Guide
Trim a video online: set the start and end, then press Cut clip
Drop a video above, set the start and the end, and press Cut clip. Fast mode finishes in seconds with no quality loss, and Exact mode cuts on the frame you chose.
In short
- This free tool trims a video down to the part you want, right in your browser.
- You set the start and end by dragging the sliders, pressing Start here and End here, or typing the times.
- Fast mode takes seconds and loses no quality, but the clip can start a second or two early.
- Exact mode starts on the frame you chose, but it re-encodes and takes longer.
- Your video is never uploaded, and you need no account.
Video clipper
Runs in your browser · files never leave this page
Drop a video here
or
Times read as seconds, m:ss or h:mm:ss.
How to cut
Your file never leaves this page. The engine downloads once, the work happens in this tab, and there is no upload, no account and no storage. Close the tab and the file is gone unless you downloaded it.
More free tools: Video compressor · Video resizer · Video to MP4 · Video to MP3 · all tools
- The smallest step for the start and the end
- 0.1 s
- The video engine your browser downloads once per visit
- 32 MB
- File size above which the tool warns you
- 500 MB
How to trim a video online
Drag the start slider and the preview jumps to that frame. Drag the end slider the same way. The length of the clip shows underneath as you go.
For an exact spot, play the video, pause where you want the cut, and press Start here or End here. That is the quickest way to find a word. Then choose Fast or Exact and press Cut clip.
- You can also type the times. Press Enter or click away, and the sliders follow.
- If you type a time after the video ends, or an end before the start, the tool corrects it to the nearest time that works.
- If the preview shows no picture, your browser cannot play that format, such as an MKV. The cut still works.
Ways to type a time
Times can be seconds, m:ss or h:mm:ss. The smallest step is a tenth of a second.
| You type | It means |
|---|---|
| 90 | 1 minute 30 seconds |
| 1:30 | 1 minute 30 seconds |
| 0:01:30 | 1 minute 30 seconds |
| 1:30.5 | Half a second later |
You type: 90
- It means
- 1 minute 30 seconds
You type: 1:30
- It means
- 1 minute 30 seconds
You type: 0:01:30
- It means
- 1 minute 30 seconds
You type: 1:30.5
- It means
- Half a second later
Fast or Exact: which mode should you use?
A video stores a full frame now and then, called a keyframe, and only the changes in between. A copied clip has to start on a keyframe.
So Fast mode starts on the keyframe at or before your start. On phone video that is usually within a second or two, and never late. Exact mode re-encodes, so it starts on your frame.
- Fast is the default. It loses no quality, finishes in seconds, and the result says which keyframe it used.
- In Fast mode the end can also land a frame or two from where you set it, because the copy has to stop on a whole frame.
- Use Exact when a word must not be cut off, or when you want to freeze on one frame.
- To get both, cut in Fast mode first, then cut the short result again in Exact mode.
Fast or Exact
Both run in this tab. The result says which one you got and where the cut landed.
Where the clip starts
- Fast
- The keyframe at or before your start
- Exact
- The frame you chose
Quality
- Fast
- Unchanged
- Exact
- Re-encoded once, the loss is hard to see
Time
- Fast
- Seconds
- Exact
- About as long as the clip plays
File you get
- Fast
- Same format as your video
- Exact
- Always MP4
| Fast | Exact | |
|---|---|---|
| Where the clip starts | The keyframe at or before your start | The frame you chose |
| Quality | Unchanged | Re-encoded once, the loss is hard to see |
| Time | Seconds | About as long as the clip plays |
| File you get | Same format as your video | Always MP4 |
This is the whole editor
Highlight a phrase and a clip lands on those exact words. No timeline, no keyframes, no layers.
Which files are copied, and which are re-encoded
A copied clip has to fit in a file format that can hold it. Most phone videos can, so Fast mode keeps the picture and sound exactly as they were.
Some older formats cannot be copied safely. Then the tool re-encodes to MP4 on the exact frame and says so in the note. Nothing fails halfway, because the tool switches mode and tells you.
- Exact mode always gives an MP4 with H.264 video and AAC sound, which every player opens.
- Our free MP4 converter writes an MP4 with H.264 and AAC too, so a clip cut here and a file converted there play in the same places.
