Free tool · No re-encoding · Runs in your browser
Mute a video
Short answer
The tool drops the audio track and copies the picture as it is, so nothing is re-encoded. On our 10 second 1080p test clip it took 0.12 seconds, the video stream had the same checksum before and after, and the file went from 13,533,148 to 13,358,215 bytes. Nothing is uploaded.
Batch is free and unlimited - files are processed one after another on your device, with no queue or daily cap. Maximum 100 MB per file; the first run loads a ~30 MB engine once per visit.
Key takeaways
- The picture is not touched: the video stream's checksum was identical before and after (734daafe6530…), so there is no quality loss and no encode to wait for.
- It is fast. The 10 second clip took 0.12 seconds, because copying a stream only rewrites the container.
- The size change is only the audio: 174,933 bytes less (-1.3%), because the clip's soundtrack was about 134 kbps. Muting is not a way to shrink a large file; the picture is most of it.
- The result has 0 audio streams. A player or platform sees a silent video.
- The output is an MP4 file. Files up to 100 MB are accepted.
What the tool does to your file
One ffmpeg command: drop every audio stream (-an) and copy the video stream (-c:v copy). There is no decoding and no encoding, which is why it is quick and why the picture cannot change.
| Setting | Value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Audio | -an | Every audio stream is removed |
| Video | -c:v copy | The compressed picture is copied unchanged |
| Container | MP4 | The result is written as an MP4 file |
Measured on a 10 second clip
Measured on a 10 second 1920 × 1080 excerpt of Big Buck Bunny (CC BY 3.0, Blender Foundation) with a speech soundtrack. It is an animated film, not camera footage, so the sizes of camera video will differ. The tool's own ffmpeg arguments ran on the same single-thread WebAssembly engine your browser downloads; times are from a headless run and your device will differ.
The checksum is an MD5 of the video stream, which is the same only if the stream is identical.
| Before | After | |
|---|---|---|
| File size | 13,533,148 bytes | 13,358,215 bytes (-1.3%) |
| Video stream checksum | 734daafe65309ca9bc6e663ef9de030e | 734daafe65309ca9bc6e663ef9de030e (identical) |
| Audio streams | 1, AAC at about 134 kbps | 0 |
| Time | Not applicable | 0.115 s |
The Mute a video tool on a 10 second 1080p clip with a speech soundtrack.
When muting is the right fix
- A clip with background music you do not have the rights to, before you add your own sound.
- A screen recording with a noisy microphone that you want to narrate again.
- A looping background video where the sound is not wanted.
- A file you want to send as a silent preview.
When it is not
Muting removes all the sound, including the voice. If only the background is the problem, clean the sound instead: the noise remover keeps the voice and lowers the background, and the picture is still copied unchanged.
Free tools:Remove background noise from videoCompress a videoWhy is my Instagram Reel audio missing?Extract MP3 from a video
What you cannot do here
- Mute only part of a video. The tool removes the whole track.
- Keep the sound and remove only the music. That needs a different kind of tool.
- Reduce the file size much. Compress the video for that.
Questions people ask
Does muting a video lower its quality?
No. The picture is copied, not re-encoded, and the video stream had the same checksum before and after on our test clip.
How long does it take?
0.12 seconds for a 10 second 1080p clip in a headless run of the same engine. Your device will differ, but there is no encode.
Will the file be smaller?
Only by the size of the audio: 174,933 bytes (-1.3%) on our clip, whose soundtrack was about 134 kbps.
Can I mute just a section?
No. The tool removes the whole audio track.
Can I add new sound afterward?
Yes, in an editor or with another tool. The silent file has no audio stream to conflict with.
Is anything uploaded?
No. The file is processed in your browser, up to 100 MB.
Related
Sources and how we checked
- FFmpeg Documentation: ffmpeg (read 2026-10-09)
Reviewed October 9, 2026. The measurements ran the tool’s own ffmpeg arguments on the same single-thread WebAssembly engine your browser downloads. The script, the results and the saved documentation are in data/seo/hub/evidence/2026-10-09/tools.