How to trim a video online for free
- Pick a video. It opens straight from your computer. The page reads it with your browser’s own video tools, so nothing is uploaded and there’s no file size cap beyond your computer’s memory.
- Find the start. Play or scrub to the first frame you want to keep and press Set start at playhead. You can also type the time in seconds.
- Find the end. Move to the last moment you want and press Set end at playhead. The orange band under the video shows what you’ll keep.
- Check it. Play selection plays just the part you kept and stops at the end point.
- Export. You get an MP4 (or a WebM in browsers that can’t make MP4) with no watermark, saved to your downloads.
Tips for a clean trim
- Use the pause, then nudge. Pause near the cut, then use the arrow keys on the video (in most browsers) or type a time like 12.4 to land on the exact moment.
- Leave a beat. Starting a fraction of a second before you speak, and ending a fraction after, sounds less abrupt than cutting right on the word.
- Screen recordings: cut the bit where you reach for the stop button, and the first second where the window is still settling.
Why does export take time?
The trimmed range is decoded and re-encoded on your computer, so the result starts exactly where you set it rather than at the nearest keyframe. That takes roughly as long as the clip, sometimes less on a fast machine. Keep the tab open until the bar fills.
Trimming without re-encoding
If you have ffmpeg installed, open “ffmpeg command” above for a ready-made command. It uses -c copy, which is near-instant and lossless but can only cut on keyframes, so the start may land a second or two early.
| Method | Speed | Exact cut | Quality |
|---|---|---|---|
| This page | About real time | Yes | Re-encoded at high quality |
ffmpeg -c copy | Seconds | Keyframe only | Untouched |
| QuickTime Player (Mac) | Fast | Mostly | Re-encoded |
What it won’t do
This tool keeps one continuous range. To cut out the middle of a video, mistakes or long pauses, you need an editor that can remove several pieces. The silence remover handles pauses; a transcript-based editor handles flubbed lines.
FAQ
How do I trim a video online for free without a watermark?
Open the video on this page, set the start and end with the playhead buttons or by typing the times, and press Export. The file is made in your browser and has no watermark, no sign-up and no length limit.
Is my video uploaded when I trim it?
No. The video is read and exported by your browser’s built-in video tools (WebCodecs). It never leaves your computer.
Which browsers can export the trimmed video?
Chrome and Edge export MP4 on Mac and Windows. Other browsers export where they support WebCodecs encoding, sometimes as WebM. If yours can’t, copy the ffmpeg command instead.
Does trimming reduce the video quality?
The kept part is re-encoded at high quality, so the change is hard to see. For a fully lossless trim, use the ffmpeg command with -c copy, which cuts on the nearest keyframe instead of the exact frame.