Processed on this device
Remove Audio

Discord Video Compressor Compress video for Discord's limit

Discord raised its free upload limit from 10 MB to 20 MB on 13 August 2026, so a clip between those two sizes now posts where it used to bounce. This page has the Discord preset plus the current limits for free accounts, Nitro and boosted servers, including the part of the change that still catches people out on phones. The encode happens in this tab, so the clip is never uploaded to us.

  • 20 MB target
  • Nothing uploaded
  • Up to 20 clips

Drop videos or browse your device

MP4, MOV, M4V, MKV, AVI, WebM, WMV, TS, MTS, MPEG, 3GP, FLV and more

Up to 20 videos at once

Privacy-first No uploads Processed locally

Your video is processed in your browser's memory and never uploaded, so the ceiling is set by your device, not by us.

Tries to fit under Discord's 20 MB upload limit for free accounts.

Privacy-first. No uploads. If this helps, share it.

Bigger files? Run it in the Cloud

This tool runs on this device for free. For a file over the device limit or a long video, the same tool runs on our servers, with up to 5 GB per file and 6 hours of video, faster, and with your files kept for up to 7 days, or as long as you choose with any pack or plan. From 1 credit a minute, with 10 credits free when you create an account.

  • The clip never leaves your device

    FFmpeg compiled to WebAssembly runs the encode inside this browser tab. Discord gets the file when you post it and nobody else does, which matters for private server VODs, DM recordings and screen shares with your desktop in frame.

  • Tuned for the 20 MB cap

    The Discord preset encodes H.264 at CRF 27, caps the shorter side of the frame at 720p and drops audio to 96 kbps AAC, then works out a bitrate ceiling from the clip's own duration so it tries to land under 20 MB.

  • 20 clips per batch, 1.75 GB each

    Add a whole folder of gameplay captures at once. They encode one after another, because the browser build is single threaded, and you can take them one by one or as a zip.

Quick answer

How to compress a video for Discord

Discord's free upload limit is 20 MB as of August 2026, up from 10 MB. Add the clip, leave the preset on Discord, and it is re-encoded in your browser to try to land under that cap at 720p. Nothing is sent to a server here, so the only upload is the one you make when you post the result into a channel or a DM.

  1. Add the clip
  2. Keep the Discord preset
  3. Post the smaller MP4
Discord limits

Every Discord upload limit, in one table

Which limit you get depends on both your account and the place you are posting. Nitro travels with your account, while a boost limit belongs to the server you are posting in, which is why the same file can post fine in one place and fail in the next.

Account or serverUpload limitWhat it means
Free account20 MBRaised from 10 MB on 13 August 2026. This is the size the preset on this page aims for.
Nitro Basic50 MBNot touched by the August 2026 change. Enough for most short 1080p clips.
NitroUp to 500 MBThe highest personal limit, also unchanged in August 2026.
Server Boost Level 250 MBApplies inside that boosted server only, not in your DMs or in other servers.
Server Boost Level 3100 MBAlso per server. If you are not sure which limit applies where you are posting, compress for the free 20 MB cap, which is the lowest of these numbers.

Discord changes these numbers without much warning and rolls client updates out gradually, so treat the table as a snapshot. Last verified on 15 August 2026.

August 2026

What changed on 13 August 2026

Discord announced that the free upload limit moved from 10 MB to 20 MB. That 10 MB figure was itself fairly recent: free accounts had 25 MB until September 2024, when the cap was cut, and that cut is what made ordinary phone clips unpostable. So the run of numbers is 25 MB, then 10 MB, then 20 MB. Nitro and Server Boost limits were not part of this announcement and stayed where they were.

If a guide still tells you Discord's free cap is 10 MB, it was written before 13 August 2026 and is out of date. Anything quoting 25 MB predates September 2024.

Phones

The mobile detail that trips people up

The same update changed how the limit is measured on phones. Discord now checks the original file size before its own compression, matching how desktop already worked. On desktop, uploads simply get easier. On mobile, some phone videos can still be rejected even though the cap doubled, because the number being judged is the size of the file you picked, not the smaller size Discord would have produced from it.

  • On desktop the cap doubled and the check still reads the original file size, as it did before.

  • On mobile the size that counts is the file sitting in your gallery, before any Discord side compression.

  • Compressing first removes the guesswork either way, because the file you hand Discord is already under the cap when it is measured.

Compress a clip for Discord in three steps

All three happen in this tab.

  1. 01

    Add your clips

    Drop MP4, MOV, MKV, AVI or WebM files in, or browse your device. Up to 20 at a time and 1.75 GB each, which covers most OBS captures, console recordings and phone videos.

  2. 02

    Leave the preset on Discord

    It aims for under 20 MB at 720p with 96 kbps audio. Posting into a boosted server, or paying for Nitro? Switch to Custom and type 50, 100 or 500 as the target instead.

  3. 03

    Download it, then drag it into Discord

    You get an H.264 MP4 with AAC audio, the combination Discord plays inline across its apps. Check the size on the result card before you post it.

Why compress before posting instead of letting Discord deal with it

Discord is a chat app, not a video host. It re-encodes what you post and serves it from its own CDN, which changes what a good upload actually looks like.

A giant source file buys you nothing

Because Discord re-encodes uploaded video for playback, bitrate above what that re-encode preserves is thrown away before anyone sees the clip. Past that point the extra megabytes buy upload time, not picture.

The error message tells you nothing useful

When a file is over the limit, Discord says "Your files are too powerful" and points at Nitro. It never says how many megabytes over you are, so the only way to find out is to compress and try again.

An attachment beats a link

The usual workaround is dropping the file on a host and pasting the link, but links expire, some servers filter unknown domains, and you lose the inline player. A file under the cap just plays in the channel.

One preset instead of bitrate arithmetic

Hitting 20 MB by hand means dividing the budget by the duration, subtracting the audio track and then picking a CRF. The preset does that from the clip's own length, so a 30 second highlight and a 6 minute recording each get a sensible ceiling.

Only the file size matters? Use the 50 MB compressor or the 100 MB compressor instead.

Privacy

Discord clips are usually private clips

What people compress for Discord tends to be a DM recording, a moderation clip, a bug repro from a work call or a screen share with a chat window in the corner. Pushing that through a stranger's upload based compressor to save a few megabytes is a poor trade.

Here the encode runs in the page itself through WebAssembly. There is no upload step, no processing queue, no temporary copy on our side and no account for a history to hang off. Close the tab and nothing is left behind.

What that means in practice

  • The clip is uploaded once, by you, to Discord
  • We never receive the video or even its file name
  • No account, no watermark, no Nitro upsell on the output
  • Encoding uses your own CPU, so a long clip takes a while

Discord upload troubleshooting

Compress for a specific place

Some places have a hard size limit and a few quirks of their own. These pages open the compressor already set to that target, and explain what the limit actually is.

Frequently asked questions

Free accounts can upload up to 20 MB as of August 2026. Nitro Basic raises that to 50 MB and Nitro to up to 500 MB, while Server Boost Level 2 gives that server 50 MB and Level 3 gives it 100 MB.

Discord upload limits last verified on 15 August 2026.