How to compress a video on your Mac
Make a video smaller on a Mac for email or chat: QuickTime, Finder and iMovie step by step, or Koi's Compress with the new size shown first. Nothing uploaded.
Start here
What HandBrake is, and why it feels like a lot
HandBrake is a free, open source video transcoder for Mac, Windows and Linux. It takes almost any video and encodes it again as MP4, MKV or WebM, with H.264, H.265, AV1, VP9 and more, hardware encoding through Apple's VideoToolbox, presets for devices, a queue for many jobs at once, and subtitles, per its own docs. Version 1.11.2 came out on June 7, 2026, and macOS 14 Sonoma is the oldest it supports.
It's powerful, and that's the problem for most people who just want a screen recording small enough to send. You pick a source, a preset, a container, a codec, a quality, audio tracks and subtitles. HandBrake's own page says what it doesn't do: it doesn't join clips into one, it always converts the video rather than copying it, and its only containers are video ones, so no GIF.
We make Koi, so read this with that in mind. Koi is first below because, for the simple job of making a video smaller or turning it into an MP4 or a GIF, a drag is the shortest path we know. It is not a HandBrake replacement for batches, MKV or WebM, and the picks say so. Every fact about another app comes from its own site, docs or Mac App Store page, checked October 21, 2026. We didn't run tests or benchmarks.
Why switch
Why people look for a simpler HandBrake alternative
- Too many settings for one job. You want a smaller file, not a lesson in encoders.
- No GIF. HandBrake writes MP4, MKV and WebM only.
- No audio-only file. Every HandBrake container is a video container.
- Trimming is by chapters, seconds or frames typed in, not by dragging on a strip of frames.
- No joining clips, and no copying the video as it is: HandBrake always encodes again.
If those don't bother you, HandBrake is excellent and free, and it's worth staying on. If they do, here's what's simpler.
The picks
The best simple HandBrake alternatives for Mac in 2026
1. Koi
Best for: Compressing, trimming or converting one video from a drag
Start dragging a video and hold Shift, and a wheel of eight opens round your pointer: Trim, Crop, Compress, Mute, Speed, Snapshot, More and Edit. Compress has Light, Balanced and Strong and a Video size from 2160p down to 480p, and shows what the file should come to before it saves. It encodes with HEVC. Trim plays the video over a strip of its frames and you drag the ends in. More turns into Split, Metadata, Redact and Convert, and Convert into MP4, MOV, GIF and M4A, the sound alone.
Edit opens a full editor with a timeline: split at the playhead with C, delete a piece, give any piece its own speed from 0.25× to 30×, crop, and export an MP4 or a GIF at Low, Medium, High or Original quality, at 24, 30 or 60 frames a second, with H.264 or HEVC. Everything runs on your Mac with Apple's AVFoundation, nothing is uploaded, and a copy lands beside the original.
The video wheel is one part of Koi, which also types what you say in any app and records your calls. Koi needs a plan: Pro is $20 a month or $192 a year after a 3-day trial that needs a card, or Lifetime, paid once, from $59. Weakness: one video at a time, no queue, no device presets, no subtitles, and no MKV, WebM, AVI or WMV out. The Mac can't write those without a converter Koi doesn't ship.
2. QuickTime Player (built in)
Best for: A smaller copy for free, with nothing to install
QuickTime Player is on every Mac. File, Export As saves a video at 4K, 1080p, 720p or 480p, with H.264 or HEVC at the larger sizes, or as Audio Only, an AAC file, per Apple's guide. Edit, Trim lets you drag yellow handles to cut the start and end.
It's free. Weakness: you pick a resolution, not a quality or a target size, the copies are QuickTime movies, and there's no GIF.
3. Permute
Best for: Converting video, audio and images in bulk, with presets
Permute by Charlie Monroe converts video, audio, images and PDFs from a library of presets. It trims, crops, resizes, rotates and flips files one at a time or in bulk, and stitches several into one, which HandBrake can't. It writes WebM, ProRes and AV1, and images as WebP, HEIC and AVIF.
It's $14.99 once on its site and the Mac App Store, and it's on Setapp. Weakness: Permute 4 needs macOS 26 and an Apple silicon Mac; Permute 3 stays for macOS 11 to 15 and Intel. Our Permute alternatives page goes further.
4. Compresto
Best for: A drop zone that compresses videos, images and PDFs in batches
Compresto compresses MP4 and MOV videos, images, GIFs and PDFs on your Mac, in batches, with a drop zone, folder watching, video to GIF and a Raycast extension. It runs on Intel and Apple silicon with macOS 13 or later.
On its pricing page, Personal is $49 once for one Mac and Standard $69 once for two, with updates for life. Weakness: it compresses, it doesn't edit, and it costs more than Permute.
5. Shutter Encoder
Best for: Every codec, free, when you outgrow simple
Shutter Encoder converts, compresses and cuts video, can cut without encoding again, handles almost every codec, and has a render queue. It uses FFmpeg and is free with no limits or ads, funded by donations. It runs on macOS 10.14 or later, with Intel and Apple silicon builds.
