How do I trim a video online for free without uploading it?

Choose a video, type a start and end time, pick Fast or Precise mode, then press Trim video. The file length is detected automatically and the end box is pre-filled with it, so you only need to change what you actually want to move. Nothing is uploaded at any point.

What is the difference between Fast and Precise mode?

Fast copies the existing streams without re-encoding, so there is zero quality loss and it finishes quickly — but cuts snap to the nearest keyframe and can land a second or two from where you asked. Precise re-encodes the selection at CRF 20, landing exactly on your timestamps at the cost of time and one generation of compression.

Which mode should I pick?

Fast for almost everything: chopping dead air off a screen recording, or pulling a rough segment out of a long clip. Precise when the exact frame matters — cutting on a beat, ending on a specific word, or clipping a highlight where an extra second ruins it. Fast is the default.

How do I enter the start and end times?

Three formats work in both boxes: plain seconds like 12.5, minutes and seconds like 1:45, or hours like 1:02:30. There are no drag handles — they are text fields, which is more precise anyway. The end time must be after the start, and the start must be inside the video.

Does trimming reduce quality?

Not in Fast mode — the original encoded frames are copied across byte for byte, so the output is pixel-identical to the source within the cut. Precise mode re-encodes to H.264 at CRF 20 with AAC audio, which is visually very close but is technically a second generation of compression.

How long does trimming take?

Fast mode takes seconds almost regardless of the source length, because it seeks straight to your start point and copies from there rather than reading through everything before it. Precise mode is roughly real time against the length of the clip you keep, not the length of the original, so a 20-second cut from a two-hour file is still quick.

What formats can I trim, and how large a file?

MP4, MOV, WebM, AVI and MKV, up to 500MB — larger files are refused with a clear message rather than crashing the tab. In Fast mode the output keeps your original container; in Precise mode it is always MP4 with H.264 and AAC.

Is my video really never uploaded?

Correct. FFmpeg compiled to WebAssembly runs inside the tab, so private recordings, client work and confidential screen captures stay on your device. The first run downloads roughly 31MB of engine code, which the browser then caches for later visits.

Trim Video

Trim and cut video files online free — clip any segment by setting start and end timestamps. No upload, works offline, fully private.

Files never leave your deviceInstant — no upload waitFree, no sign-up

Choose a video or drag & drop it hereMP4, MOV, WebM… trimmed on your device, never uploaded

or import from

Trim a video by typing a start and end time. Two modes: Fast copies the streams with zero quality loss, Precise re-encodes for frame-accurate cuts. Everything runs in your browser using FFmpeg compiled to WebAssembly — no upload, no sign-up, no watermark, up to 500MB.

How to cut a clip

Choose a video — MP4, MOV, WebM, AVI or MKV. Its length is detected and the end box is filled in for you.
Type your start and end times. Seconds (12.5), mm:ss or h:mm:ss all work.
Pick Fast or Precise — see the table below if you are unsure.
Press Trim video and keep the tab open. Before and after sizes appear with the result, plus an inline player.

Worth knowing up front: the time boxes are text fields, not drag handles, and there is no scrubbing preview of the selection before you cut. Play the clip in your normal player, note the timestamps, type them in. It is less pretty and considerably more accurate.

Fast against Precise — the choice that matters

The two trim modes compared.
	Fast (default)	Precise
What it does	Copies the streams	Re-encodes the selection
Quality	Identical to source	H.264 CRF 20 — one generation
Cut accuracy	Nearest keyframe, can be 1–2s out	Exactly your timestamps
Speed	Seconds, any source length	Real time × the kept clip
Output container	Keeps your original	Always MP4 (H.264 + AAC)
Best for	Trimming dead air, rough segments	Cutting on a beat or an exact word

The honest version of the keyframe story: video is stored as occasional complete frames with the gaps described as differences from them. A stream copy can only begin at one of those complete frames, soFast mode rounds your start point to the nearest one — typically within a second or two, sometimes further on a long-GOP recording. Precise mode decodes and rebuilds instead, which is why it lands where you asked and why it takes longer.

What actually drives the time it takes

The useful thing to know is that the length of the source barely matters. The engine seeks directly to your start point instead of reading through everything before it, so pulling a clip out of the last minute of a two-hour recording is no slower than pulling one from the first minute.

What matters is how much you keep and which mode you pick. Fast mode copies the streams, so it finishes in seconds on any selection. Precise mode re-encodes, which runs at roughly real time against the length of the clip you are keeping — a 20-second cut takes about 20 seconds whether the original was three minutes or three hours.

One practical note either way: keep the tab in the foreground. Browsers throttle background tabs, and a job that should take seconds will crawl if you switch away from it.

What running the encoder locally costs you

The trade is straightforward and worth stating plainly. Your video never leaves the device, which is the entire point for private recordings and client work. In exchange, Precise mode runs onone CPU thread with no GPU acceleration, because the site does not set the cross-origin isolation headers that the multi-threaded build requires. The engine itself is around31MB on first use, then cached by the browser.

How this compares to the alternatives

Cutting one clip, three ways.
	ToolJiffy	Typical online trimmer	Desktop editor
Video uploaded to a server	No	Yes	No
Sign-up	No	Often to export	Install, sometimes licence
File-size limit	500MB	Commonly capped free	None practical
Watermark	Never	Common on free tiers	No
Lossless cutting option	Yes — Fast mode	Rarely	Yes
Timeline scrubbing	No — typed timestamps	Usually	Yes
Price	Free, unlimited	Free tier then paid	Free to paid

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I trim a video online for free without uploading it?
Choose a video, type a start and end time, pick Fast or Precise mode, then press Trim video. The file length is detected automatically and the end box is pre-filled with it, so you only need to change what you actually want to move. Nothing is uploaded at any point.
What is the difference between Fast and Precise mode?
Fast copies the existing streams without re-encoding, so there is zero quality loss and it finishes quickly — but cuts snap to the nearest keyframe and can land a second or two from where you asked. Precise re-encodes the selection at CRF 20, landing exactly on your timestamps at the cost of time and one generation of compression.
Which mode should I pick?
Fast for almost everything: chopping dead air off a screen recording, or pulling a rough segment out of a long clip. Precise when the exact frame matters — cutting on a beat, ending on a specific word, or clipping a highlight where an extra second ruins it. Fast is the default.
How do I enter the start and end times?
Three formats work in both boxes: plain seconds like 12.5, minutes and seconds like 1:45, or hours like 1:02:30. There are no drag handles — they are text fields, which is more precise anyway. The end time must be after the start, and the start must be inside the video.
Does trimming reduce quality?
Not in Fast mode — the original encoded frames are copied across byte for byte, so the output is pixel-identical to the source within the cut. Precise mode re-encodes to H.264 at CRF 20 with AAC audio, which is visually very close but is technically a second generation of compression.
How long does trimming take?
Fast mode takes seconds almost regardless of the source length, because it seeks straight to your start point and copies from there rather than reading through everything before it. Precise mode is roughly real time against the length of the clip you keep, not the length of the original, so a 20-second cut from a two-hour file is still quick.
What formats can I trim, and how large a file?
MP4, MOV, WebM, AVI and MKV, up to 500MB — larger files are refused with a clear message rather than crashing the tab. In Fast mode the output keeps your original container; in Precise mode it is always MP4 with H.264 and AAC.
Is my video really never uploaded?
Correct. FFmpeg compiled to WebAssembly runs inside the tab, so private recordings, client work and confidential screen captures stay on your device. The first run downloads roughly 31MB of engine code, which the browser then caches for later visits.