Compress Video for YouTube

YouTube recommends specific settings for uploads. Compress your video to reduce upload time while staying within YouTube's quality guidelines.

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YouTube upload optimization

YouTube transcodes everything anyway, but uploading a smaller pre-compressed file is faster and can result in higher initial quality before YouTube finishes processing the full-quality version.

How to Get Started

1.
Load your video — Drop your YouTube-destined video into the tool.
2.
Keep quality high — Use 75-85% quality for YouTube. Resolution: keep original or reduce to 1080p.
3.
Upload to YouTube — Download the compressed file and upload to YouTube Studio.

Key Features

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YouTube ready

H.264 MP4 is YouTube's recommended upload format.

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Faster uploads

Smaller files upload faster on slow connections.

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Quality preserved

At 75%+ quality, videos look professional on YouTube.

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Private processing

Your content stays on your device until you choose to upload.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does YouTube compress videos after upload?

Yes. YouTube re-encodes all uploads. Pre-compressing saves bandwidth but YouTube will still process it.

What quality setting for YouTube?

Use 75-85% quality. Going below 70% may introduce artifacts that remain visible after YouTube's processing.

Should I keep 4K or downscale for YouTube?

Keep 4K if your source is 4K — YouTube will serve it at higher quality. For faster processing and upload, 1080p is fine for most content.

What about YouTube Shorts?

Shorts are typically short vertical clips. Compress to 1080×1920 at 70% quality — they'll be well under YouTube's limits.

Related

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Reduce File Size

General video file size reduction guide.

Ready to compress for YouTube?

Go to the Video Compressor →