TL;DR: Need to compress video for Discord without losing quality? This guide covers 6 quick ways to reduce video size to 8MB, 10MB, or 500MB using desktop software, online compressors, and mobile apps.
Whether you're compressing an MP4 on Windows or Mac, compressing video online, or shrinking a video on iPhone or Android, you'll find step-by-step methods to get your files within Discord's upload limit while preserving as much quality as possible.
If you frequently share gameplay recordings, short videos, screen recordings, or streaming clips on Discord, you may run into problems such as oversized video files, slow uploads, or even being unable to send a video. High-resolution or high-frame-rate videos can be especially large, with just a few minutes of footage taking up hundreds of MB. Compressing your video is a direct way to solve this problem. By lowering the video resolution, bitrate, or frame rate, or choosing a more efficient video format, you can reduce the file size while preserving as much video quality as possible.
In this article, we'll introduce 6 ways to compress video for Discord, including online tools, desktop software, and mobile apps.
Before compressing a video, you should first check the Discord video file size limit for your account. The limit is important because there is little point in compressing a video to 50MB if your account can only upload 20MB files.
Here is a brief overview of Discord's file size limits as of August 2026:
A desktop compressor is a flexible choice for large videos, 4K footage, gameplay recordings, or batch compression. It gives you more control over resolution, bitrate, and format, making it a practical option when looking for the best way to compress video for Discord without sacrificing too much quality.
Here are two desktop options to consider.
Video Converter Ultimate is a desktop video converter and compressor for Windows and Mac. It can help you compress videos for Discord by adjusting the video size, resolution, bitrate, and output format. This makes it useful for reducing large gameplay recordings, 4K videos, or other files that exceed Discord's upload limit. You can also preview the compressed video before saving it, making it easier to balance file size and video quality.
Key features of Video Converter Ultimate:
How to compress video for Discord without losing quality?
01Open Video Converter Ultimate and select "Video Compressor". Add the video you want to upload to Discord.
02Adjust the compression level, resolution, and bitrate to reduce the file size while maintaining good video quality. Use the preview feature to check the result.
03Click "Compress" to process the video, then save the compressed file and upload it to Discord.
HandBrake is a free, open-source video transcoder available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. It can compress videos by re-encoding them with different codecs, quality settings, resolutions, and bitrates, making it useful for reducing large video files before uploading them to Discord.
For Discord users, HandBrake supports common output formats such as MP4 and MKV, along with H.264, H.265, and AV1 video encoders. You can also use its built-in presets or manually adjust encoding settings to find a balance between file size and video quality.
Here is how to use HandBrake to compress video for Discord for free:
Step 1. Download and launch HandBrake, then click "File" or "Open Source" to import the video you want to compress.
Step 2. Go to the "Summary" tab and select "MP4" as the format. Then open the "Video" tab and choose "H.264" or "H.265" as the encoder. Lower the "Quality" setting or use a lower resolution if you need a significantly smaller file.
Step 3. Check the estimated output and preview the result if needed. Choose a destination folder, then click "Start Encode" to create the compressed video.
If you only need to compress a Discord video occasionally and don't want to install desktop software, an online video compressor can be more convenient. These tools typically let you upload a video, choose your compression settings, and download the compressed file.
However, uploading large videos requires a stable internet connection, and different services may have limits on file size, processing time, and free features. Here are two tools suitable for quickly compressing videos for Discord.
8mb.video is a free online video compression tool designed especially for reducing videos to smaller file sizes for sharing on Discord. It can compress uploaded videos to a selected target size, including 8MB, 10MB, 20MB, 25MB, 50MB, and 100MB.
For users searching for compress video for Discord 8MB, 8mb.video is particularly convenient because you can simply upload a video and select the 8MB target. The service handles the compression automatically, so you don't need to manually calculate bitrate or configure encoding parameters.
Here is how to compress video for Discord to 8MB:
Step 1. Open 8mb.video on your computer or mobile device and upload the video you want to compress. If supported, you can also paste a video link.
Step 2. Choose a target size: 8MB, 10MB, 20MB, 25MB, 50MB, or 100MB, or enter any custom size you prefer.
Step 3. Start the compression process and wait for it to finish.
Step 4. Once the process is complete, download the compressed video and check its file size before uploading it to Discord.
If you want to compress a Discord video without installing desktop software, VEED.io is another option. VEED.io provides a dedicated Discord video compressor that lets you reduce a video's file size directly in your browser. You can adjust the resolution and quality and check the estimated file size before exporting.
In addition to video compression, VEED.io offers editing, trimming, resizing, and format conversion features. If your Discord video needs more than just compression, such as removing unwanted clips, an all-in-one online tool can be more convenient.
Here is how to compress video for Discord size using VEED.io:
Step 1. Open VEED's Discord Video Compressor and upload the video you want to send on Discord. You can also drag and drop the file into the editor. VEED supports common formats such as MP4, MOV, MKV, AVI, and WMV.
