Free video trimmer

How do I trim a video?

Add the video above, then set where the clip should start and end: drag the handles, step frame by frame, or pause on the right moment and set it as the start or the end. Choose Fast or Exact, trim and download the clip. It keeps the format of the original when it can. The work happens in your browser, so even a long recording of a confidential tool never leaves your computer.

Trim, cut or split?

The words get mixed up, so here is what each means:

To split a long recording into parts, run the trimmer once per part: 0:00 to 4:30, then 4:30 to 9:00 and so on. Each run leaves the original as it is.

Does trimming lose quality?

Trimming changes only how long the video is, but how it is saved matters. Video is compressed in groups of frames. A keyframe is a complete picture; the frames after it only store what changed. That has two consequences:

• Cutting exactly on a keyframe lets a tool copy the frames as they are, which is fast and loses nothing.
• Cutting between keyframes means the first frames of your clip depend on a picture that is no longer there. A lossless cut then has to start a little early, at the keyframe before your mark; a cut exactly on your frame needs the video re-encoded.

That is why this trimmer has two modes:

For most screen recordings, Fast is the right choice: a start that’s a second early doesn’t matter, and the picture stays exactly as recorded. If you also need a smaller file, trim first and then use the video compressor, which can trim too.

Trimming screen recordings

Almost every screen recording has the same untidy edges: a few seconds of choosing a window or tab, a pause before you start talking, and the reach for the stop button at the end. Trimming those is the single quickest improvement you can make before sharing a recording in a ticket, a pull request, a help article or a chat message.

1. Play the start and set the start just before the first meaningful click or word.
2. Jump to the end and set the end right after the result appears on screen.
3. Watch the first and last two seconds of the trimmed clip, then download.

Other ways to trim a video

Your device may already have a trimmer. On a Mac, QuickTime Player has Edit › Trim; on an iPhone, open the video in Photos and tap Edit; on Windows, the Photos app and Clipchamp can trim too. Those are fine for a quick cut on one device. This page is handy when you’re on a computer without those apps, when the file is a WebM or MKV that they won’t open, or when you want to set the start and end on an exact frame and see the length while you do it.

After trimming

• To share it where MP4 is required, convert it with the video converter.
• To make a short loop for docs or chat, use video to GIF.
• To change the shape for social media, use the video cropper or the video resizer.
• To save a frame as an image for documentation, use the video frame extractor.

Tips

Leave a little air

Cutting right on the first word can sound abrupt. Keep a short beat before speech starts and after the last action.

Trim from the original

Trim the file you recorded rather than a copy that was already compressed, so the clip keeps as much detail as possible.