How to trim a video
Trimming means cutting the start, the end, or both, and keeping the middle. It is the most common edit there is, and it is the one you should never need to upload a file for.
Trim in your browser
Our trimmer works on the file locally. Nothing is uploaded and no account is needed.
- Drop the video in.
- Drag the in and out handles on the timeline, or play to a spot and press I for in and O for out.
- Press space to preview the trimmed section. It loops by default.
- Press Export.
Fast cuts and exact cuts
There are two ways to cut a video, and the difference matters.
Stream copy, the default. The video is not re-encoded, only the section you want is copied out. It takes about a second no matter how long the clip is, and the quality is bit for bit identical to the source. The catch is that cuts can only land on a keyframe, typically one every one to two seconds, so your in point snaps to the nearest one.
Re-encode, the frame-accurate checkbox. Every frame is decoded and written again, so the cut lands exactly where you put it. It takes longer, roughly real time, and costs a small amount of quality.
Leave frame-accurate off unless you actually need the precision. Most of the time the nearest keyframe is close enough, and the export is instant.
The editor tells you which situation you are in. If the clip has a keyframe on every frame, cuts are already exact and the checkbox changes nothing.
Trimming several clips
If you have a batch:
- Drop them all in at once. They appear as chips along the top.
- Trim one, then press the down arrow for the next.
- Press Export all when you are done.
Each clip keeps its own in and out points, and the settings persist if you close the tab.
Questions
Does trimming a video lose quality?
Not with a stream copy, which is the default. Only the frame-accurate re-encode costs anything, and then only a little.
Why does my cut start a moment late?
The cut snapped to the nearest keyframe. Turn on frame-accurate to land on the exact frame.
Can I cut a section out of the middle?
Export the part before it and the part after it as two clips, then join them in a full editor. Our editor keeps one in and out pair per clip.