Guides / How to compress a video for Discord (under 10MB, free)

How to compress a video for Discord (under 10MB, free)

Updated 2026-06-11 · Runs locally — nothing uploaded

Quick answer

Discord's free upload limit is 10MB. Shrink any clip to fit on your Mac — no Nitro, no upload to a website. One click with FFmix.

Output: Discord ≤ 10MB
Processing: On your Mac
Setup: About 2 minutes to set up
Access: Free local task

Discord rejecting your clip because it’s too big? On a free account every upload has to be under 10MB, and a few seconds of phone video blows past that easily.

You don’t need Nitro or an upload site. FFmix has a one-click Discord ≤ 10MB preset that calculates a target bitrate from the clip length and adapts it to the active engine — locally, so the file never leaves your Mac.

Steps

1 Drag your clip into FFmix.
2 Pick the Discord ≤ 10MB preset (or set a 10MB target in Compress).
3 Confirm and click Start — FFmix uses the engine-adapted target bitrate to land under the limit.

Advanced: canonical ffmpeg recipe

This is the canonical recipe. FFmix adapts encoder flags to the engine on your Mac, then shows the final command; the command shown is the command run.

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf scale=-2:720 -c:v libx264 -b:v 560k -pass 2 -c:a aac -b:a 96k discord.mp4

FFmix has a one-click "Discord ≤ 10MB" preset

Drop a file and go — all local, nothing uploaded.

Download FFmix free

FAQ

What is Discord's file size limit?

Free Discord caps uploads at 10MB per file. Nitro Basic raises it to 50MB and Nitro to 500MB. This preset targets the 10MB free limit so anyone can open it.

Will the video look bad at 10MB?

FFmix computes a target bitrate and caps the picture at 720p. The App Store build uses VideoToolbox ABR; a compatible external software engine can use two passes. Long clips may need trimming.

Does FFmix upload my clip to compress it?

No. It runs locally through the bundled ffmpeg engine — nothing is uploaded anywhere.

Screen recordings are huge but compress well. Shrink yours on your Mac while keeping UI text sharp — no command line, nothing uploaded.

How to compress a video for email on Mac (under 20 MB)

Make a MOV or MP4 small enough to email from your Mac with a 20 MB target, 720p cap and engine-adapted local compression. No upload or command line.

How to compress a video for WeChat (under 25MB) on Mac

WeChat caps chat videos at 25MB. Shrink any clip to fit on your Mac — no command line, nothing uploaded. One click with FFmix.

How to reduce video file size on Mac without losing quality

Cut a video's size by roughly half at the same visual quality using H.265 — on your Mac, no command line, nothing uploaded. FFmix does it in one step.