Compress MOV videos from your iPhone, iPad or Mac
This MOV compressor shrinks QuickTime .mov files — the format iPhones, iPads, Macs and many cameras record — without sending them to a server. Choose a target size or a quality level, keep the MOV format or switch to MP4, and pick H.264 or HEVC. Portrait clips stay upright, and if the video is HDR you are told exactly what will happen to its colours before you start.
Phone videos are big because the camera records at a high bitrate, often in 4K and sometimes at 60 frames per second. That is ideal for editing but far more than you need to send a clip to family, attach it to an email or upload it to a form. Lowering the resolution to 1080p or 720p and re-encoding usually makes a dramatic difference. The work is done by your browser’s WebCodecs encoders through the Mediabunny library (MPL-2.0).
How to use the MOV Compressor
- Drop the .mov file on the box, or on an iPhone or iPad open this page in Safari, tap the box and choose the video.
- Check the details: resolution and rotation, frame rate, HEVC or H.264, whether it is HDR, and the audio.
- Choose MOV or MP4 as the output format and H.264 or HEVC as the codec.
- Set a Target file size or Quality; for 4K clips pick 1080p or 720p under Max resolution.
- Press Compress video, compare the two versions and press Download.
MOV Compressor features
MOV in, MOV or MP4 out
Keep the QuickTime format for Apple apps, or choose MP4 for Windows, Android and websites — the codecs are the same, only the wrapper changes.
Stays upright
iPhones store portrait video sideways with a rotation flag. The flag is kept, or the frames are turned upright when the video is resized, so it always plays the right way up.
HDR handled honestly
HDR clips are converted to standard dynamic range with your browser’s colour management, and the tool explains the change before you compress.
HEVC for Apple players
HEVC output is tagged hvc1, the variant QuickTime and iOS expect.
Nothing dropped silently
Some camera files carry timecode or timed-metadata tracks beside the video and audio. They aren’t copied, and the tool lists them first.
What happens to HDR (Dolby Vision and HLG) video
Recent iPhones can record HDR video, controlled by the HDR Video switch (Apple Support gives the path Settings › Camera › Record Video). Apple’s developer guide describes the format as Dolby Vision Profile 8 with cross-compatibility ID 4: 10-bit HEVC in BT.2020 colour, designed so that any HEVC decoder can read it as HLG. Your browser decodes that HLG picture; the extra Dolby Vision metadata is not used.
The encoders available to web pages write 8-bit standard-dynamic-range video, so the tool converts HDR clips to SDR (BT.709) by drawing each frame through the browser’s colour management. On an ordinary screen the result looks much like the preview you see here. On an HDR phone or TV, bright highlights look less intense and the most saturated colours are toned down. If you need HDR, keep the original.
MOV or MP4: which should you save?
MP4 (ISO/IEC 14496-14) is built on the ISO base media file format, which grew out of Apple’s QuickTime format, so the two are close relatives. The difference is mostly about where the file goes next.
| MOV (QuickTime) | MP4 | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Photos, iMovie, Final Cut Pro and other Apple apps | Sharing, Windows, Android, websites, social media |
| Video codecs here | H.264 or HEVC | H.264 or HEVC |
| Audio | AAC, copied without re-encoding | AAC, copied without re-encoding |
| Rotation | Kept | Kept |
How much resolution saves
The number of pixels per frame drives how many bits a video needs. Going from 4K to 1080p leaves a quarter of the pixels, so the same quality fits in a much smaller file. For sharing on phones, 1080p or 720p is usually plenty.
| Resolution | Pixels per frame | Share of 4K |
|---|---|---|
| 4K (3840×2160) | 8.3 million | 100% |
| 1080p (1920×1080) | 2.1 million | 25% |
| 720p (1280×720) | 0.9 million | 11% |
| 480p (854×480) | 0.4 million | 5% |
MOV Compressor FAQ
How do I compress a video from my iPhone?
Open this page in Safari, tap the drop area and pick the video, then choose a size or quality and press Compress video. Safari 16.4 or later is needed. Versions before Safari 26 can’t encode audio, so the sound is copied as it is or removed.
Should I keep MOV or convert to MP4?
Keep MOV if the clip stays in Apple apps. Choose MP4 for anything you will share with Windows or Android users, upload to a website or send through a messaging app.
Why do my compressed iPhone videos look less bright?
They were HDR. The compressed copy is standard dynamic range, so on an HDR screen highlights are less intense. On a normal screen the difference is small.
Will a vertical video stay vertical?
Yes. The rotation from the original is kept, or applied to the frames when the video is resized, so it plays upright in every player.
Should I use HEVC to make the MOV smaller?
HEVC gives the smallest files at a given quality and suits Apple devices perfectly. Use H.264 if the clip is going to older Windows PCs, smart TVs or apps that don’t support HEVC. For the smallest size, see the MP4 compressor or the video compressor, which also offers AV1.
Can it compress ProRes or other camera MOV files?
Yes. Browsers can’t decode ProRes, DV or Motion JPEG, so the page offers to decode them with ffmpeg.wasm (GPL-2.0-or-later, a one-time 32 MB download you confirm) and then compresses the result as usual. It runs on one CPU core, so long clips take a while.
Is it safe to compress private videos with this MOV compressor?
Yes. The file is processed by your browser on your own device and is never uploaded. Closing the tab discards everything.