Cut Video Online Free — No Software, No Upload

The Problem with Most Online Video Cutters

The most common complaint about browser-based video trimmers is inaccurate cuts. Many tools use stream copying — copying compressed video frames without re-encoding — which sounds fast but can only cut on keyframe boundaries. Keyframes in typical video files are spaced 2–5 seconds apart, so the actual cut lands wherever the nearest keyframe happens to be, not at the timestamp you specified.

The other common issue is privacy. Most free online video cutters upload your file to a server, process it remotely, and store it temporarily. For personal or confidential video — a meeting recording, a family clip, a client presentation — that is not acceptable.

This tool avoids both problems. It re-encodes the video using FFmpeg running entirely in your browser via WebAssembly, cutting at the exact frame you specified. Your file never leaves your device.

How to Cut Video Online Free

1. Open the Video Trimmer and drop your video file. MP4, MOV, AVI, MKV, WebM, and most other video formats are supported up to 500 MB.
2. The video preview loads automatically. Play the video and pause at the frame where you want the clip to start. Note the timestamp shown in the player controls.
3. Enter that timestamp as the Start time in seconds. For example, if you want to start at 1 minute 15 seconds, enter 75.
4. Set the End time the same way — play the video to the last frame you want to keep, note the timestamp, and enter it.
5. The tool displays the trimmed clip duration so you can confirm the range before processing.
6. Choose an output format: MP4 for maximum compatibility, or WebM for an open-format file.
7. Click Trim Video. On the first use, the FFmpeg WASM engine loads (5–20 seconds). Subsequent trims in the same session start immediately.
8. Preview the trimmed video, then click Download to save your clip.

Who Needs a Video Trimmer — Use Case Table

How Frame-Accurate Trimming Works

Video files compress data by storing full frames (keyframes) at regular intervals and only the differences between frames for every frame in between. When you cut at a non-keyframe position using stream copy, the decoder has no reference point for the partial sequence before the next keyframe — so most tools simply snap to the nearest keyframe instead.

Re-encoding decodes the video from the start time, reconstructs every frame, and encodes a fresh video starting at the precise frame you specified. This guarantees the cut is frame-accurate regardless of where the original keyframes were placed. The trade-off is processing time — typically 2–10 seconds for a short clip depending on your device.

Advanced Workflows

Trim a clip then convert it to an animated GIF

For short reaction clips, product demos, or GitHub README animations, the best workflow is: trim the video to the exact segment first, then convert it to GIF. Trimming first means the GIF converter only processes the frames you actually need, which is faster and gives you precise control over where the GIF starts and ends. After downloading your trimmed MP4, use the Video to GIF Converter to create the animated GIF with your preferred width and frame rate settings.

Extract audio from a trimmed clip

If you only need the audio from a specific portion of a video — a spoken statement, a music segment, a podcast excerpt — trim the video to that portion first, then extract the audio. Download the trimmed MP4, then use the MP4 to MP3 Converter to strip out the audio track as an MP3 file. This produces a smaller, more precise audio clip than extracting from the full original video.

Clip segments from a screen recording

Screen recordings captured with the Screen Recorder are downloaded as WebM files. These load directly into the Video Trimmer — drop the WebM, set your start and end times, and export as MP4 for wider compatibility. This is useful for creating short tutorial clips from longer recording sessions without opening any video editor.

Isolate a segment before sending

When sharing a meeting recording or interview, you may only want to send the relevant portion rather than the full file. Trim to the exact segment and share the output directly. The trimmed file is also smaller, which avoids attachment size limits in email and messaging apps. Because the tool runs locally, the original recording never touches a server — the entire workflow stays private.

MP4 vs WebM — Which Output Format to Choose

Both output formats are re-encoded for frame-accurate cuts. The difference is in compatibility and codec choice:

• MP4 (H.264 + AAC) — plays on virtually every device, browser, phone, smart TV, messaging app, and social platform. The safe default for sharing.
• WebM (VP8 + Opus) — an open-source format natively supported in Chrome, Firefox, and Edge. Slightly smaller files. Not natively supported on some Apple devices or older media players.

Use MP4 when in doubt. Use WebM when you know the recipient's platform supports it or when you are embedding video in a web page where browser support is guaranteed.

Common Questions

Is my video uploaded anywhere?

No. All processing happens in your browser using FFmpeg compiled to WebAssembly. Your video file never leaves your device — there is no server, no cloud storage, and no data transfer. The tool works offline once the WASM engine has loaded in your browser session.

Why does the first trim take longer?

On the first trim in a session, the browser downloads the FFmpeg WebAssembly engine (~10 MB) from a CDN. This takes 5–20 seconds depending on your connection. Once loaded, the engine stays in memory and subsequent trims start immediately without reloading.

How do I find the exact start and end times?

Use the video preview player that appears after you load a file. Play the video and pause at the frame where you want the cut to start — the timestamp shown in the player controls is the value to enter in the Start time field. Repeat for the end time. The tool displays the formatted time (e.g., 1:30.0) next to each input so you can verify the range before trimming.

What is the maximum file size?

The tool accepts files up to 500 MB. For large files, close other browser tabs to free up RAM before processing. On devices with 8 GB or less memory, files over 300 MB may cause the browser tab to slow down during the read phase.

Can I trim a video without re-encoding it?

Stream copy (cutting without re-encoding) is faster but only cuts at keyframe boundaries, which are typically 2–5 seconds apart in standard video files. This means the cut will land up to several seconds from the timestamp you specified. This tool always re-encodes to guarantee the cut falls at the exact frame you entered.

Which video formats are supported?

The tool accepts any video format FFmpeg can decode: MP4, MOV, AVI, MKV, WebM, M4V, FLV, WMV, OGV, TS, and 3GP. Most video files you download or record on a phone, camera, or screen recorder will work without conversion.