✂️ Video Trimmer ☆

Trim videos without uploading them

Free Video Trimmer cuts the start and end off any video in your browser. Drop a file, set the range on the timeline and export, the trimmed clip is processed with FFmpeg (WebAssembly) and stays on your device the whole time.

How to trim a video

• Drop an MP4, MOV, WebM or MKV file above
• Drag the handles to set start and end points
• Export and download the trimmed clip

Good to know

• Stream-copy keeps the original quality when the cut points allow it
• Re-encoding kicks in for frame-accurate cuts
• No watermark, and no upload limit, processing is bounded only by your device memory

How trimming works

You set start and end points on the timeline and the clip is cut with FFmpeg in the browser. When the cut points fall on keyframes, stream-copy mode copies the existing video and audio streams without re-encoding, instant and lossless. For frame-accurate cuts, the tool re-encodes the segment, which is slower but exact. The original file is never modified; the trimmed clip is downloaded as a new file.

Processing details and limits

Privacy: the video never leaves the browser

Trimming is often the first step before sharing private footage, so the file is processed locally. Nothing is transmitted, stored or logged, and closing the tab releases the memory.

Trimming tips

• Use stream-copy when you only need approximate cuts. It is instant.
• Use re-encode when the cut must land on an exact frame.
• Trim before compressing to spend the bitrate on the part you keep.
• Check audio sync on re-encoded clips with unusual frame rates.
• Keep the original until the trimmed file is verified.

Related: browse the conversion tools for compression, GIF and audio extraction.

Keyframes, re-encoding and output quality

Not every trim is equally fast, and the reason is keyframes. Compressed video stores full frames only at keyframe intervals, often every one to ten seconds, and the frames in between are deltas that depend on them. A cut that starts exactly on a keyframe can be copied without re-encoding, which is nearly lossless and very fast. A cut in the middle of an interval forces the tool to decode from the previous keyframe and re-encode the segment, which takes longer and applies one generation of quality loss. The trimmer chooses the safest path automatically: it keeps the original codec where possible and re-encodes only what the cut requires. Two practical consequences follow. First, very long clips are usually faster to trim near a keyframe than mid-scene. Second, the exported file keeps the original resolution and frame rate, so a 1080p60 source stays 1080p60. Audio is trimmed with the same boundaries and re-muxed, so lip-sync stays intact. If the result must stream instantly on the web, the output is written with the metadata at the front of the file, a small detail that prevents the player from downloading the whole clip before showing the first frame.