Step 2. Choose a lower quality and resolution to reduce the file size. VEED displays an estimated output size as you change the settings, making it easier to get the video within your Discord upload limit. For more control, open Advanced Settings to adjust the CRF, bitrate, and frame rate.
Step 3. Click "Compress Video" and wait for VEED to process the file. Once compression is complete, download the video and check its file size before uploading it to Discord.
Many Discord users record and share videos directly from their phones, so there's no need to transfer videos to a computer before compressing them. With a mobile video compression app, you can select a video from your gallery, reduce its file size, and then share it on Discord.
If you mainly use an iPhone or Android device, the following two apps are worth considering for mobile video compression.
Video Compress - Shrink Vids is an iPhone and iPad video compression app. It is designed to reduce video file sizes to save storage, share videos through messaging apps, and upload to social media. The app processes videos directly on the device, so videos do not need to be uploaded to a cloud server, and it can work offline without an account or registration.
For compressing iPhone video for Discord, this app lets you reduce video size directly on your iPhone or iPad before uploading. You can choose a lower resolution, adjust the compression level with the bitrate slider, and preview the result before saving.
Here is how to compress iPhone video for Discord:
Step 1. Open the App Store, search for "Video Compress - Shrink Vids", and tap "Get" to install the app.
Step 2. Open the app and tap the "+" button to select a video from your iPhone. If prompted, allow the app to access your photos and videos.
Step 3. Choose a compression preset. For a 1080p video with limited fast-moving content, you can select 720p to reduce the file size while keeping decent quality.
Step 4. Adjust the bitrate to further reduce the video size.
Step 5. Preview the compressed video and tap "Continue" to compress the video for Discord.
Step 6. When the process is complete, find the compressed video in your Photos app and upload it to Discord.
Video Compressor - Reduce Size is an Android video compression app designed to reduce video file sizes directly on Android devices without uploading videos to the cloud or adding watermarks. It supports Android 5.0 through Android 15 and offers both preset and custom compression options.
For compressing video for Discord on Android, this app can be useful because it allows you to enter a specific target file size instead of relying only on general quality presets. This makes it easier to shrink large videos to a size suitable for sharing on Discord.
Here is how to compress Android video for Discord:
Step 1. Open Video Compressor - Reduce Size on your Android phone and select the video you want to compress.
Step 2. Choose the option to enter a specific target file size in MB. Enter the size you want the compressed video to be, such as 8MB, 10MB, or another size suitable for your Discord upload. You can also choose a preset such as 480p, 640p, or 720p, or set a custom resolution.
Step 3. Generate the app's 10-second preview to check the expected quality before running the full compression. You can also compare the original and compressed videos side by side.
Step 4. Start the compression process and wait for it to finish. The app processes the video directly on your Android device, without requiring an internet connection or adding a watermark.
Step 5. Open Discord, go to the desired server or chat, and upload the newly compressed video.
Q1. Why can't I upload my video to Discord?
The most common reason is that the video file exceeds the upload size limit allowed by your Discord account. According to Discord, as of August 2026, the file upload limit is 20 MB for free accounts, 50 MB for Nitro Basic, and up to 500 MB for Nitro.
If your video is within the limit but still won't upload, you can also check:
Q2. Does Discord compress videos?
Discord may process uploaded videos, but you shouldn't rely on Discord's automatic processing to solve file size limitations. Discord currently checks the file size before compression, so an original video that exceeds your account's upload limit may still fail to upload.
Therefore, if your goal is to ensure that your video can be uploaded to Discord, it's best to compress the video before uploading.
Q3. Why can't I upload a video after compressing it to 8 MB or less?
If the video is already smaller than 8 MB but still cannot be uploaded, the issue may not be related to file size. First, check the following:
Also, 8 MB is no longer Discord's official file size limit for free accounts. As of August 2026, Discord states that the upload limit for free accounts is 20 MB. Therefore, if you're uploading videos to Discord with a free account, there's generally no need to over-compress a video just to get it below 8 MB.
Q4. What format should I compress a Discord video to?
For Discord videos, MP4 is generally a convenient choice. Discord officially lists common supported video formats such as MOV and MP4, with MP4 supporting H.264, HEVC/H.265, and AV1 codecs. If compatibility is your priority, you can use the following settings:
If the original video is already in MP4 format, you don't necessarily need to convert it just to upload it to Discord. In most cases, simply reducing the file size is enough.
Q5. Does compressing a Discord video reduce video quality?
Compression can cause some loss of video quality, but with the right settings, the impact can usually be kept to a minimum. If you want to preserve as much quality as possible, start by adjusting parameters that have a significant impact on file size, such as resolution or bitrate. Then preview the compressed video before deciding whether to compress it further.
If you only share small videos occasionally, an online video compressor or mobile app can quickly solve Discord file size issues. However, if you frequently handle gameplay recordings, long videos, or 4K/8K footage, desktop software is more convenient because it gives you greater control over file size, resolution, bitrate, and output format.
Video Converter Ultimate provides a dedicated video compression feature that lets you reduce video file size while adjusting output settings, making it suitable for users who want to control Discord video size while maintaining good quality.
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