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How to Compress Video for Discord (Under 25MB)

Discord's file size limit means your clips get rejected constantly. Here's how to compress any video under the limit without destroying the quality, and without uploading to some random website.

Discord's file size limits

Discord caps file uploads at 25MB for free users and 50MB for Nitro subscribers. A 30-second 1080p clip from your phone is typically 50-100MB. Even a short screen recording can blow past the limit. You need to compress it.

Why most online compressors are a bad idea

Google "compress video for Discord" and you'll find dozens of websites that want you to upload your video to their servers. The problems:

• Upload time, especially on slower connections, can take longer than the video itself
• Your video sits on someone else's server during processing
• Many cap at 500MB input or add watermarks without a paid plan
• Quality control is usually "low / medium / high" with no real precision

Compressing locally with ConvX

ConvX has a built-in discord-video preset that targets Discord's exact limits. It compresses locally on your machine, so there's no upload wait and no privacy concerns.

One command

convx convert clip.mp4 --preset discord-video

This re-encodes the video targeting a file size under 25MB. It automatically adjusts the bitrate based on the video's duration to hit the target. A 2-minute clip at 1080p will come out around 20-24MB with good quality.

With a specific size target

convx convert clip.mp4 --to mp4 --max-size 8MB

ConvX's size-constrained mode iteratively adjusts quality to land under your target. Use 8MB for the old Discord free limit, 25MB for current free, or 50MB for Nitro.

Batch compress multiple clips

convx convert "./clips/*.mp4" --preset discord-video -j 2 -d ./compressed

Compress an entire folder of clips in parallel.

Using the desktop app

Drag your video into ConvX, select the "Discord Video" preset from the dropdown, and click convert. The progress bar shows estimated output size in real time.

Tips for smaller files without visible quality loss

• Resolution: 720p is plenty for Discord. Most people watch in a small embed window anyway. Dropping from 1080p to 720p can halve the file size.
• Duration: Shorter is smaller. Trim your clip to just the relevant part before compressing.
• Codec: H.265 (HEVC) compresses ~40% better than H.264 at the same quality. ConvX uses H.264 by default for maximum compatibility, but you can switch to H.265 if your recipients can play it.
• Audio: Discord doesn't need high-fidelity audio. 128kbps AAC is transparent for voice and game audio.

What about screen recordings?

Screen recordings compress extremely well because they have large areas of static content. A 5-minute screen recording that's 200MB raw can often compress to under 25MB with no visible difference. The discord-video preset handles this automatically.