How do I compress a MOV file?

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How do I compress a MOV file?: OctoZip blog

To compress a MOV file, re-encode it at a lower bitrate or resolution; renaming it to .mp4 or zipping it barely changes the size. On a Mac, QuickTime Player's Export As 720p or 480p saves a smaller MOV, and iMovie exports a smaller MP4. Elsewhere, HandBrake on a computer, our online compressor or OctoZip on Android makes a smaller MP4.

We make OctoZip and the online video compressor, so read this with that in mind. Apple's steps come from its own support pages and HandBrake's from its documentation, checked on 3 November 2026 and linked where used. OctoZip's facts come from its code. We haven't measured MOV sizes from these tools, so the sizes below are worked out from the formula.

What is a MOV file?

MOV is Apple's QuickTime movie format. The Library of Congress describes the QuickTime File Format as a "file format that wraps video, audio, and other bitstreams", with the extension .mov or .qt. It is a container: a box holding a video track and a sound track, each compressed with a codec such as H.264 or HEVC. MP4 is a close relative; the same page notes that QuickTime "influenced the shape of MPEG-4".

MOV files mostly come from Apple software. QuickTime Player exports movies as .mov files using H.264 or HEVC, and Apple says plainly that it "doesn't export movies as MP4 videos" (Export movies in QuickTime Player). On an iPhone, the Photos sharing option Most Compatible means files "may convert to JPEG or MOV" (Share photos and videos on iPhone).

Why is my MOV file so big?

The same reason any video is big: size in MB = bitrate in Mbps × seconds ÷ 8. The container adds very little. What sets the bitrate is the codec, the resolution, the frame rate and how much moves in the picture.

  • Codec. Apple says HEVC offers better compression than H.264, so it uses less storage for the same visual quality (Using HEIF or HEVC media). Apple ProRes, which iPhone Pro models can record, offers "less compression", and Apple says ProRes videos "result in larger file sizes" (Record ProRes video).
  • Resolution and frame rate. 4K has four times the pixels of 1080p, and 60 fps twice the frames of 30 fps. YouTube's recommended upload bitrates give the scale: 35–45 Mbps for 4K at 30 fps, 8 Mbps for 1080p at 30 fps, 5 Mbps for 720p.
  • Length. Twice as long is twice as big at the same bitrate.

So a 2-minute clip at 35 Mbps is 35 × 120 ÷ 8 = 525 MB. At 8 Mbps it is 120 MB, and at 5 Mbps 75 MB. To find your own file's bitrate, turn the formula round: a 400 MB MOV that runs 2 minutes is 400 × 8 ÷ 120 ≈ 26.7 Mbps. More in video bitrate explained and HEVC vs H.264.

Three boxes for a 2-minute video. A .mov holding H.264 video at 8 Mbps is 120 MB. Renamed to .mp4, it holds the same tracks and is still 120 MB. Re-encoded at 3 Mbps, the .mp4 is 45 MB. Same tracks, same size One 2-minute video, three files 8 Mbps 8 Mbps 3 Mbps .mov 120 MB renamed .mp4 120 MB re-encoded .mp4 45 MB
Each outline is the container; the teal block is the video track, as tall as its bitrate, and the grey strip the sound. Renaming changes the box, not the tracks. Sizes from the formula, picture only.

Does converting MOV to MP4 make it smaller?

Not by itself. Apple says a MOV that uses H.264 can become an MP4 just by changing the extension, and that "the resolution of the video and size of the MP4 file will be the same as the original MOV file" (Convert a MOV file to MP4 on Mac). For a MOV in another codec, such as HEVC, Apple says to convert it with iMovie instead. The file only gets smaller when it is re-encoded at a lower bitrate or resolution, which is what every method below does. On an Android phone, the conversion steps are in converting MOV or MKV to MP4 on Android.

How do I compress a MOV on a Mac?

QuickTime Player: a smaller MOV

  1. Open the MOV in QuickTime Player.
  2. Choose File ▸ Export As, then 1080p, 720p or 480p. Sizes larger than your movie are dimmed.
  3. For 4K or 1080p, use the Format pop-up: Smaller File Size saves HEVC, Greater Compatibility saves H.264. 720p and 480p are always H.264.
  4. Name the file, choose where it goes and click Save.