What Fast mode gives you
| Your file | Fast mode result |
|---|---|
| MP4, MOV, M4V | MP4, copied |
| WebM | WebM, copied |
| MKV | MKV, copied |
| AVI, 3GP or other | MP4, re-encoded on the exact frame |
Your file: MP4, MOV, M4V
- Fast mode result
- MP4, copied
Your file: WebM
- Fast mode result
- WebM, copied
Your file: MKV
- Fast mode result
- MKV, copied
Your file: AVI, 3GP or other
- Fast mode result
- MP4, re-encoded on the exact frame
Nothing is uploaded, and the limits
The tool runs ffmpeg, a free video program, inside your browser. It downloads once, about 32 MB, and then opens your file in this tab. Nothing is sent to a server or stored.
Fast mode is light on memory, because no frame is decoded. Exact mode decodes and encodes every frame in the range, so the tool warns above 500 MB.
- You cut one part of the video per run. To keep two parts, run it twice and download both.
- To join the parts back together, use our free video joiner.
- A long range in Exact mode on a phone is the job most likely to run out of memory. Use a shorter range.
- If our free video compressor or video resizer runs out of memory on a big file, cut the part you need here first and run it on the short clip.
The limits at a glance
| Item | Limit |
|---|---|
| Engine download | About 32 MB, once per visit |
| Size warning | Above 500 MB |
| Parts per run | One |
| Smallest step | 0.1 second |
Item: Engine download
- Limit
- About 32 MB, once per visit
Item: Size warning
- Limit
- Above 500 MB
Item: Parts per run
- Limit
- One
Item: Smallest step
- Limit
- 0.1 second
From a trimmed clip to a finished video
People often trim a false start at the beginning and the reach for the phone at the end. If the video is you talking, Cutroom makes a first cut for you. You can also delete any line you do not want.
Film one clip of up to three minutes and upload it. It comes back as a finished 9:16 video in about a minute. The clipper above stays free either way.
- Cutroom cuts the pauses, adds captions timed to your voice, puts b-roll on the phrases you highlight and writes an opening headline.
- In the editor you can also trim the opening or the ending.
- Your first video is free, with no card, and you have seven days to make it.
- The free video carries a Cutroom mark. Lite at $19.99 a month removes it.
Trimmed by the words, not a timeline
Delete a line from the transcript, and the video is cut to match.
B-rolls · 5
1
2
3
4
5Most face serums make one big promise, then quietly do nothing. This one has three ingredients, works in ten days, and costs less than your coffee habit. If your skin doesn’t change, you get every cent back.
highlight = b-roll · struck out = already cut
▸ 0:07 / 0:26 · shot 1 of 5
- 1B-roll on the exact wordsReal footage, placed where showing beats telling.
- 2The opening headlineWritten from what you said. Pick one it drafted, or write your own.
- 3Captions in 40 themesPick a theme, then its font and colour.
- 49:16, ready to exportExport renders one vertical MP4.
Questions people ask
- How do I trim the start and end of a video?
- Drag the start slider to the first frame you want and the end slider to the last. Or pause the video and press Start here and End here. Then press Cut clip. Fast mode is done in seconds.
- Why does my clip start a second before where I set it?
- Because Fast mode copies the video, and a copy can only begin at a keyframe. It starts on the keyframe at or before your start, usually within a second or two on phone video. Switch to Exact to start on your frame.
- Does trimming a video lose quality?
- Not in Fast mode, because the frames are copied as they are. Exact mode re-encodes the part you keep once, and the loss is hard to see. The note under the result says which mode ran.
- Does my video get uploaded anywhere?
- No. The tool runs in this tab after a one-time download of about 32 MB. Nothing is sent, nothing is stored, and closing the tab clears everything except the clip you downloaded.
- Can I cut out the middle of a video, or keep two parts?
- Yes, in two runs. This tool keeps one part per run, so cut the part before the middle and the part after it. Then join the two clips with our free video joiner, which also runs in your browser.
- Who should not use this online video trimmer?
- Anyone who needs many cuts joined together, or exact cuts across a long video on a phone, where Exact mode runs out of memory. A desktop editor does that better. If the video is you talking, Cutroom makes the first cut for you and finishes the edit.
Trim your clip above, or let Cutroom cut one clip into a finished video. Your first video is free.