Compress preset

Compress Video for WhatsApp

16 MB targetWhatsApp capH.264 MP4

WhatsApp caps media attachments at 16 MB for regular personal and group chats. Unlike Discord or Slack, there is no paid tier that lifts that ceiling on the consumer app, so every video you share through WhatsApp has to fit inside 16 MB before the client will upload it. This tool compresses any source recording to exactly that cap in one pass of two-pass H.264 encoding, keeping the output watchable on the small mobile screens that most recipients will use to view it.

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Compressing for WhatsApp in detail

Because WhatsApp heavily downscales video on its own once uploaded, starting from a tightly compressed 16 MB file actually produces better final playback than a huge source that WhatsApp then re-encodes with no quality control. If you send a 100 MB 4K video through the official WhatsApp compressor on iOS or Android, the result is frequently blocky and desaturated. Pre-compressing with a proper two-pass encoder and targeting the 16 MB cap directly gives you a much cleaner clip on the other end.

For WhatsApp Business Cloud API users, attachments can go up to 100 MB. Pick the 100 MB tier from the buttons above if you are a verified business sender, otherwise stick with the 16 MB default. The whole encode runs in your browser; your family videos and private clips never go to a server.

WhatsApp media rules

Setting	Value	Notes
Video attachment cap	16 MB	Standard WhatsApp on iOS, Android, and Desktop.
Business Cloud API cap	100 MB	Only available to verified business senders.
Maximum duration	No hard cap	The 16 MB ceiling limits practical duration to a few minutes at sensible quality.
Recommended resolution	720p at 16 MB	Balances sharpness with small screen playback.
Container and codec	MP4 / H.264 / AAC	Required for reliable inline playback.
WhatsApp re-encodes uploads	Yes	Uploading a pre-compressed file avoids double-compression artifacts.

When to use this preset

Family updates

Send a clean 720p clip of the kids playing in the park at 16 MB, bypassing the ugly re-compression WhatsApp applies to huge source files.

Group chat reactions

Compress a short reaction clip so the 16 MB cap does not force you to split it into three messages.

Business customer support replies

Verified business senders can use the 100 MB tier to walk a customer through a product fix without dropping to a cloud link.

Status broadcasts

Squeeze a 30 second product launch teaser into 16 MB so it plays immediately in Status without a shareable link step.

Evidence in group chats

Share a short surveillance or dashcam clip at 16 MB when you need people to review it on the spot on their phones.

Frequently asked questions

What is the WhatsApp video size limit?

Standard personal and group chats on WhatsApp cap video attachments at 16 MB per file. The WhatsApp Business Cloud API raises the cap to 100 MB for approved senders. The 16 MB ceiling applies equally on iOS, Android, and WhatsApp Desktop, and there is no subscription that lifts it on the consumer product.

How do I compress a video for WhatsApp?

Drop the video into this tool, leave the target at 16 MB, and click Compress Video. Two-pass H.264 encoding hits that ceiling with a small safety margin. Download the MP4 and attach it in any WhatsApp chat, where it will upload inline without the "file too large" dialog.

Why does WhatsApp reduce video quality?

WhatsApp re-encodes every uploaded video to keep bandwidth usage manageable for billions of users on mobile networks. That re-encode is fast but not quality-optimal, and huge source files produce ugly results. Sending a file already close to the 16 MB cap gives the server less aggressive work to do, which produces a cleaner final playback.

Can I send a long video on WhatsApp?

There is no hard duration cap, only the 16 MB file size limit. Practically, that works out to about 60 to 120 seconds at 720p H.264. For longer clips, pre-trim the video to the most important segment, or use the 100 MB Business API tier if you are an approved sender.

What video format does WhatsApp use?

MP4 with H.264 video and AAC audio is the safest format. This tool outputs that combination by default. MOV files may upload but sometimes fail to preview on Android clients, and MKV is rejected outright by the WhatsApp uploader on most platforms.

How do I send a WhatsApp video without losing quality?

Compress to exactly 16 MB using a good two-pass encoder before sending. When you hand WhatsApp a file near the cap, its server-side re-encode is minimal. When you hand it a 100 MB raw file, the automatic compression does most of the damage. Control the compression yourself and the result is visibly sharper.

Does WhatsApp compress videos automatically?

Yes. Every uploaded video goes through server-side re-encoding before it reaches the recipient. That is why a 30 MB raw recording can reject at upload and also why a file sent at 200 MB looks worse than one sent at 16 MB. The only way to avoid the auto-compression hit is to submit a file that is already small and well-encoded.

100% Private: Your Video Never Leaves Your Device

Compression runs locally in your browser using FFmpeg compiled to WebAssembly. Your video file is read from disk into browser memory, processed there, and the result is saved back to your device. No network request is made during encoding, no data is transmitted, and no server ever sees your footage.