Get a video under a specific upload size limit
Hit a specific size ceiling deliberately, by solving for the bitrate that fits rather than compressing repeatedly and hoping.
The decision that matters: Resolution or bitrate. Dropping resolution saves the most per unit of visible quality; dropping bitrate alone at full resolution shows artifacts sooner.
Step by step
- Check what you actually have
Read the dimensions, ratio, duration and size off the file before deciding anything. Most bad exports come from assuming the source rather than looking at it.
Inspect the file - Solve for the bitrate that fits
Work backwards from the limit and the duration to the bitrate you need, with the audio budgeted separately.
Bitrate calculator - Compress at a matching preset
Pick the resolution preset whose typical bitrate is closest to your target, then verify the result.
Compress a video - Confirm what you actually saved
Compare the before and after to check the compression was worth the quality it cost.
Compression ratio calculator
What this path cannot do
- The browser compressor offers fixed resolution presets, not an exact bitrate target. Exact-size encoding needs two-pass in a desktop encoder.
- It accepts files up to 100 MB, so the largest sources need a local editor first.
- For images rather than video, the target-size tool solves the quality setting directly.
Koldflux runs this whole sequence automatically from one source recording.
Automate this in Koldflux