How to Compress a Video for WhatsApp

PDFly guide · Updated October 2026

You record a great clip, press send on WhatsApp and get a message that the video is too large. WhatsApp allows videos of roughly 16 MB when you send them as a normal video. PDFly's Compress Video for WhatsApp shrinks the file to fit, and it all happens on your device, so the video is never uploaded.

How to do it

1. Choose your video. Drop it on the page or press Choose video. MP4, MOV, WEBM and most phone videos work.
2. Pick a size. Best quality (720p), Balanced (480p) or Smallest (360p). Each option shows an estimated file size.
3. Keep the 16 MB option on. With it ticked, PDFly lowers the quality automatically when needed so the result stays under the WhatsApp limit.
4. Press Compress video and keep the page open. A progress bar shows how much is done and how long is left.
5. Preview and download. Watch the result, then save it and send it from WhatsApp as usual.

Which size should you choose?

• 720p looks sharp on any phone. It suits clips up to about a minute.
• 480p is the best choice for longer videos: still clear on a phone screen, and far smaller.
• 360p gives tiny files for slow connections or videos that are very long.

The longer the video, the fewer megabytes each second can use. A 30 second clip fits easily at 720p, while a 5 minute video usually needs 480p or 360p to stay under 16 MB.

Good to know

• It takes about as long as the video. The video is played through once while it is compressed. Keep the tab open and visible, because browsers can pause background tabs.
• Use Chrome, Edge or Safari. They save a real MP4, which is what WhatsApp expects. Some browsers can only save WebM.
• Sound is kept. The audio is re-encoded at a small size along with the picture.
• Already small? If the video cannot be made smaller, PDFly tells you and keeps the original.
• You can also send a very long video as a document in WhatsApp, which allows bigger files without compression.