How to Compress Videos on Mac and Free Up Storage

Before You Start: Find the Videos Worth Compressing

Compressing every video is slow and rarely necessary. Start with the files that use the most space. In Finder, open a folder, switch to list view and sort by Size. In Photos, the Media Types section in the sidebar lists Videos, which you can sort and review. A handful of long 4K clips or screen recordings often accounts for most of the space.

Decide where each video will be watched. A clip you only view on a phone or laptop rarely needs 4K. Footage you may edit later, or a once-in-a-lifetime event, is often worth keeping at full quality and moving to an external drive instead.

Method 1: Export a Smaller Copy From Photos

If the video is in your Photos library, the Photos app can export it at a lower quality. Apple's Photos guide lists standard definition (480p), 720p, 1080p and 4K as Movie Quality options.

1. Open the Photos app and select the videos you want to compress.
2. Choose File > Export > Export Videos.
3. Open the Movie Quality menu and choose 1080p or 720p.
4. Click Export and choose a folder for the smaller copies.

Exporting creates new files and leaves the originals in your library. If you want the space back, import the smaller copy, check it, and then delete the original from Photos. With iCloud Photos turned on, deleting from your library also removes the item from your other devices, so be sure the copy is the one you want to keep.

Method 2: Use QuickTime Player's Export As

QuickTime Player is the quickest option for a single file. According to Apple's QuickTime Player guide, File > Export As offers 1080p (H.264 or HEVC, up to 1920 x 1080), 720p (H.264, up to 1280 x 720) and 480p (H.264, up to 640 x 480). Resolutions larger than your video are dimmed.

1. Open the video in QuickTime Player.
2. Choose File > Export As, then choose 1080p, 720p or 480p.
3. For 1080p, choose HEVC if you want a smaller file and your devices support it.
4. Name the file, pick a location and click Save.

QuickTime Player's Export As saves a .mov file, so use another tool if a website or app requires MP4.

Method 3: Encode Several Files From Finder

Finder has a built-in action for batch work. Apple's QuickTime Player guide describes it: Control-click one or more video files and choose Encode Selected Video Files, then pick a resolution setting. If you do not see it, look under Services in the Control-click menu or in the Finder menu, and check that the service is enabled in System Settings > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts > Services.

This action is handy for a folder of screen recordings. Be aware of two limits reported by users in Apple's community forums: on some systems the action no longer appears or fails to run, and re-encoded iPhone videos can lose their original date and location information. Check one file before you process a whole folder.

Method 4: Compress With Vision AI

Vision AI - Photo Cleaner includes a Video Compressor for Mac. It lets you choose quality and resolution options, then either save compressed copies to a separate folder or replace the originals, but only after the new video passes a safety check. Supported older video formats can be converted with a compatibility engine that runs on your Mac.

The same app lists your largest videos and finds duplicate and similar videos, so you can remove extra copies first and compress only what remains. Analysis runs on your Mac and your videos are not uploaded to an external server. Vision AI requires macOS 14.6 or later and is free to download from the Mac App Store; see the listing for current purchase details.

Which Method Should You Use?

Each option fits a different situation:

• One video in your Photos library: export it from Photos at 1080p or 720p.
• One video file in a folder: use QuickTime Player's Export As.
• A folder of screen recordings: try Finder's Encode Selected Video Files, after testing one file.
• Many videos across Photos and folders, with duplicates mixed in: use Vision AI to find duplicates and the largest files, then compress what remains.
• Footage you may edit later: keep the original and move it to an external drive instead of compressing.

Tips to Avoid Losing Quality or Data

Compression is not free. A lower resolution removes detail that cannot be restored later, so never delete an original until you have watched the new file all the way through on the screen you normally use.

• Keep a backup, such as Time Machine, before replacing originals.
• Try 1080p before 720p; for most phone and laptop viewing it looks the same as 4K.
• Prefer HEVC when your devices support it, since it usually produces smaller files at similar quality.
• Do not expect every file to shrink. Recent iPhone videos are often already HEVC, so re-encoding at the same resolution can save little or even produce a larger file; lowering the resolution is what reliably saves space. As a rough illustration, not a measured result, a 4K clip exported at 1080p often ends up a fraction of its original size, while a 1080p HEVC clip exported again at 1080p may barely change.
• Check that the date and location are still correct after re-encoding iPhone videos.
• Empty the Trash or Recently Deleted only after you are sure, because the space is not freed until then.