Weakness: it's not simpler than HandBrake. It's a different set of many buttons, aimed at people who edit video for a living.
6. iMovie
Best for: Cutting clips together, then exporting smaller
Apple's iMovie is free. File, Share, File exports a movie with a resolution, a quality preset or your own bit rate, and Compress options, per Apple's guide. It joins clips, which HandBrake doesn't. Weakness: making a project to shrink one file is the long way round, and the current version needs a recent macOS 26.
Do it free
Make a video smaller with QuickTime Player
- Open the video in QuickTime Player.
- To cut it, choose Edit, Trim, drag the yellow handles, and click Trim.
- Choose File, Export As, then 1080p, 720p or 480p.
- Pick H.264 for the widest support or HEVC for a smaller file, where offered, and save.
With Koi
Compress or convert a video with Koi
- Start dragging the video in Finder or on your desktop.
- While you hold it, press Shift. The video wheel opens round your pointer, its size in the middle.
- Drop it on Compress. Pick Light, Balanced or Strong and a Video size, and check the size it should come to.
- Save. A copy like “Demo compressed.mp4” lands beside the original and shows in Finder.
For a GIF or an MP4, drop it on More, click Convert, then click GIF, MP4, MOV or M4A. A MOV stays a MOV unless you convert it. More on the Shift wheel, or step by step in how to use it.
Comparison
HandBrake vs the alternatives
From each app's own site, docs or Mac App Store page.
| Out | GIF | Batch | Trim | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HandBrake | MP4, MKV, WebM | No | Queue | By time or frames | Free |
| Koi | MP4, MOV, GIF, M4A | Yes | No | Drag on a strip of frames | $20 a month, or Lifetime, $59 for the first 25 buyers, rising to $199 |
| QuickTime Player | MOV, audio only | No | No | Yes | Free |
| Permute | Many, incl. WebM, ProRes, AV1 | Not listed | Yes | Yes | $14.99 once |
| Compresto | MP4, MOV, GIF | Yes | Yes | Not listed | $49 once |
| Shutter Encoder | Almost every codec | Not listed | Queue | Yes | Free |
| iMovie | Video, audio only | Not listed | No | Yes | Free |
Head to head
HandBrake vs Koi
HandBrake wins on control and volume. If you're converting a season of videos overnight, need MKV or WebM, want to keep subtitle tracks, or tune a codec, nothing here beats it, and it's free.
Koi wins on the everyday case: one screen recording, one clip from your phone, one video too big for Slack or email. You drag, you drop, you see the size before you save, and the copy is next to the original. You also get trimming, muting, speed, a snapshot of a frame, hiding something under a box, and a GIF, none of which HandBrake does in one step. The same Koi also records your calls with video and transcribes audio and video files on your Mac.
Stay on HandBrake if
- You convert many videos at once. Koi does one at a time.
- You need MKV or WebM out. Koi can't write them.
- You keep, add or remove subtitle tracks.
- You want device presets and full control of the encoder.
- You want it free. Koi needs a plan.
Choosing
Which HandBrake alternative should you pick?
- One video smaller, or an MP4 or a GIF, from a drag? Koi.
- Free, built in, a resolution is enough? QuickTime Player.
- Video, audio and images in bulk, paid once? Permute.
- A drop zone that batch-compresses everything? Compresto.
- Every codec there is, free? Shutter Encoder.
Making screen recordings? See CleanShot X alternatives. And Koi's plans.
Keep exploring
How to convert MOV to MP4 on your Mac
Convert MOV to MP4 on a Mac: why QuickTime can't, how to do it in iMovie, and how Koi does it in one drag without encoding the picture again. Nothing uploaded.
The best Permute alternatives for Mac
Permute alternatives for Mac: HandBrake, Shutter Encoder, Koi, Tangerine, Compresto, Smart Converter and FFmpeg. Video, audio and image formats, prices.
Drag a file. Hold Shift.
Drag any file on your Mac and hold Shift: crop a photo, edit a video, merge or compress a PDF, convert files or unzip. Tap Shift on the desktop for dark mode.
Support
Frequently asked questions
Yes. HandBrake is free and open source under the GPL. Version 1.11.2 came out in June 2026, and it supports macOS 14 Sonoma and later.
No. HandBrake writes MP4, MKV and WebM only. Koi, Compresto and other tools make GIFs; in Koi, drag the video with Shift held, drop it on More, then click Convert and GIF.
QuickTime Player's File, Export As saves a smaller copy at 1080p, 720p or 480p for free. With Koi, drag the video with Shift held, drop it on Compress and pick Light, Balanced or Strong.
No. Koi's video tools work on one video at a time. For batches, HandBrake's queue, Permute or Compresto are better.
No. Every video tool runs on your Mac with Apple's AVFoundation, and the copy is saved beside the original. Nothing is uploaded.