How to compress a video on Mac

macOS can shrink a video without any extra software. It works well for a single file and gives you a few fixed sizes.

1. Open the video in QuickTime Player.
2. Choose File > Export As and pick a resolution such as 1080p, 720p or 480p.
3. Choose a name and a place to save it, then click Save.

The lower the resolution, the smaller the file. You cannot choose a quality level or a codec here, and you export one video at a time.

Compress Video is one of the tools in Toolbox. It runs on your Mac, so your videos are not uploaded anywhere, and you can drop in a whole folder at once.

1. Open Compress Video and drop one or more videos, or a folder.
2. Choose a quality (High, Balanced or Small) and a format (H.264 or HEVC).
3. Optionally set a maximum size, remove the audio or use the hardware encoder for speed.
4. Click Compress and find the smaller files in a new folder in Downloads.

Your original files are not changed, and a video is never enlarged when you set a maximum size.

High gives a barely noticeable difference from the original. Balanced suits most uses. Small makes the smallest files. You can also cap the size at 1080p, 720p or 480p.

Use QuickTime Player when you have one video and a fixed resolution is enough. Use Toolbox when you have several files, want to choose HEVC or a quality level, or want to keep the same resolution and only reduce the size.