Apple notes that "the exact resolution and data rate of an exported movie depend on the original" (Export movies in QuickTime Player). The result is still a .mov.

iMovie: a smaller MP4

  1. In iMovie, click Create New in Projects view, then choose Movie.
  2. Click Import at the top of the window, find the MOV, then click Import Selected.
  3. Select the MOV in the browser and choose Edit ▸ Add to Movie (or press E).
  4. Click the Share button and choose Export File.
  5. To make it smaller, set Quality to Medium or Low, or choose a lower Resolution. The estimated size appears below the thumbnail.
  6. Click Next, choose a location and click Save.

Source: Apple, Convert a MOV file to MP4 on Mac. For a quick H.264 copy without opening an app, Apple also describes Control-clicking the video in Finder and choosing Services ▸ Encode Selected Video Files, then an H.264 setting (Using HEIF or HEVC media).

How do I compress a MOV on Windows or Linux?

HandBrake is "an open-source video transcoder available for Linux, Mac, and Windows", free to use, according to its documentation. It reads most phone and camera videos and saves MP4, MKV or WebM, so a MOV comes out as one of those, not as a MOV.

  1. Click Open Source and choose the MOV, or drag it onto the window.
  2. Pick a preset. The default, Fast 1080p30, is a good start; Fast 720p30 caps the picture at 720p, which usually means a smaller file. Presets bring larger videos down to their resolution and cap the frame rate, so a 1080p video at 60 fps becomes 720p at 30 fps with a 720p30 preset (Official presets).
  3. To go smaller still, move the quality control on the Video tab a few steps to the left. For the x264 and x265 encoders, a higher RF number means lower quality and a smaller file; HandBrake recommends RF 20–24 for 1080p (Adjusting quality).
  4. Check the destination (Save As is the file name, To the folder), then click Start.

With constant quality, HandBrake says the output size "is unpredictable and varies from source to source". If you need a size, its average bitrate mode lets "you control the size of the output file but give up control over the video's quality" (Constant quality vs average bit rate, marked as a draft). For a 2-minute video that must fit 100 MB: 100 × 8 ÷ 120 ≈ 6.7 Mbps in total, so with 128 kbps sound the picture gets about 6.5 Mbps (6,500 kbps). HandBrake always re-encodes the video; it lists "pass-through video without conversion" among the things it doesn't do. Windows' own tools are covered in how to shrink an MP4.

How do I compress a MOV online or on a phone?

In a browser

Our free online video compressor reads MP4, MOV, M4V, WebM and MKV files and always saves an MP4. The video is never uploaded. Choose a video, pick Small file, Medium, High quality or Target size (a size in MB), tap Compress video, then Download. iPhone videos in HEVC work when the browser can play HEVC itself, HDR videos are saved in standard range, and it does one video at a time, up to about 1–2 GB, in recent Chrome or Edge.

On an iPhone

Trim the clip in Photos or save a lower resolution from iMovie: the steps are in how to compress a video on iPhone.

On Android

OctoZip lists .mov among the files it accepts, in its video picker and when you share a video to it.

  1. Open OctoZip and tap Pick a video, or share the MOV to OctoZip from another app.
  2. Under Quick Compression, choose Small file (easy share) (a third of the resolution), Medium file (half) or Best Quality (the original resolution), and tap Apply.
  3. Under OUTPUT FORMAT, which starts on MOV for a MOV, tap MP4 ("Recommended") for a copy that plays almost anywhere, or leave MOV ("Apple"). Under VIDEO CODEC, H.265 (HEVC) makes smaller files and H.264 (AVC) plays on more devices.
  4. Tap Start Compression. It works without an internet connection, and the video is never uploaded.
  5. Tap Compare to check the result, then Save compressed video ▸ Save as new video to keep both files.

The free version compresses one video at a time, up to 3 GB. OctoZip Pro adds batch compression, files over 3 GB, 8K sources (saved in 4K) and four more presets. It runs on Android 7.0 or later.

GET IT ONGoogle Play

Should I keep MOV or switch to MP4?

Keep the original MOV on Apple devices, where it plays as it is. Make the smaller copy an MP4 when it is going somewhere else: a website, a chat app, an Android phone or a TV. Both containers can hold the same H.264 or HEVC tracks, so the choice is about where the file will play, not its size. The details are in MP4 vs MOV vs MKV.

What these tools can't do

  • None is lossless: each one re-encodes the video. Renaming an H.264 MOV leaves the picture untouched, and the size too.
  • QuickTime Player keeps MOV. iMovie's Export File, the online compressor and HandBrake make MP4 (HandBrake can also make MKV or WebM).
  • OctoZip has no target size in MB and no trim; batch compression and files over 3 GB need OctoZip Pro.
  • We haven't measured file sizes from these tools, so the sizes on this page come from the formula.

Sources

Checked on 3 November 2026.

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