Best video compressor for Mac

Five ways to make video files smaller on a Mac, from built-in to professional.

Toolbox is a Mac app with many tools in one, sold as a one-time purchase with no subscription. Compress Video is one of its tools.

• Pros: Choose High, Balanced or Small, H.264 or HEVC, an optional size cap, and drop a whole folder. Originals are untouched and nothing is uploaded.
• Cons: Fewer knobs than HandBrake, no per-file bitrate control, and it is paid.

HandBrake is the standard free answer, and for many people it is the right one.

• Pros: Free, open source, and very flexible. Good for tuning quality and for odd formats.
• Cons: The interface has many options, which can be confusing for a quick job.

Fine when you only need a smaller copy of one video.

• Pros: Already on your Mac. File > Export As gives 1080p, 720p or 480p.
• Cons: One file at a time, no quality or codec choice.

Better than Toolbox if converting between formats is your main need.

• Pros: Simple drag and drop, with over 100 formats across video, audio and images. A free trial is offered.
• Cons: Permute 4 requires macOS 26 and Apple Silicon.

Choose it if you already work in Final Cut Pro.

• Pros: Apple's pro tool for encoding and delivery, with detailed control.
• Cons: Built for professional workflows and priced to match; more than most people need.

We looked at what each app does for this one job, what it costs, and where it runs. Prices and features were checked on each maker's own site on 2026-11-03 and can change. Where a price page did not show a figure we could confirm, the table says to see their site.

Toolbox is our own app, so treat our ranking with that in mind. We list it where it fits the job and say plainly when another app is the better pick. Toolbox needs macOS 15 Sequoia or later. For video we also looked at batch support and codec choice.