, MPEG-2, VP8 or VP9 video.
Hitting a file size	Type a limit, such as 20 MB: the bitrate is worked out from the video’s length, and the picture gets smaller one step at a time if it must.	Constant quality by default, so the size varies with the video. An average bitrate mode controls size, and Social presets keep clips up to a set length (30 seconds to 5 minutes) under 25 MB.
Quality settings	Small file, Balanced or High; original size, 1080p or 720p.	Device, web, Matroska, hardware and production presets, plus a quality slider (RF) and basic and advanced settings to fine-tune each encode.
Several files	Several videos at once, with the same recipe or format.	Batch scan and a queue of encodes.
Subtitles	Writes captions from speech on your device; burn them in or save an SRT file.	Keeps existing subtitles and adds or removes soft ones (SRT, SSA, VobSub, CEA-608).
Editing	Cut parts out, join clips, blur faces and plates, cut silences, resize to 9:16.	Crop, resize, filters and range selection. It does not join clips, and its docs point you to an editor for other changes.

Checked on 26 October 2026 · Product names belong to their owners. Their details come from their own public pages on the date above and can change; check their site before you decide.

When HandBrake is the better choice

If you convert a lot of video on your own computer and want full control, HandBrake is made for that: H.265 and AV1, MKV, constant quality, hardware encoders, filters such as deinterlace and denoise, and a queue that works through a whole folder. It is free and open source too, so price is no reason to switch.

It is also the tool for DVD and Blu-ray sources without copy protection, professional camera formats and surround sound passed through as it is. Shycut opens MP4, MOV, WebM, MKV and M4V, and saves MP4, WebM, MOV, a GIF, the sound alone or one frame.

When Shycut is the better choice

If you can’t or don’t want to install software, on a phone or on a work or school computer you don’t control, Shycut opens in the browser and does the job there. Nothing is uploaded, so the video stays on your device, just as it would in HandBrake.

It also takes the goal as a number: type “keep it under 20 MB” and Shycut works out the bitrate from the video’s length, makes the picture a step smaller if it must, and tells you when a clip is too long to fit. And it edits before it saves: cut parts out, join clips, blur faces and plates, cut silences, add captions or turn the video vertical.

Questions

Is Shycut as powerful as HandBrake?

No, and it doesn’t try to be. HandBrake has many more encoders, containers, filters and settings. Shycut saves an H.264 MP4, a VP9 WebM or a MOV at three quality levels, and adds the edits HandBrake leaves to a video editor.

Can I compress a video to a set size, like 10 MB?

Yes. Type the limit before saving and Shycut aims the file under it, making the picture smaller step by step down to 360p if it has to. In our test, 60 seconds of 1080p video aimed at 10 MB came out at 9.24 MB, at 720p. If a clip is too long to fit even then, Shycut says how long a clip would fit instead of making a broken file.

Does it work on Android, iPhone or a Mac?

Yes, in a current browser such as Chrome, Edge or Safari, on a computer or a phone. You can also install it from the browser as a web app. Long videos are fastest on a computer.

Is my video uploaded?

No. Shycut opens, edits and saves the video in your browser, on your own device, just as HandBrake does in its app. The only downloads are the app itself and, if you hide faces and plates or add captions, their AI models, once.

Your video stays with you.

Open Shycut, drop the video in and export. Free, with no account, and your video never leaves your device.

Open Shycut