How to Compress Video for YouTube Effectively[Detailed Guide]

What Are YouTube's Ideal Compression Standards?

When compressing videos for YouTube, use the right video and audio encoding parameters to preserve quality, rather than simply aiming for maximum compression. Below are the official recommended encoding parameters from YouTube:

• Video Codec: H.264
• Audio Codec: AAC
• Sample Rate: 48 kHz

5 Best YouTube Video Compressors for PC

This part shows a brief introduction to the 5 useful video compressors for YouTube.

• MiniTool Video Converter
• HandBrake
• Movavi Video Converter
• VEED
• Clideo

Quick Comparison

#1. MiniTool Video Converter

MiniTool Video Converter is an excellent YouTube video compressor. It supports compressing multiple video formats, such as MP4, MOV, MKV, AVI, MPEG, VOB, WEBM, OGV, etc. Moreover, you can adjust the compression level of the video at will to achieve the video quality you want. In addition, the software also allows you to preview the compressed video.

Furthermore, this tool can compress up to five videos at once. If you need to compress multiple videos, this software is a great choice. You can also export compressed videos as MP4, WebM, or MKV files. Among them, MP4 and WebM are both upload formats supported by YouTube.

What’s more, MiniTool Video Converter features a built-in, convenient video cutting tool. You can use it to trim unwanted parts of a video and reduce the file size.

#2. HandBrake

HandBrake is a free and open-source video compressor for YouTube. It is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. It supports importing videos in most popular formats and its supported sources include DVDs and Blu-ray sources without copy protection. You can use it to compress videos for YouTube. It offers many presets for standard or high-quality conversions. Furthermore, it enables you to tweak many basic and advanced options to improve your video encodes.

#3. Movavi Video Converter

Movavi Video Converter is a good YouTube video compressor that is compatible with both Windows and Mac. It enables you to compress large video file sizes without losing quality. Moreover, it supports a wide range of formats like MP4, AVI, MOV, VOB, MKV, and more. You can use it to get a video in a smaller file size and upload it on YouTube easily.

It can also work as a video upscaler that offers you the AI-powered feature to upscale the quality of your videos. Furthermore, it has some editing tools that enable you to trim or crop your video and make other editions to create stunning videos.

#4 VEED

VEED is an all-in-one tool that works as a video editor, screen recorder, video compressor, etc. It can help you shrink video size. You can use it to compress MOV, MP4, AVI, YouTube videos, and others. What’s more, it can also help you compress GIFs.

#5 Clideo

Clideo is a versatile tool that can edit videos, compress videos, make slideshows, and others. As a video compressor, it supports many formats, such as MP4, WMV, and VOB, and enables you to compress a video easily with its simple interface.

In addition to the above video compressors for YouTube, you can try other good video compressors like Adobe Media Encoder, Any Video Converter, iMovie, and others.

How to Compress Video for YouTube on PC

After knowing the useful YouTube video compressors on PC, it is necessary to learn how to use them to make YouTube videos. This part mainly guides you on how to compress a video for YouTube with MiniTool Video Converter (offline) and VEED (online).

Method 1: Use MiniTool Video Converter (Offline)

As shown above, MiniTool Video Converter supports reducing file size by compressing and trimming videos. The specific steps are provided below.

Here’s how to make YouTube video compression with MiniTool Video Converter.

Option 1: Use Video Compression

• Open MiniTool Video Converter
• Move to the Compress Video section
• Import a video
• Adjust compression settings
• Choose an output format
• Start and end video compression
• View and locate the compressed video

MiniTool Video Converter

• Batch convert video/audio files among 1000+ formats.

• Quickly compress videos for easy storage and transfer.

• Accurately extract subtitles from video/audio files.

• Effectively enhance video quality.

Buy Now Free Download

1. Click the download button above to get MiniTool Video Converter and install it on your computer.

2. Open this free video converter to enter its main interface. Switch to the Compress Video option, click Add or drag files here to start compression, or click Add Files to choose the YouTube video you want to compress, and click Open to import it.

3. Click on the Settings icon for the video file to open the Compression Settings window. Then, drag the red dot on the slider to adjust the compression percentage. Click Advanced Settings to set the video and audio codecs. After that, choose the output format. You can click the Preview button to check the video quality if you want. Lastly, click OK to save your changes.

4. Click the Compress button to start compressing.

5. When the video conversion is finished, it will automatically jump to the Completed tab. Here, you can find the compressed video. Click the play icon of the video to play it directly, and click the folder icon to view the location where the file is saved.

Option 2: Use Video Cutting

• Move to the Cut Video section
• Import the target video
• Cut or trim the video
• Preview the video
• Choose a file save location
• Export the video

1. Navigate to the Home page. Then, click the Cut Video option to import the target video from a local file.

2. In the Cut Video interface, tap the video clip and move the playhead to the start and end points around the unwanted section. Tap the Cut icon to split out the selected segment, then select the separated clip and tap Delete to remove it.

3. Alternatively, you can hover the mouse over the beginning or end of the video. When the double-arrow icon appears, drag the edge to the desired position to trim the unwanted footage.

4. Then, click the Play icon to check if the video satisfies you. Next, expand the Output option to select a file save location.

5. Finally, check Merge into one file to save all the remaining clips as one complete video. Then, click Export to save the result.

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Method 2: VEED (Online)

• Visit VEED
• Add a video
• Choose video quality and resolution
• Start compression
• Save the compressed video

Here are the steps on how to compress videos for YouTube with VEED.

1. Visit the official website of VEED, go to the Tools tab, and click the Video Compressor option.

2. Click the Compress a video button and click the Upload files option to import your video.

3. Expand the Quality dropdown and choose one from Low, Medium, and High. Expand the Resolution dropdown; you can select the 1920 × 1080 (1080p, HD, Instagram, YouTube) option or other options.

4. Click the Compress Video button to start compression. Later, you can click the Download file button to save the compressed video to your computer.

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Final Words

It is necessary to compress video for YouTube to shorten upload times. The 5 excellent video compressors mentioned above can make video size smaller easily and efficiently. You can choose a video compressor like MiniTool Video Converter and follow the above guidance to have a try.

Hopefully, this article can be helpful to you! If you have any questions or comments about MiniTool Video Converter, please send an email to support@minitool.com for help.

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